Tepex is a series of continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites from specialty chemicals company LANXESS, which can be used for lightweight applications designed for structural components of passenger cars. Typically, these applications need to meet a very stringent set of requirements in a collision. For example, Tepex can be used to make a lightweight A-pillar designed for Porsche 3D hybrids, mainly used in convertibles, roadsters and other models, and has been applied to the Porsche 911 soft-top convertible for the first time.
This type of A-pillar contains an insert made of high-strength steel, the internal support of the insert is a molded blank made of polyamide-6-based TEPEX Dynalite 102-RG600 (2) / 47%, and Durethan Reinforced rib structure made of AKV30H2.0, the main raw material of Durethan AKV30H2.0 is polyamide 66 and short glass fiber. The entire hybrid insert is friction-bonded with L-5235 structural foam developed by L & L Products. Its strength and rigidity ensure that the A-pillar has the same anti-rollover ability as the original high-strength steel tube design. . This can reduce the center of gravity of the vehicle, thereby improving the dynamic performance of the vehicle and helping to save energy and reduce emissions.
"The excellent mechanical properties of this hybrid A-pillar prove that a hybrid insert based on structural foams such as L-5235 using steel plates, Tepex billets, Durethan polyamide 6 or polyamide 66 modified materials as post injection molding materials The lightweight design of the body structure provides huge performance potential. This material is especially suitable for electric vehicles, because the bulky batteries cause them to have a larger mass, and the weight reduction makes this process applicable to more electric vehicles. "LANXESS Henrik Plaggenborg, Head of TEPEX Automotive, High Performance Materials Business Unit (HPM) explained.
Other potential applications for this hybrid composite element include reinforced cross member longitudinal beams, B-pillar C-pillars, load-bearing battery components or door components, which are critical to vehicle safety.
One-step injection molding process
These hybrid composite components are developed and manufactured by L & L Products in the Strasbourg factory in Alsace, France. L & L Products is committed to innovating in the fields of static sealing, acoustics, vibration damping, structural reinforcement, and composite components, and is therefore renowned. The first step in the manufacture of reinforced components is the one-step molding of Tepex blanks using hybrid molding technology. Subsequently, the epoxy-based foam adhesive system was thermally expanded to cover the molded composite parts. After the cladding is completed, the components are directly mounted on the body, and both are processed by the cathode dip coating (KTL) process. The high temperature generated by the KTL process causes the structural foam to expand and bond to the high-strength steel plate fixed on the A-pillar shell, thereby producing a hybrid reinforced insert. Finally, the component will enter a fully automated production process developed by Porsche and undergo continuous quality inspection.
Boost parts design
As part of its HiAnt customer service, LANXESS provided comprehensive support for Porsche and L & L Products in the development of hybrid inserts and A-pillars. "We provide services such as simulating Tepex billet (hanging) forming, filling of the post-simulation injection process, and calculating warpage. We also determined the material properties to simulate the mechanical properties of the A-pillar and provided these data to Porsche." HPM Application development expert Marie Olivé said.
The first all-plastic brake pedal
In addition, Tepex dynalite has been used for mass production of another key safety component of Porsche-the brake pedal. With the help of a hybrid molding process, this material has been integrated into the Porsche 918 Spyder, Porsche Macan and Porsche Panamera NF. As the first mass-produced all-plastic brake pedal, the component won the first prize in the body interior category of the "2016 Automotive Innovation Award" organized by the Institute of Plastic Engineers (SPE) Central Europe Division.