DSM Akulon® Ultraflow is an easy-to-process PA6. Compared with ordinary PA6, the flowability is increased by 80%, and the injection cycle is shortened by 40% without affecting the mechanical properties of the material.
Akulon® Ultraflow is used in many demanding products such as hoods, intake manifolds, exterior mirror housings, furniture and power tools. The significance behind Akulon® Ultraflow's faster flow is not just through faster cycle times, it is also equivalent to reducing system costs.
Akulon® Ultraflow Application Advantages: By achieving thinner wall thicknesses and fewer materials, engineers can gain more design freedom; more mold cavities mean lower production costs; on lower tonnage machines Shaped parts increase manufacturing flexibility. Improve the appearance of the surface, while reducing the need for painting; the range of replaceable metals has expanded, the weight of the product has been reduced, and its use in automobiles has reduced fuel and carbon accordingly.
Surface appearance
Compared with ordinary PA6, Akulon® Ultraflow provides better surface appearance and reduces secondary surface treatment processes such as paint processing and component rejection. In addition, the surface appearance of parts made of Akulon® Ultraflow 50-60% glass reinforced grades is similar to that of ordinary 30% glass reinforced PA6 parts. Under the condition of similar surface appearance, Akulon Ultraflow material adds more reinforcing materials. This excellent surface appearance is especially suitable for making thin-walled parts with high strength requirements.
Replace metal and plastic
The introduction of Akulon UltraflowK-FHG0 and Akulon UltraflowK-FHG12 significantly reduces the cost of metal replacement and provides a huge opportunity for metal replacement. The weight and noise reduction achieved by Akulon® Ultraflow contributes to the development of the entire value chain.
Akulon® Ultraflow also offers the option to replace high-temperature thermoplastics, which provides greater design freedom and can combine higher glass loads with thinner wall sections to achieve the same stiffness and dimensional integrity.
Akulon® Ultraflow can also save costs by replacing 30-40% glass fiber filled PPS or aramid, these products provide stiffness and / or appearance at operating temperatures above 100 ° C.
At a certain temperature, Akulon Ultraflow K-FGH0 or K-FGH12 can provide a harder, stronger and more attractive appearance than expensive engineering plastics.
Automotive Applications-Oil Pan
Especially in the area of metal alternatives, Mercedes and DSM's Tier 1 customer BBP, Kunststoffwerk Marbach Baier has proven this. The new Mercedes S-Class features a breakthrough oil pan made from DSM's unique Akulon® Ultraflow PA6: while meeting various performance standards, it weighs 50% less than its metal weight. Meeting the extreme performance requirements of oil pans is a challenge that DSM and Akulon® Ultraflow faced: this unique high-flow, oil-resistant, glass-fiber-reinforced polyamide releases our customers major processing and performance advantages-no Will affect mechanical properties.
For the Mercedes S-Class, DSM's research team worked closely with German BBP to perform a series of demanding application tests on the Akulon® Ultraflow oil pan. Akulon® Ultraflow oil pans have all reached the application level and are now in production. DSM believes that when more manufacturers see the benefits it can bring, they will adopt this technology. The fast flow of Akulon® Ultraflow is not only equivalent to faster cycle times and less warpage; but because the material can make the wall thickness thinner, it means less material is needed-which in turn provides engineers with more Design freedom.
Future prospects: one-piece oil pan systems
In the next few years, DSM expects to see the introduction of a hybrid oil pan integrated with the structurally loaded base plate to carry the load from the transmission system. It is expected that the entire module will be made entirely of thermoplastic parts and connected together using vibration welding technology .
Automotive Applications-MPC Engine Cover
Akulon® Ultraflow is a glass and mineral reinforced PA6 with excellent flow properties and low warpage.
Akulon® Ultraflow is DSM's glass and mineral-reinforced PA6 with excellent flow properties and low warpage. It offers a variety of advantages to an increasing number of automotive hood manufacturers, including U.S. automotive experts Micro Precision Components (MPC).
Every manufacturer wants products with excellent processing characteristics, minimal warpage, and excellent surface appearance. Akulon® Ultraflow provides all MPC standards. MPC chose Akulon® UltraflowK-FHGM24 (10% glass fiber reinforced material with 20% mineral filler) because it can produce much lower warped parts than other glass fiber reinforced mineral filled nylon. This results in significant costs, mainly because it is not necessary to employ a warpage-resistant cooling device immediately after the molding process.
Akulon® Ultraflow's faster flow also shortens the cycle time of the MPC plastic bonnet, further reducing system costs. And because this material can reduce wall thicknesses by up to 20%, less material is required to produce the part, giving engineers more design freedom. The combination of the material's outstanding mechanical properties with outstanding aesthetic properties prompted MPC to begin considering whether Akulon® Ultraflow is now available for other traditionally produced parts.