New material aids higher-precision gap management for automotive body panels while reducing overall vehicle weight

27-Jun-08

In a bid to counter rising steel prices, SABIC Innovative has introduced Noryl GTX resin that delivers 25% lower coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) than previous grades, enabling higher-precision gap management for automotive body panels, at the same time helping to reduce overall vehicle weight. SABIC Innovative Plastics' investment in high-performance materials solutions such as sheet-metal replacement technologies provides automotive suppliers and OEMs with innovative solutions for improving quality and reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The new conductive Noryl GTX 977 resin grade enhances dimensional stability for consistently precise part alignment in hot weather or sunlight. Improved CTE combined with retention of good impact and stiffness properties makes Noryl GTX resin the ideal candidate for larger vertical body panels such as fenders and tailgate skins where weight savings can be significant. Lowering the CTE of a resin through the use of mineral fillers often leads to reduced impact resistance. However, through proprietary technology, the SABIC Innovative Plastics team was able to achieve a significant reduction of Noryl GTX resin's CTE - dropping 25 percent from nine to seven - while largely maintaining its excellent impact resistance and stiffness. This balance of properties provides enhanced dimensional stability to minimize expansion behavior of large parts in hot weather or strong sunlight without sacrificing the high performance required by body panels. Unlike competitive solutions that lack conductivity and require either offline painting or primers, Noryl GTX 977 resin is designed for on-line electrostatic painting and delivers a Class A finish. Its conductivity improves paint transfer efficiency and coverage, and it can be processed using e-coats at bake temperatures of 200-210 °C (392-410 °F). As a result, using Noryl GTX resin can help manufacturers reduce time and costs by avoiding the need for special operations and allows them to receive the highest standard of quality and unmatched innovation.