Product category:
Materials and components
News Release from: Azdel | Subject: Azdel VolcaLite
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 22 April 2005
Composite answers automotive disposal
needs
Azdel VolcaLite composite has the added benefit of improved post-consumer incineration waste management in response to specific automotive industry needs.
A further advance in composite sheet performance from Azdel comes with the introduction of glass-free reinforced Azdel VolcaLite composite which brings the added benefit of improved post-consumer incineration waste management in response to specific automotive industry needs Azdel VolcaLite composite is produced and distributed by Azdel, a 50/50 joint venture of GE Advanced Materials and PPG Industries established in 1986
A new product technology, Azdel VolcaLite composite is a low pressure, thermoformable thermoplastic composite of polypropylene and long chopped basalt fibre.
An excellent candidate for automotive interior systems such as headliners, Azdel VolcaLite composite offers excellent acoustic absorption properties, low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), a high strength-to-weight ratio and excellent ductility.
Together with light weight, good dimensional stability and high impact resistance over a wide temperature range, Azdel VolcaLite may help engineers to design components that may contribute to vehicle weight reduction, while complementing part performance or aesthetics.
As well as potentially making weight savings of up to 50% possible in some components, Azdel VolcaLite composite may also deliver production advantages.
In headliners for example, this versatile composite sheet can be moulded directly in one step together with fabric, thereby eliminating the separate production steps required with traditional materials to add functional layers.
Moreover, because of its high strength-to-weight ratio, headliners can be constructed with ultrathin profiles, down to 3mm thick, less than half the thickness of conventional systems.
This combination of versatile performance properties makes Azdel VolcaLite composite an outstanding material for pre-assembled modular headliners.
It can enable an entire system to be mounted within a vehicle as a single assembly.
Of key importance, its light weight and low pressure formability, often using existing tooling, means that Azdel VolcaLite composite offers the possibility to reduce system cost by as much as 20%.
Furthermore, with its low weight, high stiffness-to-weight and ultrathin profile (3 to 5mm), Azdel VolcaLite composite has the potential to extend its value beyond headliners to a range of nonstructural interior panels and trims of varying thickness and stiffness.
Better moisture resistance and lower emissions of volatiles and gasses than traditional materials, reinforces the concept of its potential use for interior applications.
Azdel VolcaLite composite has been validated for headliner applications for incineration waste management and is available globally in four constructions and a range of densities and sizes.
Currently, Azdel VolcaLite composite is under evaluation with a number of Tier 1 automotive suppliers.
Azdel VolcaLite composite customers are provided with support in design, testing, moulding and prototyping to achieve excellent performance and weight reduction in automotive applications.
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