Plastics Engineering Plastics Engineering Plastics Engineering Plastics Engineering Plastics ...

88 Pages·2016·17 MB·English

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Plastics in Automotive: Lightweighting
with Composites
Heating up Under the Hood
• Blow Molding Innovation
• Anticipating K 2016
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CONTENTS
(cid:0) (cid:0)
VOLUME 72 NUMBER 8 SEPTEMBER 2016
FROM SPE
Preparing to reflect, and to forge ahead
6
By Wim de Vos
Digital processes, interconnectivity, Industry 4.0 and fast-changing
information technology are reshaping our industry. At the upcoming
K Show, we will pause to review the landscape while looking ahead
to assess where we are heading, as SPE prepares to enter its 75th
anniversary year in 2017.
DESIGN NOTES
Sustainable Eyeglasses from Down Under, with a German Flair
8
By Robert Grace
Australia’s Dresden Optics is aiming to produce low-cost, stylish,
recycled-plastic eyewear but a strong nod to German design and 8
manufacturing quality
Plastics in Automotive: Material Advances
COVER STORY
Power Drive
12
By Patrick Toensmeier
The desire to reduce vehicle weight is accelerating the development
and use of high-performance thermoplastics for underhood
applications
Automotive Composites: Mass Reduction for Mass Production
22
By Peggy Malnati
Reinforced plastics are lowering weight, improving handling and
performance, and boosting safety for passenger cars
12
K 2016 Preview
Gearing Up for the World’s Largest Plastics Show
28
By Jon Evans
To whet your appetite, we offer up a small sampling of the vast
array of innovative products and technologies that await the
200,000 visitors to K 2016 in Düsseldorf from Oct. 19-26
New Developments in Blow Molding
34
By Nancy D. Lamontagne
In early October, attendees will gather in Atlanta for SPE’s Annual
Blow Molding Conference. Get a sneak peek at some the advances
that will be on tap.
About the cover:
In this issue we turn a bright LED headlight (such as the one pictured on the
cover) on how advanced materials are reshaping the automotive industry.
(Photo courtesy of Bigstock; cover designed by SPE MarComm Team.) 22
www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | SEPTEMBER 2016 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 1
01-05 contents_editorial 8/19/16 8:51 AM Page 2

Driving PA66 Performance
in Automotive
Ascend Vydyne® PA66 is used in more than 75 automotive applications,
delivering unsurpassed performance, combined with weight and cost
savings.
Asc
Vydyne® PA66 allows OEM and Tier designers and engineers lead
to deliver optimal system performance with: expe
to m
• High dimensional stability and mechanical strength
• Long-term thermal resistance ®
Hydrolysis Resistance
• Chemical resistance
Radiator end tanks must
• Enhanced hydrolysis resistance
have excellent heat and hydrolysis
• Excellent creep and fatigue properties resistance as well as strong
dimensional stability. New Vydyne®
• Good tribological properties
delivers “best-in-class” thermal and hydro-ageing
• High and low temperature impact resistance
performance to provide superior hydrolysis
resistance for demanding automotive cooling
system components.

Emission systems (cid:3)
High-temperature Performance
Interior (cid:3)

(cid:3)Air bags
Powertrain (cid:3) (cid:1)Safety systems

(cid:1)Tire cord
Eco-friendly Performance

(cid:2)Clips & Fasteners
For fans and shrouds, new Vydyne®

R860 is an ‘eco-friendly’ reinforced
PA66 compound with post-industrial
(cid:2)Exterior
Cooling systems (cid:2) recycled content that delivers the right balance

between performance and economics.

To learn more visit: www.ascendmaterials.com/pa66auto

1010 Travis Street, Suite 900, Houston, TX 77002, United States [phone]

© 2016. ASCEND PERFORMANCE MATERIALS and VYDYNE are trademarks of Ascend Performance Materials Operations LLC.
These trademarks have been registered in jurisdictions throughout the world, including the United States of America and the European Community.
01-05 contents_editorial 8/19/16 8:51 AM Page 3

Ascend Performance Materials is the world’s largest fully integrated producer of nylon/PA66 resin and a global
leading supplier of nylon 66 fiber to the airbag and tire cord industries. With more than 60 years of PA66 materials
expertise, Ascend is strategically focused to help automotive manufacturers innovate and optimize their designs
to meet future regulatory, technical and cost requirements.

