One of the last major German chemical giants, BASF is fighting back against the weak economy with an extensive efficiency program. Its acquisition of Solvay’s polyamide business has strengthened the engineering thermoplastics value chain. The circular economy is providing most of the new impetus.

BASF and Its Customers Commit to Chemical Recycling

Polybutylenterephthalat

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Thermoplaste

Polyamide

Kunststoff-Recycling

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

Forward Together!

PA66 and PBT considerably expand the field of applications for laser sintering by showing better properties than classic PA11 and PA12 materials in most cases.

PA66 and PBT for Laser Sintering

Technische Kunststoffe

Selektives Lasersintern von Kunststoff, Metall, Keramik

Verfahren für die additive Fertigung

Pulverbettverfahren

Kunststoff

Bauwesen

Baustoffe

Additive Fertigung

From Injection Molding to  Additive Manufacturing

Victrex plc, Thornton Cleveleys, UK, has developed Victrex AE250 Composites, a PAEK-based product family. The unidirectional tapes (UDT) and laminate panels offer clear benefits in terms of speed of component manufacture and installation. 

New PAEK Composites for the Aerospace Industry 

Hybrid-Spritzgießen (Metall / Kunststoff)

Victrex AE250 Composites 

The better a thermoplastic flows, the wider is its processing window. A product innovation for easy-flowing materials is presented by Lanxess Deutschland GmbH, Cologne, Germany, with Durethan BKV 30 XF, a polyamide 6 (PA6) with 30 % glass fiber content. It is over 17 % more easy-flowing than its predecessor and 62 % more easy-flowing than the standard material (Fig. 3). For approximately just as good mechanical properties, it is also claimed to achieve high-quality surfaces. There are also new developments in PA6 compounds that are reinforced with 30 % of a mixture of glass fibers and glass microspheres. Durethan BG 30 X XF, BG 30 X H2.0 XF and BG 30 X H3.0 XF, besides high flowability, also show an extremely low tendency to warp. According to the manufacturer, for a good mechanical property profile, the flowability is over 30 % higher than for a standard PA6. The target market of the thermally stabilized H3.0 grades, with a very low copper and halide content, are components for the electronics industry like plugs, connectors and fuse boxes. The H2.0 grade is specially targeted at component applications that are black pigmented and high thermally loaded. 

Lanxess 

Compound

Fluently to Success 

Current materials and material concepts are reflecting what the plastics processing industry needs: complete solutions for significantly lighter vehicles, better materials for extreme application conditions across all industry sectors, a wider product range, and more additively manufactured plastics. 

Advances and Developments in Thermoplastic Polymers at K 2016 

Polypropylen

Verbände, Institutionen, Messen

Megatrends Drive Material Innovations 

So far, the classic wet winding process has basically been limited to thermosetting resin systems. Now, it has been demonstrated that in principle it is also feasible with in-situ polymerizing thermoplastics. Due to the sensitive response of the chemical reaction to the various process influences, the challenge lies in the machine modifications and the accurate adjustment of the process window.  

Modification of the Wet Winding Process for In-Situ Polymerizing Thermoplastics 

Verbundwerkstoffe / Werkstoffverbunde

Wickelmaschinen

Fasern

Thermoplastic Wet Filament Winding 

Until now, most of the extrusion product demand has been met by polyamides 11 and 12, which ensure a good chemical resistance, a low level of rigidity, translucency and low moisture absorption but are quite costly. With Radilon D, Radilon DT and Radilon CD, RadiciGroup now offers an alternative: A range of LCPA-based materials with an excellent cost/performance ratio while maintaining good properties in terms of chemical resistance, low moisture absorption, good mechanical properties and better thermal properties (higher melting point). 

Specially Developed for Extrusion 

Extrusion

New Radilon Polyamides 

Armageddon Energy, EconCore and DuPont joined forces to create a new lightweight polymer solar panel, which is one-third the weight of a standard glass solar panel while being significantly more rugged and resistant to damage than standard panels. The key advantages of the Armageddon solar panel design include 70 to 80% lower weight, minimal need for cleaning, greatly improved resistance to typical kinds of damage suffered by solar panels and unique adaptiveness to challenging applications. 

Polyamide Honeycomb Technology 

Lightweight Polymer Solar Panel 

Nowadays, wearing comfort and minimum weight coupled with high strength, toughness, and durability are some of the most important requirements for sports and leisure articles – regardless of whether winter sports or racing bicycle, smart watches or drones. Novel polyamide formulations permit the design of lightweight and efficient sports and leisure equipment. 

Low Density and Outstanding Mechanical Properties but without Fiber Reinforcement 

High Performance without High Weight 

Plastics are subjected to aging during processing, application and use. The aging mechanisms are specific to the type of polymer and environmental conditions. For instance, many plastics yellow and become brittle. While the aging of polypropylene spreads out with local spotting over the volume, the aging of polyamide 6 progresses from the surface to the center. Comparative investigations showed that these are not the only differences. 

Thermo-Oxidative Aging of Polypropylene and Polyamide 6 

Thermoanalyse

Verschleißprüfgeräte

Alterungsprüfanlagen, Ermüdungsprüfanlagen

"Wrinkles" in Plastics due to Aging 

The imminent paradigm shift in mobility makes it essential that the German automotive industry prepares itself to undergo a transformation, both now and in the future, the like of which has not been seen before. Resource-efficient lightweight system engineering in a multi-material design is a key differentiating feature here. In this connection, novel materials, highly automated, digitized manufacturing processes as well as functional integration for intelligent component structures and vehicle systems will form the basis for creating springboard innovations that will dominate the competition. 

