Precise measurements
Production of stepper motor casings

Siemens VDO Automotive in Babenhausen/Germany manufacture stepper motor casings. Mounted onto the stepper motors are cogwheels and worm gears made of plastic which are moulded onto metal shafts. These shafts move within a casing which is also made of plastic. At the plant in Babenhausen, some eight million plastic parts per week are produced for car instrumentation on over 30 injection moulding machines. ....read more!

Better visibility
Rotary platen machine with good accessibility

At K 2004 Battenfeld Technologies’ dimension for plastic glazing was 1 m2 (see Polymotive 9+10/04, page16). Now they offer a patented technology to manufacture plastic glazing up to 1.8 m² with the IMPmore (In-Mould Pressing) injection-compression process and vector-oriented force control (VFC). Ideally, additional functions such as sealing lips, fastening elements or lamps can directly be integrated, and innovative 3D designs and colour combinations can also be realized. ....read more!

Smart Forfour
The vehicle of the month

The purpose of this new rubric is to present the result of design analysis, in each issue of our magazine, over a vehicle recently launched on the automobile market. The rubric is realised jointly with “Mavel”, leading European company in this type of analysis. ....read more!

Double Plus
High-tech plastic for latest VW Golf

The new Golf Plus has now been launched on Germany’s roads with Celstran+ from Ticona on board. The company developed this new long-fibre-reinforced Celstran grade specially for Volkswagen, paying careful attention to modern automotive industry requirements. ....read more!

Strong in demanding environment
Advanced GMT – part 1: reinforced with engineered textiles

Within the advanced GMT category, two distinct classes of composites have evolved. One type, reinforced with various types of engineered textiles to provide higher stiffness and strength in more demanding end-use environments, is described here. The other type, reinforced with a high-lofting fleece that provides improved stiffness to weight ratio and, for the first time, provides the enhanced aesthetics required for first-surface applications right out of the tool, will be covered in our next issue. ....read more!

Well wired-up
New substitute material for PVC on the market

The most commonly used insulation material for wiring in automotive applications is PVC. Coatings made from this plastic have, however, a serious disadvantage: although PVC is one of the less flammable materials, in the event of a fire hydrogen chloride is released. The liquid hydrochloric acid which is released on contact with water is highly caustic. Substitute insulation made from polypropylene (PP) is regarded as physiologically safe and is in addition very light. ....read more!

Thermal Stability and Impact Resistance
Auto Parking Brake Actuator and Gears

Automotive electronic parking brake systems call for tough materials that meet challenging conditions. This is especially true of the actuators at the rear wheels, where carmakers like Audi, Volkswagen, Bentley, Bugatti and Lancia have begun using Fortron linear polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) for actuator housings and the gears that help transfer power from the actuator motor to the brakes. ....read more!

Hollow and yet weighty
BASF polyamide for rotomoulding

BASF has developed its first polyamide for the rotomoulding technology in the European market. This un-reinforced polyamide 6 (PA6) is sold under the brand name Capron BR30HS. The plastic’s first serial production application is in the automotive sector and additional projects are on the drawing board. ....read more!

Co-operation does pay!
From seat components to remote controls

A lot can be reported from Wilden AG, Regensburg/Germany. They count on close cooperations with leading suppliers in the automotive sector. These collaborations result in a variety of innovative solutions. ....read more!

The Boss is Coming
Boss elements for various applications

Ejot has developed a new plastic boss with an integrated sealing function, which in combination with its well-known Delta PT screw, provides protection against splash water. The SquareBoss IS is the enhanced version of the regular model which was developed as a customer-specific product. ....read more!

Melt it away!
Infrared heating improves quality

If burrs on cast plastic components cannot be completely eliminated, they must at least be simply removed using a repeatable process. At the Fakuma exhibition Heraeus Noblelight will be showing infrared emitters which can be matched to component contours. The emitters transfer heat in a contact-free manner and melt the burrs away without causing any damage to the component itself. As a result production reject rates are significantly reduced. ....read more!

Yoking IM and PU reaction moulding
Processing thermoplastics and PU in a multicomponent system

Krauss-Maffei has expertise in the three major machine technologies for plastics processing – injection moulding, reaction and extrusion technology. Now the company has combined reaction and injection moulding processes in a successful system to produce parts with high-quality surfaces for the automotive and other industries. ....read more!

Read more about several products for the automotive industry
....read more!