DSM showcases latest automotive and mobile phone applications for its engineering plastics

Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Material Sciences company, will feature numerous new applications in automotive, mobile electronics and electrical equipment that incorporate its engineering plastics for high performance, low weight, and improved sustainability at PlastIndia 2015 (5th to 10th February, Gandhinagar, Gujarat). For the automotive sector, a major highlight is a new generation of Diablo high temperature resistant grades in DSM’s Stanyl® polyamide 46 and Akulon® polyamide 6 portfolios. The new Diablo grades are aimed at such engine compartment applications as air intake manifolds with integrated ducts and charge air coolers (CACs). The latest version of Stanyl Diablo polyamide 46 is able to withstand a continuous use temperature of 230°C, while the new Akulon Diablo withstands a 220°C continuous-use temperature. Equally important, both new grades have improved resistance to short-term high temperature peaks. Other innovative automotive applications on display include a composite fuel tank for two- and four-wheeled vehicles running on methane or hydrogen, and an award-winning crankshaft cover. The fuel tank is a pressure vessel made by wrapping a high-barrier liner blow molded in DSM’s Akulon® Fuel Lock polyamide 6 inside a continuous fiber reinforced plastic shell. It is around one third the weight of a steel tank, and so enables a substantial improvement in fuel-efficiency. It is even possible to use thermoplastics such as DSM’s high performance EcoPaXX® polyamide 410—which is derived from renewable resources—in the shell, rather than a traditional thermosetting resin. EcoPaXX® has just won an award in another automotive application, a lightweight multi-functional crankshaft cover. The part came top in the Powertrain category in the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Automotive Division Innovation Awards Competition. The EcoPaXX crankshaft cover is produced by DSM’s automotive component specialist partner KACO in Germany for the latest generation of diesel engines developed by the Volkswagen Group. It weighs around 40% less than a crankshaft cover with similar geometry made in aluminum. DSM is also emphasizing its extensive offering for Electrical and Electronics (E&E) applications, especially in mobile communications. For example, the company has new solutions that answer growing requirements for size reduction and thinwalling, for halogen-free flame retardance, and for heat management. On the DSM stand, visitors will be able to talk with experts about the latest options for such components as connectors, bezels and frames, enclosures, wire and cable, antennas and splitters. Elsewhere in E&E, DSM has taken a leading position in the development of halogen-free flame retardant high performance polyamides that provide a more efficient, cost-effective and environment-friendly alternative to glass-reinforced thermoset composites in molded case circuit breakers (MCCBs). DSM also has various innovative solutions for LED lighting, including thermally conductive compounds which can be used to produce heat sinks that are easier to make, lighter and more functional than aluminum versions: leading lighting producer Osram recently started using DSM’s Stanyl TC compound based on polyamide 46 for heat sinks in a new series of LED down lights, for example. DSM has halogen-free materials for wire and cable too, including its Arnitel thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) for electrical and communications cables. Arnitel is also at the heart of new breakthrough technology developed by DSM for the medical sector. Arnitel VT provides very high levels of protection against contagious viruses coupled with breathability for wearer comfort when used as a single-layer membrane laminated to fabric in disposable medical gowns and drapes.