Product category:
Materials and components
News Release from: Sabic Innovative Plastics | Subject: HMD and HPPC
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 15 April 2005
Thermoplastics promise automotive
advances
Two new thermoplastics aim to enable automotive exterior body panels that offer a balance of lightweight performance, reliable properties against impact and competitive cost.
Two new revolutionary thermoplastic technology platforms in the works at GE Advanced Materials introduce a new chapter in the company's tradition of enabling automotive exterior body panels that offer a balance of lightweight performance, reliable properties against impact, and competitive cost High modulus ductile (HMD) and high performance thermoplastic composites (HPPC) may signal two advanced materials solutions for automotive engineers who require weight reduction, design flexibility, improved mouldability, and impact protection for large body panels
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 26 Feb 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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These technologies were developed to help respond to the growing demand from consumers to produce more stylish automobiles with greater interior space, higher speed, and optimised performance.
For decades, GE's expansive portfolio of high-performance resins has provided the foundation for the industry to address conflicting demands in a single application.
GE's commercial launch for its HMD and HPPC materials platforms carries on this tradition, and represents the latest step in the evolution of higher gloss, sexier silhouettes, and safer, lightweight cars.
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"Our role as a leading supplier of automotive thermoplastics has always been linked closely to our mission to be a world-class innovator of materials technologies", said Mutsuo Aoki, Market Director, Body Panels and Glazing, GE Advanced Materials.
"As the commercial release approaches for HMD and HPPC technologies, GE looks forward to expanding its scope of solutions for this fiercely demanding industry".
GE's HMD technology offers the potential for new and improved design flexibilities, parts reduction and enhanced integration for body panel applications.
The new HMD grades were developed to help address technology and design limitations imposed by material flow restrictions, and to improve on the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) seen from conventional materials used in current automotive body panels.
GE's HPPC also offers an excellent CTE performance, indicating that it will likely behave like aluminium and steel.
It is an excellent candidate for horizontal body panel applications, where it could deliver up to a 50% weight reduction compared with metals.
For the end consumer, this could represent a greater fuel efficiency, and higher performance in addition to excellent impact protection.
HPPC also offers a Class A finish and superb mouldability for unique designs and modern curves.
HPPC's ability to be moulded with low-pressure aluminium tools indicates that, compared with metal, the material could provide an excellent balance of cost and performance for horizontal body panel applications.
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