At a premium
Faurecia launches “Premium Attitude” concept car

Ten key innovative technologies are revealed on the Faurecia Premium Attitude full vehicle concept car, ranging from production-ready features that could be utilized today, to production-feasible solutions for the near future. Some of them are presented here. ....read more!

Cut the number of components!
Outsert moulding for sunroof systems

System supplier ArvinMeritor of Dietzenbach, Germany, relies on outsert moulding with Ticona engineering plastics to produce modern sunroof systems. With this process, it is possible to manufacture sophisticated components that combine a high degree of functional integration with precision. Significant cost advantages can be gained over conventional production methods through the reduction in the number of components and assembly steps achievable with outsert moulding. ....read more!

Three at a time
Combination of blow moulding, injection moulding and bonding

Clips, lugs and cable crommets are usually injection moulded and then welded onto already blow moulded parts. Röchling Automotive combines blow moulding, injection moulding and bonding to one single process, called Jectbonding. Welding is skipped. ....read more!

Versatile plastic oil pan to go into volume production
Mann+Hummel confident of success

After successfully finishing the B-sample phase, the development partner and OEM to the international automotive industry Mann+Hummel is expecting to start volume production of a lightweight plastic oil pan early in 2009. According to a company spokesman, one of the principal advantages of this component, which is fitted to the passenger car engine, is that weight savings of around 30% can be achieved compared with hybrid subassemblies made of aluminium and plastic. If comparisons are made instead with the traditional pure aluminium parts the weight saving is said to be as much as 60%. ...read more!

Hoses for rising standards
Hydraulic, flat, and moulded hoses

Higher performance, smaller installation spaces and more demanding customers - these are the typical challenges facing automobile manufacturers. New hydraulic, flat, and moulded hoses from ContiTech Fluid Technology can help them handle these challenges. ...read more!

Vehicle of the month
Ford Mondeo

The purpose of this section which we feature in every edition of our magazine is to present the results of design analysis of vehicles recently launched on the automobile market. This article was produced in collaboration with Mavel, a European leader in car design analysis. The aim of this article is not to present a detailed examination of a design (which is available in “Mavel’s report”) but rather to throw light on some noteworthy aspects. ...read more!

All-in-one
Highly integrated lamella roof made from transparent plastic

Bayer MaterialScience has developed a close-to-production prototype of a highly integrated lamella roof based on the polycarbonate Makrolon. The roof’s special feature is that it incorporates transparency, sealing, opening and closing functions in a single plastic component that can be manufactured in just one process step. ...read more!

Plastics move up a gear
Lanxess’ portfolio for automotive applications
At this year’s VDI conference and exhibition Lanxess will showcase a broad portfolio of plastics and its results into commercial applications. The broad range exhibited includes amongst others the aluminium hybrid technology, applications and structural inserts made from polyamide 6 and 66, or three-dimensional circuit carriers. ...read more!

Practical Applications
Different polymers for several automotive applications

Again BASF has plenty to offer to the automotive industry. In previous issues we have already reported about some details as the support of the headrest cover or the centre-top cover and the two diffuse grills in the dashboard for the Mercedes C-Class. In this article here you may learn about engine hood covers made of a melamine resin foam, a door control device made of a low-warpage PBT/ASA blend, a steering-angle sensor made of a very easy-flowing PBT or a copolyamide for overmoulding electrical conductive paths. ...read more!

High-gloss surfaces
High-strength parts with premium surfaces

KraussMaffei is offering a new Inmould Painting process for producing LFI parts with high-gloss surfaces. A paint layer is sprayed directly onto the surface of the mould. A spray mixing head then applies a barrier coat on top of the paint. The LFI layer is poured into the mould, the mould is closed and clamped. The result is a high-strength, fibre-reinforced part with an outstanding high-gloss surface. ...read more!

Soft Rest
Rotary injection mould combines soft-touch with rigidity

Now effectively ready for service in mass production, the first injection mould for the Dolphin process could be seen in operation at K 2007. This process combines the injection moulding and foaming operations in one production cell and is used for the low-cost production of passenger compartment armrests featuring high rigidity and soft-touch feel. One of the key functions in this process is performed by the two-component rotary mould developed and built by Georg Kaufmann Formenbau AG, Busslingen, Switzerland. ...read more!

Functionality meets design
Dashboards for Audi and VW made from LFT

In the newly designed dashboards for the VW Golf and EOS and the Audi A 5 Coupé, automotive manufacturers are relying on stylish design with Celstran+. The property profile of long-fibre-reinforced thermoplastics (LFT) from Ticona allows easy processing with accurate reproduction of design detail. At the same time, important components such as the passenger airbag can be fully integrated into the dashboard structure. ...read more!

Moulding rather than painting
Polyolefin alloy provides durable, high-gloss surface

The CE model school bus, manufactured by the IC Corporation, features two panels that transition the lines of the body from the smaller engine enclosure to the larger passenger compartment. The initial specification called for these to be moulded using a nylon-polyphenylene oxide (PA-PPO) blend, which would be painted to a customer‘s required colour. Starting in 2006, the parts are now moulded in colour for the company‘s most popular „school-bus yellow“ vehicles. The material specified for this integrally coloured application is Indure X-210A polyolefin alloy developed by Solvay Engineered Polymers, Inc.. ...read more!