Paradigm shift favours light weight composite materials

SymaLite, an LWRT (low weight reinforced thermoplastics), is a light weight composite material based on polypropylene (PP) and specially orientated glass fibres, which offers good qualities regards weight, rigidity and shape. Uniquely the pre-orientated fibres allow good loft behaviour during the heating and moulding process, giving expansion of up to six times its original thickness and achieving densities of only 0.3g/cm³, while increasing bending stiffness in the z-direction.
The material allows for physical and mechanical properties to match the demands of the part by varying the mix of PP and glass fibres. For example, it accommodates flat part design without the corrugations usual to parts moulded in GMT and LFT, thereby giving better aerodynamics and acoustics damping characteristics.
On the occasion of the VDI Congress and Exhibition “Plastics in Automotive Engineering” Polymotive talked with Harri Dittmar, Product Manager at Quadrant Plastic Composites, about this composite material and its field of application. ....read more!

JEC Innovation Awards Programme

The JEC Group announced the 2008 winners of their Innovation Awards Programme. The winners and their partners were awarded their prizes in the course of a gala evening at the Louvre Museum, Paris, on April 1st. A jury made up of 15 international experts selected the best production processes, applications and products using composite materials solutions based on the following criteria: applied technology, marketing potential, originality, financial effects and profitable collaboration by partner companies from a range of different sectors. Polymotive presents the prize winners and finalists from the “Ground Transport & Automotive“. ....read more!

A vision in silver
Partnership between Hyundai and Bayer Material Science on new concept car

Sporting moulded bodywork with convex and concave lines, a glass cockpit suffused with light and featuring a lounge atmosphere in the passenger compartment – Hyundai’s study “i-mode” has celebrated its world premiere at the International Auto Salon in Geneva. The six-seater MPV in monocab design was born at the brandname’s European design studio in Rüsselsheim/Gemany and, with its use of innovative materials, comes down fairly and squarely on the side of weight reduction. ....read more!

Futuristic four-seater
Use of additive technologies in Pininfarina concept car

At the Geneva International Motor Show, Italian company Pininfarina together with Belgium-based Materialise presented the futuristic Sintesi project. The use of additive technologies played a prominent role in inspiring new creative design ideas in the new car. ....read more!

Benchmarking Special:
Polypropylene in automotive*

Usually you find here our Benchmarking Feature, the purpose of which is to present the results of design analysis of vehicles recently launched on the automobile market. This time we will take a look back to examine the spreading use of polypropylene in the automotive industry. .....read more!

Does it always have to be plastic?
Magnesium Injection Moulding for lightweight solutions

As far as the automotive suppliers are concerned, Husky’s magnesium injection moulding opens up new application potential and new possibilities that have been difficult to implement with the technologies available to date. The company believes that this will represent a clear and unique selling point as far as their customers are concerned. ....read more!

Multi-layer tank systems
Fuel systems based on multi-layer technology

Demand for co-extrusion blow moulding machines for producing 6-layer plastic fuel tanks has risen sharply lately. China’s biggest manufacturer of motor vehicle fuel systems, the Yangzhou Automotive Plastic Parts Co. Ltd. (YAPP), sources its machinery from Kautex Maschinenbau, manufacturer of blow moulding machines. ....read more!

In three parts
Ultramid for under-the-hood applications

What have engine torque rods, alternator covers, and coolant circuits in common? Firstly all three of them can be manufactured with polymers from BASF and secondly they all were presented at the company‘s annual workshop called „Atelier Treff“ on the eve of the VDI Congress and Exhibition „Plastics in Automotive Engineering”. ....read more!

Well protected “down below”
New PVC paste for protecting the underbody

Between 3 and 15 kg polyvinylchloride (PVC) are used on average in European cars, depending on the type and make of car. Classic application fields for the material are the automobile passenger compartment, cables and, predominantly, the underbody. An optimised type of PVC paste will provide even better protection for this area in the future. ....read more!

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