With the continuous development of new plastic materials, plastics continue to expand in the field of automotive applications:
1 nanocomposite application
Thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO-based) nanocomposites are used in automotive interior and exterior decorative parts. The advantages are light weight, high dimensional stability, high strength and good low temperature impact resistance. TPO-based nanocomposite car treads have been used in General Motors cars, with high hardness, light weight, no brittleness at low temperatures and easy recycling.
Toyota used nano-polypropylene composite materials for the front and rear bumpers of the car, reducing the original bumper thickness from 4mm to 3mm and reducing weight by about 1/3. Toyota has also introduced polypropylene nanocomposites for automotive interiors.
The intervention of nanoparticles not only improves the strength, rigidity and toughness of the polymer, but also helps to improve the light transmittance, barrier property, heat resistance and UV resistance of the polymer. The market prospects for polymer nanocomposites are optimistic.
2 sprayable and spray-free plastic
The conductive polyphenylene ether/polyamide material developed by GE in the United States enables the body plastic parts to be cathodic electrophoresis together with the metal stamping parts (that is, to achieve full-line spraying), thereby eliminating the color difference between the non-metallic parts and the metal parts of the automobile body. .
In addition, the PC/PBT material and the SLX film used for manufacturing the automobile body panel are manufactured by the in-mold decorative injection molding process to manufacture the plastic body outer panel, the front and rear fender panels, and the rear compartment door, etc., to achieve the paint effect and reduce the production cost. This technology has begun to be used in the production of foreign car body panels.
