LANXESS at the VDI Plastics in Automotive Engineering congress
LANXESS will be focusing its appearance at the 2021 VDI Plastics in Automotive Engineering (PIAE) congress in Mannheim, Germany, on material and technology solutions for climate protection, the circular economy and lightweight design.
LANXESS sees opportunities to use its Durethan-branded polyamides and polyesters from the Pocan product range in powertrains of electric vehicles and in charging infrastructure. Potential applications include components for charging plugs, sockets and stations, as well as structural and cover elements in home charging stations. A wide range of dimensionally stable, flame-retardant, tracking-resistant and mechanically strong materials has been developed for components such as these.
Dr. Guenter Margraf, Head of Global Product Management at LANXESS’ High Performance Materials (HPM) business unit, said: “With a tailor-made material mix, we get the right material in the right place. At the same time, a high level of functional integration makes it easy to assemble the entire unit without any screws and using a minimal number of components, which keeps costs low."
Polyamides and polyesters are also good construction materials for assemblies that form part of driver assistance systems, such as radar sensors. For the latter, HPM has developed a design that allows heat to be dissipated by means of thermally conductive plastics in combination with metallic cooling elements. The sensor components are assembled using integrated snap fits and hot rivets, a process that is much less costly and time-consuming than using screws.
The Durethan ECO PA 6 compounds with recycled fibre content of 30%, 35% and 60% by weight are another topic that will be receiving a lot of attention on the LANXESS stand at the PIAE congress. The recycled fibres are made from post-industrial waste glass. The mass-balanced waste glass recycling is also certified according to ISCC-Plus.
The PIAE congress will also see HPM present innovations regarding hollow-profile hybrid technology that allows the functionalization of metallic hollow profiles with injection moulding compounds. Advantageous properties of the resulting lightweight components include far greater torsional stiffness and strength than components produced using the traditional plastic-metal hybrid technology with sheet metal.
Dr Matthias Theunissen, expert in lightweight design at HPM, said: “[T]he profiles no longer have to be supported against the high pressures of the molten plastic on the inside. The second phase of the market launch for our new lightweight technology has now begun.”
The VDI Plastics in Automotive Engineering congress will take place on 8-9 September at the Congress Center Rosengarten.