issue 09/2022

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K 2022

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At K 2022, it was clearly shown that with suitable materials not only can CO2 emissions be reduced, but also advantages in component design achieved.

The Japanese chemical company Asahi Kasei showed its concept vehicle at K 2022. The domed roof in particular could lead to a few changes in future automobiles.

16:9

With suitable materials CO2 emissions can be reduced and advantages in component design can be achieved.

Automotive Highlights of K 2022

Thermoplastische Elastomere

Silikone

Messe K-Kunststoffmesse

Kunststoffe, biobasiert

Elektromobilität

Streifinger, Florian

Polyamide

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Polymethylmethacrylat

Polycarbonat

Suitable Materials for Smart  Vehicle Design

Milliken introduced an orange colorant for electric vehicles. It is said to be very color-stable even at high temperatures.

The colorant offers excellent thermal stability up to 300 °C or more.

Farbstoffe und Pigmente

Farbstoffe

Additive

Orange Colorant for Engineering Plastics

The global market for PBT has recovered well from the aftermath of the corona pandemic. However, there is a lot going on among manufacturers at the moment.

PBT compounds are very much in demand for electromobility, including for parts of the battery, electric transmission and the charging infrastructure.

Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT): Demand for Products with Added Benefits

Polybutylenterephthalat

Technische Kunststoffe

Electromobility and Sustainability Are Driving Growth

Due to the climate change, new fields of development and sustainability topics have come into focus along the added-value chain.

Polyamide continues to be one of the most important technical plastics in the automotive sector, where it enjoys widespread use. This not only applies for classical internal combustion vehicles, but in terms of volume will also be the case for electric vehicles.

Polyamides: Electromobility and Sustainability Boost Developments

Kunststoff-Recycling

Dual Change with Polyamides

Ascend Performance Materials will focus on electromobility and sustainability at K. The company made this announcement at a press conference in advance of the trade show.

Elektromotoren

Wide Range of PA Innovations

Compounder Mocom will focus chiefly on technical compounds for WiFi and radar applications as well as on fuel cell and battery technology.

Applications for the light-transmitting PC compounds with metallic effect include illuminated trim.

Compound

Compoundeure

Compound Innovations for Trade Show Debut

Electric vehicles can be charged not only at charging stations, but also wirelessly. Here, the energy exchange takes place between an induction coil positioned in the ground and a receiver coil mounted in the e-car.

Wireless charging could increase the range, and therefore the acceptance of electromobility.

Flame Retardant Polyamide for Inductive Charging Systems

No Cable thanks to Suitable Compounds

Electromobility tops Sabic’s agenda at this year’s K show, where the plastics producer will be presenting its Bluehero initiative.

The Bluehero ecosystem is primarily aimed at the automotive industry and is intended to advance electromobility.

Batterien

Flammschutzmittel

Strong Push for Electromobility

A focal point of the Lanxess booth at the show this year will be materials for electromobility.

The demonstrator of a near-series- production housing for electric vehicle batteries is one of the highlights at  the Lanxess booth.

Demonstrator for EV Battery Housings

With the change from internal combustion engines to hybrid and electric vehicles, peak operating temperatures have dropped from 135 °C to 110 °C. At the same time, the number of operating hours compared to combustion engines has increased nine-fold. This has an influence on material selection.

A Comparison of PA66 and PPA for Electric Vehicles

Hochleistungskunststoffe

Higher Performance in Water

Fillers and additives are used for targeted modification of the properties of plastics. Apart from the additive’s nature, also its particle size as well as its aspect ratio play an important role.

How the Particle Size of Fillers Influences Color Intensity

Füllstoffe für Kunststoffe

Thermal Management and  Intensive Orange

Electromobility in particular, but also many other electrical applications, are asking for ever higher demands regarding the electrical properties of thermoplastics. This raises the question of whether the polymers commonly used in this area can still meet these demands. The plastics manufacturer, Lanxess, has now investigated how suitable, for example, polyamide and polybutylene terephthalate are for use at higher voltages and temperatures.

How Suitable Are PA and PBT for High-Voltage Applications?

Elektronik

Leistungselektronik

Against the Current

Electrical and electronics manufacturers want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their products and optimize waste management and recycling for them. This can be achieved, among other ways, by using more sustainable thermoplastics and quality-assured recyclates. A close cooperation between companies to establish material cycles and the recycling-friendly design of equipment are also important.

Driving Sustainability Trends in the Electrical and Electronics Industry with Polymers

Recycling

Kunststoff-Rezyklat

Kreislaufwirtschaft

Support for a Greener E&E World

The battery system is one of the heaviest components in the powertrain of an electric vehicle. The use of lightweight materials and high-volume production processes according to requirements and functionality offers significant potential to reduce weight without compromising on safety or performance. A new technology concept shows the particular advantages of using a modified direct process with a tailored material selection.

Lightweight battery module with lithium-ion battery cells in pouch cell format and SMC module end plates.

