Rhodia Polyamide's Technyl® Polyamide Engineering Plastics have been used for a number of components in the new super compact Fiat 500 city car - voted 'Car of the Year 2008'. Technyl® Polyamide Engineering Plastics offered significant benefits including weight reduction, the design of compact parts with function integration and cost reduction for the Fiat's super compact car. The large material range offered by Rhodia Polyamide represents the ideal route to metal replacement, with the possibility to provide a two-thirds weight reduction compared with steel and a cost saving by as much as 30%.
Rhodia's Technyl® Polyamides were considered ideal materials for components such as the air intake manifold and cooling fans in the engine compartment, fuel filler pipes, pedals, gear lever housing and rear mirror support. Several of Rhodia's Polyamide materials were developed as application-specific in close co-operation with Fiat engineers. For under-the-bonnet applications, Rhodia's Technyl® polyamide materials were selected due to their excellent thermal resistance, as well as their retention of mechanical properties over the lifetime of the vehicle.
Rhodia's Technyl® Polyamide materials, designed for external parts, passed the Fiat standard for resistance to the degrading effects of prolonged exposure to UV light. Additionally, the excellent surface finish achievable with many Technyl® grades, allowed greater design freedom in matching the requirements of both end users and Tier 1 suppliers. In respect of the Fiat 500 project, Rhodia also co-operated with Tier 1's on part design, providing solid technical support that included Finite Element Analysis, design optimisation and part testing.
11-Oct-08 
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