Toray Industries, Inc., has developed a new damping nylon resin with improved levels of high-temperature rigidity and moldability compared to standard nylon. The new material delivers four times the damping performance of butyl rubber and other conventional options. Toray is hoping to commercialise its new solution during the fiscal year ending on the 31st of March 2027.
Toray Industries
Toray Industries launches new nylon resin material.
The company has been supplying its users with a variety of components aimed at enhancing comfort in electric and autonomous vehicles. Given the already reduced engine noise provided by electric vehicles, the demand for decreased road noise is expected to continuously rise, both inside and outside the vehicle. Rubber-based materials like butyl rubber are a preferred material to achieve this, with standard thermoplastic resins falling short of customer demands.
However, there is a lack of thermoplasticity with these materials, making them unsuitable for secondary processing like forming complex shapes and parts. Additionally, said materials also struggle to maintain hardness and rigidity at temperatures up to 120°C.
As a result, Toray decided to explore polymer alloys combining nylon with resins. This provides a material with high-temperature rigidity and moldability with improved vibration damping. Leveraging its NANOALLOY technology, Toray can achieve a co-continuous structure, ensuring each resin phase forms a continuous network at scales of 100 to 300 nanometers.
By utilising this technology, Toray can achieve a loss tangent (which indicates damping performance) approximately 28 times higher than standard nylon resins and four times higher than butyl rubber. Additionally, the material demonstrates 80 times greater high-temperature rigidity compared to butyl rubber while maintaining high levels of vibration damping.
Where can the new material be used?
- Gaskets and seals, replacing flexible butyl rubber.
- Covers and larger structural components like chassis housings to promote noise suppression.
- Mobility components, electrical and electronic parts, industrial equipment, and construction materials.