Innovative Injection Molding Technologies for Hybrid Lightweight Applications 

Elektromobilität

Magnesium

Faserverarbeitung

Warmformen / Thermoformen

Spritzgießen

Inserttechnik

Hybridtechnik

Laserstrukturieren

Beschichten von Metallen, allgemein

Verbindungstechnik, hybride

Plastic and Metal − an Inseparable Team 

The change in drive-train technology from the conventional combustion engine to the electric drive poses a big challenge for car manufacturers and suppliers alike. Engineering plastics have versatile properties that offer a wide potential for applications in electric vehicles.  

From the Prototype of the First Lithium-Ion Battery to Thermoplastics for Electrification 

Energiemanagement / Ladetechnik

Synergies from the Far East 

Hot gas welding has now become an established alternative to vibration and infrared welding. The reasons for this are the mechanically and visually excellent welds obtained and the low-emission, particle-free process. A further development of the welding tool avoids long process times and reduces material degradation. 

Tools Adaption Reduces Process Times and Improves Weld Quality 

Verbindungstechnik

Thermisches Fügeverfahren

Faster and Better Welding 

For years, the temperature resistance of engineering thermoplastics increased, but now new forms of mobility require a whole range of other properties. Although the exact specifications for plastic components in e-mobility vehicles and infrastructure are still being discussed, the first production-ready material types are already in the starting blocks. 

Semicrystalline Thermoplastics for Electrical and Electronic Components 

Making the Switch with E-Mobility 

An integrated approach to simulation and design has a long tradition at BASF. The cooperation with the office furniture manufacturer Wilkhahn shows, with the example of the Metrik cantilever chair, how designers and engineers work together efficiently. This offering will be further extended in the future. 

Performing Simulation in Parallel with Design Reduces the Development Time  of the Metrik Chair 

Produkt- / Formteildesign

Spritzgießsimulation

Verstärkungsstoffe

Glasfasern / -matten

A Virtual Seating Trial 

Radar Sensors with Integrated Thermal Management

The specialty chemicals group has developed a new concept for radar sensors with integrated thermal management. A combination of thermally conductive plastics with metallic cooling elements in hybrid technologyg is used.

The specialty chemicals group has developed a new concept for radar sensors with integrated thermal management that will benefit autonomous driving. A combination of thermally conductive plastics with metallic cooling elements in hybrid technologyg is used.

The specialty chemicals group has developed a new concept for radar sensors with integrated thermal management that will benefit autonomous driving. Though there is still a long way to go, driver assistance systems are increasingly set to become a key feature of future generations of cars. 360-degree monitoring of the vehicle’s surroundings is enabled by – among other things – radar waves. The radar sensors are an essential component of, for example, distance control, lane change monitoring, collision avoidance and blind spot monitoring systems.

The sensors have to be dust- and water-proof and so are designed as fully enclosed systems. But this makes it difficult for heat to be effectively dissipated from the inside, which, in turn, can impair the performance of the electronics and durability of the sensors. “This is why we developed a concept that allows heat to be dissipated by means of thermally conductive plastics in combination with metallic cooling elements,” says Gregor Jaschkewitz, application developer in the High Performance Materials (HPM) business unit at Lanxess. “The individual sensor components are assembled using integrated snap fits and hot rivets, a process that is much less costly and time-consuming than using screws.”

For a radar sensor, this new concept from LANXESS involves the following individual components: a front cover (“radome”), radar absorber, PCB – including antennas – and back cover with an integrated cooling element. The radome faces away from the vehicle and has to be made from a plastic offering a high degree of transmission for the radar waves. Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) is a well suited material here because it has a low dielectric constant (Dk) and loss factor (Df).

Functional Integration thanks to Hybrid Technology

The back cover is the most complex part of the whole assembly. It is manufactured in a plastic-metal compound (hybrid) technique with polyamide 6 and a metallic cooling element. This enables engineers to leverage the huge design freedom offered by the injection molding process, allowing them to integrate features such as reinforcement and cooling ribs as well as slots for connectors and the strain-relieved attachment of cables. Most importantly of all, however, the surface of the metallic cooling element can be overmoulded with thin areas of plastic. “The heat generated on the electronic components of the PCB can be efficiently dissipated from the whole assembly through these plastic areas. This effect is supported by thermally conductive polyamide 6 from our Durethan BTC product range as injection molding material,” says Jaschkewitz. Polyamide 6 is also extremely tough and ductile. Another benefit of the hybrid design is that the metallic cooling element shields the electronics inside the radar sensor against electromagnetic radiation, which means that its function is not impaired by external radiation.

The assembly can be sealed with O-rings or sealing lips created in a two-component injection molding process.

With most concepts for plastic radar sensors, the radome and back cover have always traditionally been made from thermoplastics that can be welded to each other to create a fully enclosed assembly. This generally meant that the same plastics had to be used for joining the two components. “Our approach, however, places fewer restrictions on the choice of materials and makes it easier to use tailor-made compounds,” says Jaschkewitz.

“We want to Advance Technological Innovation“

Lanxess believes that sensors for driver assistance systems will offer a wealth of opportunities for its Durethan polyamides and Pocan polyesters. “We want to benefit from the huge growth potential in this application segment and advance technological innovation with our own ideas – like the concept for radar sensors,” says Dr. Christopher Hoefs, a global application development expert in HPM. For example, the business unit also recently unveiled a concept for the modular design of charging connections for electric vehicles.

LANXESS Deutschland GmbH  

https://www.lanxess.com

The concept for radar sensors provides for heat dissipation from hot spots using thermally conductive plastics in combination with metallic cooling elements

2021-08-27 Lanxess RAdarabdeckungen EN

issue 07/2021

issue 06/2021

issue 05/2021

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