GE, Azdel Debut New Materials For Automotive Composites
By Staff | June 01, 2005
GE Advanced Materials (Pittsfield, Mass.) has developed two new thermoplastic resin combinations formulated to facilitate product design flexibility and improve moldability in addition to reducing weight and strengthen impact resistance in large automotive body panels. The first, based on the company's High Modulus Ductile (HMD) technology, is available in three grades: a polycarbonate/ABS resin, a polycarbonate/polyester resin and a higher temperature polyamide/polyphenylene ether (PA/PPE) resin, all available with proprietary nanofillers. The HMD family has higher stiffness but lower coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) than existing thermoplastics, and exhibits less anisotropic behavior, says the company. The higher-temperature grade can be painted online.
The second new material, High Performance Thermoplastic Composites (HPTC), is essentially a sandwich with a glass fiber core and thermoplastic skins based on polycarbonate/polyester and PA/PPE resins, which can be molded with low-pressure aluminum tools. HPTC is intended for large surface, horizontal body parts (e.g., hoods and roof modules).
A 50/50 joint venture of GE Advanced Materials and glass-fiber producer PPG Industries (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Azdel Inc. (Southfield, Mich.) has introduced VolcaLite, a thermoformable thermoplastic composite that combines polypropylene (PP) and long chopped basalt fiber. The company, a supplier of glass mat thermoplastics (GMTs), claims that the basalt/PP system offers acoustic absorption properties, low CTE, and a high strength-to-weight ratio, providing good ductility. It is initially targeted for auto headliners, which can be made 50 percent thinner as compared to conventional systems, says the company.
