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Alternatives for PA 6.6 automotive applications
The company aft automotive GmbH is an innovative supplier of functional components and pipe systems in the area of fluid routing and fluid control for the automotive industry.
For the area of non-return valves/steam jet ejectors, aft has for years relied on, among others, PA 6.6 with 30% glass fibres, a material well established on the market. The material meets the high requirements of the VW standard 50133 (PA 6.6 for finished parts outside the vehicle interior); furthermore, it is characterized by an excellent surface texture and is resistant to substances that occur in the blow-by area according to PV 3936-A.
The challenge
PA 6.6 shortage requires substitute material
In the course of the worldwide PA 6.6 shortage, AKRO-PLASTIC GmbH developed AKROMID® B+ compounds based on PA 6, which close the property gaps between PA 6.6 and PA 6 and at the same time provide an attractive cost advantage as well as an increased security of supply compared to PA 6.6. These products were presented at the well known Kunststoff DIA(hr)LOG® 2018 and immediately raised interest of the participants. On the very same day, application engineers from aft considered our B+ for new applications.
AKROMID® B+ GF 30 6 black (7387) could easily be processed on the existing equipments of the manufacturing aft. Only minor adjustments to the injection parameters were necessary to optimize the surface quality. Internal burst pressure and leakage tests at aft were all positively approved, so that the new material was presented to VW and then successfully released.
Both the mechanical properties according to VW 50133 (Table 1) and the comparable results of PV 3936-A (tensile strength, strain at break, notched impact strength) convinced aft to establish AKROMID® B+ GF 30 6 black (7387) for the valves .
With AKROMID® B+ GF 30 6 LT black (7665) AKRO-PLASTIC developed a laser-transparent version, so different compounds can be laser welded. At aft, further OEM approvals are being targeted for this new material composition. Furthermore, other possible applications are still being considered.
