Product category:
Materials and components
News Release from: DuPont (UK) | Subject: Zytel
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 22 August 2003
Nylon resin saves weight in Porche SUV
The 2003 Porsche Cayenne's complex air intake manifold and rocker covers are made of glass-reinforced Zytel nylon resin, helping to save space and weight under the hood.
The 2003 Porsche Cayenne's complex air intake manifold and rocker covers are made of glass-reinforced Zytel nylon resin from DuPont, helping to save space and weight under the hood in Porsche's first model in the sports utility vehicle (SUV) sector The Porsche Cayenne's engine delivers up to 450bhp from a lightweight and compact yet powerful, V8 engine
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 18 Mar 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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The air intake manifold and the two rocker covers were developed jointly by Porsche, system supplier Mahle of Stuttgart and DuPont.
For all the air intake manifold components, Mahle used a special grade of 30% glass-reinforced Zytel nylon resin that is resistant to hydrolysis and hot oil and is also very heat stable.
As Zytel is easy to weld, the seams have high burst strength, even after ageing.
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Mahle carried out the mechanical, acoustic and manufacturing optimisation of the Porsche Cayenne V8 engine rocker covers.
DuPont provided technical support with CAD simulations of the mould filling process and calculations of the expected warpage and strength.
This helped to avoid sink marks and other surface defects.
Use of a 35% glass-reinforced grade of Zytel for the rocker covers ensures maximum rigidity for the overall construction, excellent resistance against oils and other aggressive substances, high heat and dimensional stability and low warpage.
The Cayenne's air intake manifold is manufactured with close tolerances to ensure a perfect fit.
It withstands temperatures up to 150C, fuels and other corrosive materials.
The manifold provides an optimised air supply for maximum power while simultaneously ensuring low noise radiation.
It was designed for high strength and rigidity to guarantee the long-term sealing of the system and to meet the tight specification of the twin-turbo engine.
Because it would have been impossible to achieve these characteristics at the same time using a single conventional manufacturing procedure such as the half shell or lost core moulding technologies, Mahle divided the air intake manifold into four components.
The resonance pipes, the flanges and the upper and lower plenum parts are all manufactured with comparatively simple and cost-effective tools and connected together.
Reinforced ribs on the inner side of the rocker covers guarantee long-term dimensional stability.
A high insert gasket groove also increases the rigidity of the construction.
Together with a high insert gasket, optimal sealing over a wide temperature range is achieved for these injection-moulded parts.
The comprehensive ribbing also reduces vibration.
Design innovation using DuPont Zytel meant that Mahle was able to minimise noise emission from the Porsche Cayenne's rocker covers.
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