Azdel (Lynchburg, Virginia / USA; www.azdel.com) and Sabic Innovative Plastics (SIP, Bergen op Zoom / The Netherlands; www.sabic-ip.com) have developed a composite for lightweight horizontal body panels based on Azdel’s lightweight reinforced thermoplastic (LWRT) technology. Sabic says the new material reduces weight by half compared with steel. The first grade to be launched – "Ixis 157" – is designed for offline coating. This will be followed by "Ixis 200", which will be suitable for online coating.

The finished LWRT panel has a sandwich structure with a long glass fibre (LGF)-reinforced foam-type PP composite with a low density (0.2-0.8 g/cm³) as the core. For comparison, standard PP has a density of 0.9 g/cm³. The outer skins comprise two 0°/90° aligned PP films reinforced with unidirectional glass fibre mats. This construction gives a Class A surface and good dimensional stability according to Sabic. The composites are heated during processing and moulded to the required shape. Ixis can also be used for structural parts without a high-quality surface. Parts such as antennas can be inserted without impairing the recyclability of the composite.