· Lightweight design solutions have achieved a weight reduction of about 40%
· Replace metal with plastic-the car manufacturer's first plastic side cover
· Focus on material properties and optimize costs
Shanghai, December 8, 2021-LANXESS and the Chinese auto parts manufacturer HBTJ Automotive Parts Technology Corporation have developed the first glass fiber-reinforced polyamide 6 (PA6) for the world-renowned SUV and pickup truck manufacturers. Gearbox side cover. Compared with the original metal version (die-cast aluminum cover), the new version greatly improves the integration of different functional features.
As early as June 2017, LANXESS was invited by the manufacturer's Automotive Transmission Research Institute to join the institute's metal substitution project.
Lanxess's lightweight design and cost-saving solutions
Metal replacement in automotive under-hood (UTH) applications is one of the core R&D activities of LANXESS’ High Performance Materials (HPM) business unit. Since the introduction of plastic injection technology decades ago, the use of plastics in UTH and other fields has grown rapidly. This is a very cost-effective and one-step process. "This plastic side cover makes the design of injection molding more flexible and free, breaking through the design limitations of die-casting products, which has benefited us a lot." said Xu Junjie, project manager of the High Performance Materials (HPM) business unit.
LANXESS` advanced cost-saving solutions
In the past three years, polyamide 66 (PA66) materials have been in short supply worldwide. In this regard, the LANXESS HiAnt® team, which provides customers with comprehensive services at all stages of component development, proposed its own solution-replacing polyamide 66 (PA66) with polyamide 6 (PA6). Prior to this, LANXESS successfully assisted HBTJ to carry out the first plastic side cover project. Since then, the two companies have joined forces to develop products of the same quality but at a lower cost. In order to save costs, the two parties chose LANXESS Durethan® BKV35 H2.0 material. This is a PA6 material containing 35% glass fiber, which not only has the same mechanical properties as PA66, but also has a wider processing window, higher surface quality and excellent resistance to transmission oil.
Cutting-edge material alternatives
By increasing the glass fiber content, all required mechanical properties and size requirements can be met without any changes to the existing molds. The gearbox cover produced in this way has been sent to the car manufacturer for evaluation, passed all necessary tests, and is now in production. Using PA6 as a feedstock not only achieves a significant optimization of component costs while retaining the original functions, but also ensures a reliable supply of raw materials.
Support component design and part verification
In addition to high-tech thermoplastics, LANXESS also provides extensive technical know-how and experience, as well as cutting-edge design and simulation methods. Our experts actively contribute their engineering knowledge to customer projects. HiAnt® is an integrated service package of innovative lightweight solutions designed to help our customers achieve maximum performance while minimizing weight. In order to optimize the design, we use mathematical simulation methods to assist in the design and optimization of parts, which can provide a fairly accurate statement of part behavior. However, when making a clear statement about the functional capabilities of the part, it is usually still necessary to conduct experimental tests on the prototype.