Hydrolysis Resistance E/E Performance for Severe Environments

Radiator end tanks must The increasing use of electronic controls and sensors

have excellent heat and hydrolysis is driving part miniaturization, closer contact spacing
resistance as well as strong and thinner metallic paths. Electrical neutral
dimensional stability. New Vydyne®PA66 HR-series Vydyne®PA66 R515J, R530J and R535J

delivers “best-in-class” thermal and hydro-ageing grades are ideal for these designs and

performance to provide superior hydrolysis components operating in harsh environ-
resistance for demanding automotive cooling mental conditions. Vydyne®electrical
system components. neutral grades are copper-free with no halogen
salt, which delays contact corrosion, and improves
E
High-temperature Performance dielectric resistance and CTI.

Charge air coolers in fuel-efficient
Heat Stabilized Performance
turbocharged engines demand
robust thermal ageing performance For transmission covers, oil pan covers and air intake
to meet design and operating conditions. manifolds new heat stabilized Vydyne®
New Vydyne®PA66 HT-series grades R862H provides the appropriate
provide high levels of resistance to prop- balance between functionality
erty degradation after long-term exposure and economics with its eco-
to this challenging environment. friendly recycled content.
ord
Eco-friendly Performance
Access the Latest

For fans and shrouds, new Vydyne®
Technical Information
R860 is an ‘eco-friendly’ reinforced
PA66 compound with post-industrial
Download the free Vydyne®PA66 automotive
recycled content that delivers the right balance
presentation at ascendmaterials.com/pa66auto
between performance and economics.
for more in-depth technical and application
information.
Vydyne®PA66 Solutions for Automotive
Global Performance A Global Leader in
uto PA66 Solutions for
Global OEMs and Tier suppliers trust Ascend Automotive
Applications
Performance Materials to deliver performance Interior (cid:3) Emission systems (cid:3)
with the highest quality materials,technical Powertrain (cid:3) (cid:3)Air bags (cid:1)Safety systems
Cooling Systems (cid:3)
and application development support, and (cid:1)Tire cord
supply assurance so they can manufacture (cid:2)Clips & Fasteners
(cid:2)Exterior
cost-effective, innovative products. ®
01-05 contents_editorial 8/19/16 2:39 PM Page 4
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
Technical Paper: Joining Technologies
How to Select the Right Process for Joining Your Underhood Parts
38
By Craig Birrittella
A variety of technologies exist to execute the welding and joining of
plastics parts. In this article, Branson Ultrasonics helps you to
determine which one is right for you.
CONSULTANT’S CORNER
Plastics — It’s All About Molecular Structure
44
By Jeffrey A. Jansen
Get a quick primer on some key aspects of polymer chemistry —
from polymerization, intermolecular bonding, molecular weight,
and the differences between crystalline and amorphous structure
28
PLASTICS MAKE IT POSSIBLE
Plastics Sustainability, through the Lens of Natural Capital Costs
50
By The American Chemistry Council
A new study by UK consultants Trucost PLC reveal that in some
key applications, plastics offer broad environmental advantages
over competitive materials. We crunch the numbers for you.
INSIDE SPI
Assessing the Brexit Impact, plus The FLiP Files
54
By SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association
SPI’s Michael Taylor takes a hard look at what the UK’s potential exit
from the European Union might mean to the U.S. plastics industry.
See also the latest person to be profiled in SPI’s Future Leaders in
Plastics (FLiP) files.
The Dawn of Commercial Thermoforming
38 58
By Stanley R. Rosen
Industry veteran Stan Rosen reflects on how the thermoforming
industry got its start some 80 years ago, and what developments
have helped shaped the modern-day thermoforming sector.
DEPARTMENTS
Industry News Market Place
64 80
Industry Patents Editorial Index
72 82
By Dr. Roger Corneliussen
Upcoming Industry Advertisers Index
76 84
Events
Energy-Saving Tip
78
64 By Dr. Robin Kent
4 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | SEPTEMBER 2016 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org
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06-07 From SPE_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 8/22/16 7:17 AM Page 6
FROM SPE
Preparing to reflect,
and to forge ahead
By Wim de Vos
ime flies by. The pace of innovation quickens. Product careers 20-30 years ago as
Tcycles shorten. Time to market accelerates. And every chemical or mechanical
day our plastics industry helps to advance these evo- engineers. In the future,
lutions. more of our industry’s lead-
The digitalization of processes continues and even virtual tech- ers are likely to come from
nologies can help us to speed up or skip certain steps in the old an information technology
product development processes. Time indeed goes so fast that background. The key
it seems as if NPE 2015 was only yesterday and the K 2013 show aspects of Industry 4.0 are
only last month, but K 2016 is already upon us. information, knowledge
No wonder the theme of this year’s K Show is Plastics Indus- transfer and networking.
try 4.0. Whilst information technology emerged at first to help Not surprisingly, SPE pro-
support some of our industry’s functions, IT now is taking over vides these same aspects —
