BOREALIS
Fibre reinforced PP used by VW in air intake manifolds / Weight reduction and increased sound damping achieved
 VW is the first automotive OEM to switch to reinforced PP for its air intake manifolds (Photo: Borealis) |
Volkswagen (Wolfsburg / Germany; www.vw.de) has become the first automotive OEM to switch from glass reinforced polyamides to PP for the air intake manifolds (AIMs) used on a wide variety of models it produces. Using the glass fibre reinforced PP compound “XMOD GB306SAF” from Borealis (Vienna / Austria; www.borealisgroup.com), VW and parts manufacturer Mahle Filter Systems UK (Telford / UK; www.mahle.com) claim to have improved production cost-efficiency and achieved both performance and environment-friendly benefits for the AIMs.
Borealis has worked in close co-operation with Mahle in providing material development and computer aided design and testing support, to ensure that the material will satisfy VW’s requirements, including lower system costs without significant change in tool and part design, better acoustic behaviour and use of an environmentally friendly material. Same-speed production with existing injection moulding processes and post-moulding techniques, such as direct screwing, was also specified.
“XMOD GB306SAF” is a high stiffness 35% glass fibre reinforced PP compound that offers long-term heat and chemical resistance, vibration resistance combined with high fatigue and a broad operating temperature between -40 °C and +120 °C. Existing manufacturing equipment and processes for AIMs can be used, Borealis said. In addition, it enables weight reductions for AIMs of up to 15%, while offering sound damping in excess of the current acoustic behaviour of AIMs.
“Plastic air intake manifolds are used in the majority of vehicles produced worldwide today because of the optimised air flow, design freedom and general reductions in weight and cost they offer over their metal counterparts,” comments Dennis Nicholls, project manager at Mahle UK. “However, rising under-the-hood temperatures, demands for improved function integration capability, noise reduction and ever-lighter components, plus the need to reduce our own and our customers’ overall system costs, means we have had to look beyond polyamides to meet these challenges.”
Borealis has worked in close co-operation with Mahle in providing material development and computer aided design and testing support, to ensure that the material will satisfy VW’s requirements, including lower system costs without significant change in tool and part design, better acoustic behaviour and use of an environmentally friendly material. Same-speed production with existing injection moulding processes and post-moulding techniques, such as direct screwing, was also specified.
“XMOD GB306SAF” is a high stiffness 35% glass fibre reinforced PP compound that offers long-term heat and chemical resistance, vibration resistance combined with high fatigue and a broad operating temperature between -40 °C and +120 °C. Existing manufacturing equipment and processes for AIMs can be used, Borealis said. In addition, it enables weight reductions for AIMs of up to 15%, while offering sound damping in excess of the current acoustic behaviour of AIMs.
“Plastic air intake manifolds are used in the majority of vehicles produced worldwide today because of the optimised air flow, design freedom and general reductions in weight and cost they offer over their metal counterparts,” comments Dennis Nicholls, project manager at Mahle UK. “However, rising under-the-hood temperatures, demands for improved function integration capability, noise reduction and ever-lighter components, plus the need to reduce our own and our customers’ overall system costs, means we have had to look beyond polyamides to meet these challenges.”
29.07.2010 Plasteurope.com [216892]
Published on 29.07.2010
German version of this article...