Lightweight Traction Battery System for Electromobility

Composite-Halbzeuge

Verbundwerkstoffe / Werkstoffverbunde

Leichtbau

Harzsysteme für Composite-Herstellung

Polyurethan

Faserverbundwerkstoffe

Energiespeichersysteme

Lightweight Construction  for Heavyweights

Alternative powertrains, autonomous driving and the urge for more sustainability impact the vehicle design and driving experience.

 The USB connector system enables space saving of up to 60 %. The used PBT allows tight tolerances regardless of the ambient conditions.

Kfz-Elektronik

Steckverbinder

Smaller, Faster, Lighter

The plastics processor TKW Molding, which specializes in safety-related automotive components, is responding to the increasing requirements of its tier 1 and OEM customers by extensively automating its injection molding production. This also encompasses downstream process steps, such as integrated component testing, traceable part deposition and packaging. The company has been working closely with Arburg in this field since 2020.

A robotic system removes the parts from TKW’s 8+8-cavity mold.

Fully Automated In-Mold Assembly Process at TKW Molding

Spritzgießen

Spritzgießwerkzeuge

Optische Mess- und Prüftechnik

Montage-Spritzgießen

KFZ-Zulieferer

Safely Belted in

Electromobility and increasingly autonomous vehicles are changing the car interior. This requires futuristic concepts combining design and functionality, which can be adapted to the occupants’ individual requirements. A good example of this is a roof lining console manufactured by Leonhard Kurz. It is particularly interesting for automotive manufacturers and suppliers, since it can be manufactured in only one production step.

The roof-lining console from Leonhard Kurz combines design and functionality in one component. The combination of the two is particularly in demand for electric vehicles.

One-Step Production of HMI Components

Folientechnik (IMD, IML, FIM, u.a.)

Kunststoffverarbeitung

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

A Console for the Roof Lining

Most of the energy in a crash is absorbed by metal parts. A new additional polyamide (PA) crash absorber has for the first time been integrated into the front end of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The advantage is that an additional loadpath could be added without significantly increasing the mass of the car.  Close cooperation between the project partners and the use of suitable simulation tools were key to successful realization of this project.

As part of the safety concept in the front end of the latest S-Class, Mercedes-Benz uses a crash absorber made from polyamide.

Crash Absorbers made from PA for the Front End Carrier of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Kfz-Sicherheit, passiv

Kraftfahrzeugtechnik

Accident Protection with Plastics

Electric-vehicle makers looking for fresh impetus are turning to thermoplastics, as these can be used to  improve the safety, performance and sustainability of the vehicles. Initial application areas for manufacturers can be found in a multitude of components ranging from battery cases to busbars, cooling lines and seals. Things become very interesting when material suppliers offer support in the form of CAE and injection molding analyses.

Thermoplastics play an important role in the batteries of electric vehicles. They help to keep battery temperatures in the optimal range for a long service life and high performance. 

Improving the Performance of Electric Vehicles with the Right Materials

Electric, Environmentally Friendly, Thermoplastic

The rising voltages in electric vehicles are creating higher requirements on insulation materials. This is why PEEK is increasingly used for this purpose. A problem with this high-performance polymer used to be its adhesion to the secondary insulation material. An epoxy resin now promises to solve the issue.

Due to higher voltages, manufacturers are increasingly using PEEK as insulation material for electric motors.

Partner for PEEK

Polyetherketon

PEEK and Epoxy Provide Efficient Insulation for High Voltage E-Motor

The conditions in electric vehicles place high demands on the materials used. Therefore, automakers and suppliers must resort to expensive, high-performance plastics. For many applications, cost-effective alternatives are plastics whose properties have been greatly improved by means of treatment with high-energy electron beams.

Fig. 1. Crosslinked engineering plastics can be used for many different applications in electric vehicles.

Irradiation Crosslinking Replaces High-Performance Plastics with Cheaper Polymers

Strahlenvernetzung

Electron Booster for Electric Vehicles

In the past, relying on vertical injection molding machines instead of traditional horizontal molding machines when it came to the production of 2-component molded parts was a common option for molding small and medium-sized parts but not for large size parts. But when the automotive supplier Eldisy was faced with parts in that segment horizontal injection molding machines proved to be an inaptly alternative as new vertical machine systems proved as more reliable and therefore more productive. In the Bavarian injection molding machine manufacturer LWB-Steinl, the company found a partner to enter this new territory.

A vertical gantry frame machine with two thermoplastic injection units injecting from above proves to be a “gamechanger” for the production of 2-component automotive components at Eldisy in the German Gardelegen.

Eldisy Switches to Vertical Machines for the Production of Large-Size 2-Components

Mehrkomponenten-Spritzgießen

Spritzgießmaschinen

With a System Change  to New Competitiveness

The transition to electric cars is transforming automotive design. And so polymers producer Röhm has developed special polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) molding compounds with this in mind. These are sold under the company’s well-known Plexiglas brand. At Fakuma, the company will be demonstrating how they can be used to combine design requirements and functional properties.