Resin offers auto industry wire coating solution

In its first application for the global automotive industry, Flexible Noryl resin was selected by Delphi Corp as a wire and cable coating for the company's vehicle electrical systems.

In its first application for the global automotive industry, GE's Flexible Noryl resin was selected by Delphi Corp as a wire and cable coating for the company's vehicle electrical systems.

Delphi's Packard Electric Division chose GE's Flexible Noryl resin to meet a global automotive manufacturer's need for high-performance cable that also addressed the requirements for halogen-free parts.

Flame-retardant Flexible Noryl resin may now offer the auto industry a new wire coating solution that provides superior properties compared with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) and is an excellent candidate for thin- and ultra-thin-wall coatings that significantly reduce weight and size and meet halogen-, chlorine-, and lead-free part requirements.

"Delphi's collaboration with GE Advanced Materials has been strong.

Our combined efforts allowed Delphi Packard to meet a customer's need for a better environmental alternative to current offerings, one that also provides benefits in weight and bundle size, without compromising durability", said Lynn Long, Business Line Manager for Specialty Wiring, Delphi Packard Electric.

"GE worked closely with our team to help us understand the range of options and find the right formulation, and provided at least 20 different options to ensure all of our requirements were met.

GE's product engineers have been very responsive in this development, which we feel will strengthen our ability to provide differentiating technology within our electrical/electronic systems business".

As consumers demand ever more sophisticated and feature-loaded vehicles, the global automotive industry faces growing challenges to balance these expectations with space constraints and weight concerns.

Every component receives scrutiny to determine if it can be made smaller and lighter to promote fuel efficiency and performance and help fit more content into the available space.

In addition, vehicle manufacturers and suppliers must increasingly consider environmental concerns such as recyclability, as well as overall performance.

GE's Flexible Noryl resin provides the key properties that Delphi Packard Electric sought, including excellent temperature and flammability performance, and less size and weight compared with other materials.

For example, GE's Flexible Noryl resin is rated at 110C, whereas PVC is rated at 85C, and further developments should boost the GE resin's rating to 125C.

Using the GE material to replace traditional cable insulation also helps reduce weight by an average of 25%, helping to address vehicle space limitations.

To help reduce weight in support of better vehicle fuel efficiency, the new Delphi cable uses GE's Flexible Noryl resin for ultra-thin-wall insulation, which enables smaller wire/cable size.

For example, replacing standard 0.4mm thin-wall cable insulation made of XLPE with 0.2mm ultra-thin-wall insulation made of Flexible Noryl resin results in a size reduction of approximately 25%.

Delphi is validating the use of GE's Flexible Noryl resin as insulation on cable as small as 26 gauge (0.13mm2).

Another benefit of smaller cable bundle size and mass for automotive OEMs is the opportunity to use less tape and secondary covering, potentially leading to lower costs.

In addition to meeting the requirement for halogen-free parts, wire coating made with GE's Flexible Noryl resin helps meet international standards for recyclability: the European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) directive; the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) standards; and Japan's Automotive Recycling Law of 2005.

This is an important consideration for Delphi, which is committed to supporting environmental initiatives, as demonstrated by its leadership role in eliminating heavy metals in colourants used in cable production.

Using less material to achieve the same or better performance also supports environmental initiatives aimed at reducing waste.

The new GE material offers additional performance advantages, including better abrasion resistance than XLPE, excellent chemical resistance, and lower specific gravity (1.03) than either PVC or PE.

They meet the requirements of Class A and B wire heat aging, with Class C requirements in the final stages of development.

For wire and cable manufacturers, these resins also offer easy processing and faster throughput, as they do not require crosslinking.

"Our new Flexible Noryl resin materials are a perfect example of GE's development innovation", said Keith Dont, Market Director, Under the Hood, GE Advanced Materials, Automotive.

They offer our customers an entire spectrum of advantages over traditional materials - not just performance enhancements, but also answers to tough design challenges and environmental issues".

"We're pleased to be working with Delphi Packard Electric to explore the tremendous potential of this material".

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