some of our key functions, and playing a central role in both our although SPE’s knowledge
manufacturing and business processes. transfer and networking currently have a different perspective.
This also has and will continue to impact the types of people This brings us to how SPE will support the plastics industry
we need to run the processes in our factories. We used to need of tomorrow. And tomorrow = next year. In 2017 SPE will cel-
chemists, polymer engineers and mechanical engineers to ebrate its 75th anniversary — marking three-quarters of a
start up new machines, do new trials and run our operations. century of excellence in supporting the plastics and polymer
Human interpretation and manual adjustments always made industry and its individuals. The Oct. 19-26 K Show in Düssel-
a difference. This, for sure will not be the case tomorrow. dorf is a starting point for us to begin our reflection of the past
Our industry will need IT people to run our processes — 75 years and to assess what lies ahead.
whether to simulate product or mold design, calculate prop- This offers us an opportunity to reflect on those volunteers
erties, set up machine and leaders who made what SPE is today. We will acknowledge
parameters or such. All but not dwell on the past. We mostly want to reflect what our
this knowledge will be organisation should be in the next 75 years!
supplied by intelligent We want to have a dialog with you about our common
databases and software, future, how our industry will evolve, what resources it will
which will adapt and require, what kinds of knowledge will be needed and how it will
update our systems and be transferred. Most of all, we want to learn how can SPE con-
processes on a continu- tinue to be your go-to resource for finding whatever you need
ous, 24/7 basis. The in the polymer and plastics industry. From the K Show onward,
search for talent will shift we will be featuring our SPE logo in a Futuristic 75, which will
from finding the best remind us that SPE needs to remain the vehicle for this indus-
chemist or engineer to try for at least another 75 years.
employing the cleverest SPE — our past, our present, your future.
IT process person. _________________________________________________________
This is a paradigm shift. Please help us to reflect and to prepare for the future. Share your
Today, many of our plas- thoughts about the association, its history, and our industry’s
tics companies are led by future, in the Industry Exchange section of SPE’s online forum The
SPE CEO Wim de Vos CEOs who started their Chain: http://bit.ly/SPE_at_75
6 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | SEPTEMBER 2016 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org
06-07 From SPE_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 8/19/16 2:40 PM Page 7
08-11 Design Notes_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 8/19/16 8:53 AM Page 8
DESIGN NOTES
Sustainable eyeglasses from
Down Under, with a German flair
By Robert Grace
ack Piper and his colleagues at Dresden Optics Pty. Ltd. The company’s co-founders – Bruce Jeffreys and Jason
J
in Australia want to put a new face on the business of McDermott – describe themselves as frustrated glasses-
eyeglasses. At the same time, they believe strongly in wearers. Because, they note, glasses are annoying. “You lose
environmental stewardship and a circular economy. And so them, you break them. You scratch them. You forget them.
they’re doing their modest bit to drive that concept forward They’re fragile, expensive and hopelessly inconvenient.”
– one set of recyclable glasses at a time. Jeffreys and McDermott decided to do something about
it. They conceived the idea for a new type of eyewear com-
pany in late 2013 and opened their first shop in July 2015.
They were attracted to a craft excellence and to the German
approach to both design and manufacturing. “We admire
how Germany has maintained its traditions, yet has a hyper-
modern, progressive edge,” they said. Hence, the adoption
of the name Dresden Optics (after the German city of Dres-
den) for a startup company in the Sydney suburb of
Newtown.
The founders’ one rule when first assembling its new team,
explained Piper, the firm’s head of research and development,
was that no one was allowed to be from the optics industry.
Piper – the Canberra-born son of United Nations officials –
has lived all over the world, earned a structural engineering
degree from the University of Sydney and did his honors
research in water storage solutions for drought-stricken vil-
lages in the mountains of Nepal.
“Despite having no experience in manufacturing or plas-
tics,” he said recently, “we were determined to do it our
ourselves. The more we learnt about various methods of
manufacturing, the more we realized how much fun we could
have with injection molding. In our ignorance we assumed
that once you had a mold you could just throw anything you
liked in there so we started mucking around with recycled
Dresden Optics offers a single style of eyeglass frame, with
plastics and bioplastics and realized that though anything
interchangeable parts. It prides itself on its vast array of col-
ors – some are one-of-a-kind because they choose not to might be a bit strong, there was a lot out there that we could
fully purge the injection press between runs. get away with.”
8 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | SEPTEMBER 2016 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org