PLASTICS IN AUTOMOBILES
Bayer predicts increased polymer use / Auto industry liason team set up / Design for recycling
Consumption of synthetic polymers in cars will rise from a quarter of the roughly 1,150 kg of materials now to about a third in the foreseeable future, Reinhard Clausius, general manager for polyurethanes marketing at the Bayer group (D-51368 Leverkusen) predicts. Plastics already make up the largest share of all chemicals in cars, with up to 125 kg of polymer used for body parts, interior trim, instrument panels and headlamps. Polyurethanes – for seats, padded safety components for the interior, sound insulation, wings and side panelling – account for 30 kg
Representing more than DM 4.5bn in annual sales, the auto industry is Bayer's biggest customer after pharmaceuticals, and virtually all its business groups have dealings with it, even if indirectly. At a seminar on "The motor car – Chemistry on four wheels" in Leverkusen, Clausius and other members of the "AUTOcreative" liaison team Bayer set up in 1995 to deal with auto applications spotlighted technological solutions developed in cooperation with carmakers and system suppliers. These focus on making lighter and more fuel-efficient vehicles at lower cost.
As regards weight reduction, a breakthrough has been achieved in structural components, said Dr. Walter Üerdingen, head of innovation management for Bayer's plastics business group. The hybrid technology binding plastics and steel also lowers module costs and creates a high load-bearing capacity while allowing high energy absorption, he said. A steel and PA 6 GF instrument panel developed by the team Bayer-General Motors-Fisher Guide is now entering series production in the US. The technology is also used in components for doors, seats, front ends and bumper brackets.
One of the world's largest polycarbonate manufacturers, Bayer helped pioneer the substitution of PC for glass in headlamp lenses. The benefits of this polymer, in addition to reducing weight, are increased freedom of design in complex structures, colouring options, multifunctional design and good optical properties, said Uerdingen. PC lenses are used in models by BMW, Opel and Mercedes Benz. New coatings systems render plastic window glazing scratch- and abrasion resistant, and Bayer says they are "almost as good" as a glass surface, especially when cured with Apec HT. Glass/PC composites using only thin sheets of glass also help cut weight in glazing, although Uerdingen said handling such thin glass panes on an industrial scale is still a major challenge.
Functional surfaces such as radiator grilles are a challenge for plastics engineering. But despite varying requirements, texture and surface of plastic modules now can be produced in one operation, not only lowering costs, but making the finished product "more attractive." The body colour radiator of the Ford "Fiesta", mass produced through injection moulding against a pre-painted film, was developed by Bayer in cooperation with the carmaker and system suppliers Misselbeck and Avery Dennison.
Thin-wall moulding technology requires materials with extremely good flowability. Window frame trim of the Mercedes "E class" sedan is moulded with Bayer's "Durethan BKV 215 H" PA 6 in wall thickness down to 0.8mm. This saves material and is also "highly cost effective due to shorter cooling time and favourable demoulding behaviour," Bayer claims. Wall thickness of less than 2mm in instrument panel supports made of PC/ABS copolymer blend ("Bayblend") allow 50% weight reduction over talcfilled PP.
The German auto industry's committment to reclaim scrap vehicles free of charge will provide challenges for recycling-oriented design, with an eye to material compatibility and dismantling technology. While agreeing that the variety of materials can be reduced, Bayer believes the benefits of using different polymers with specific properties that can be modified to meet product requirements "should not be sacrificed in favour of single-material solutions that facilitate recycling," said the innovations chief.
READER SERVICE: Papers (with graphs) by Clausius, Uerdingen and Dr. Horst Martin Rothermel (Polyurethanes) from seminar "The motor car – Chemistry on four wheels" (all in English): PIE-No. 39941 (DEM 28.00) – Several Bayer press releases on plastics in automobiles: PIE-No. 39942 (DEM 28.00).
Representing more than DM 4.5bn in annual sales, the auto industry is Bayer's biggest customer after pharmaceuticals, and virtually all its business groups have dealings with it, even if indirectly. At a seminar on "The motor car – Chemistry on four wheels" in Leverkusen, Clausius and other members of the "AUTOcreative" liaison team Bayer set up in 1995 to deal with auto applications spotlighted technological solutions developed in cooperation with carmakers and system suppliers. These focus on making lighter and more fuel-efficient vehicles at lower cost.
As regards weight reduction, a breakthrough has been achieved in structural components, said Dr. Walter Üerdingen, head of innovation management for Bayer's plastics business group. The hybrid technology binding plastics and steel also lowers module costs and creates a high load-bearing capacity while allowing high energy absorption, he said. A steel and PA 6 GF instrument panel developed by the team Bayer-General Motors-Fisher Guide is now entering series production in the US. The technology is also used in components for doors, seats, front ends and bumper brackets.
One of the world's largest polycarbonate manufacturers, Bayer helped pioneer the substitution of PC for glass in headlamp lenses. The benefits of this polymer, in addition to reducing weight, are increased freedom of design in complex structures, colouring options, multifunctional design and good optical properties, said Uerdingen. PC lenses are used in models by BMW, Opel and Mercedes Benz. New coatings systems render plastic window glazing scratch- and abrasion resistant, and Bayer says they are "almost as good" as a glass surface, especially when cured with Apec HT. Glass/PC composites using only thin sheets of glass also help cut weight in glazing, although Uerdingen said handling such thin glass panes on an industrial scale is still a major challenge.
Functional surfaces such as radiator grilles are a challenge for plastics engineering. But despite varying requirements, texture and surface of plastic modules now can be produced in one operation, not only lowering costs, but making the finished product "more attractive." The body colour radiator of the Ford "Fiesta", mass produced through injection moulding against a pre-painted film, was developed by Bayer in cooperation with the carmaker and system suppliers Misselbeck and Avery Dennison.
Thin-wall moulding technology requires materials with extremely good flowability. Window frame trim of the Mercedes "E class" sedan is moulded with Bayer's "Durethan BKV 215 H" PA 6 in wall thickness down to 0.8mm. This saves material and is also "highly cost effective due to shorter cooling time and favourable demoulding behaviour," Bayer claims. Wall thickness of less than 2mm in instrument panel supports made of PC/ABS copolymer blend ("Bayblend") allow 50% weight reduction over talcfilled PP.
The German auto industry's committment to reclaim scrap vehicles free of charge will provide challenges for recycling-oriented design, with an eye to material compatibility and dismantling technology. While agreeing that the variety of materials can be reduced, Bayer believes the benefits of using different polymers with specific properties that can be modified to meet product requirements "should not be sacrificed in favour of single-material solutions that facilitate recycling," said the innovations chief.
READER SERVICE: Papers (with graphs) by Clausius, Uerdingen and Dr. Horst Martin Rothermel (Polyurethanes) from seminar "The motor car – Chemistry on four wheels" (all in English): PIE-No. 39941 (DEM 28.00) – Several Bayer press releases on plastics in automobiles: PIE-No. 39942 (DEM 28.00).
15.10.1996 Plasteurope.com [19808]
Published on 15.10.1996