LANXESS Polyamide 66 for water injection technology

April 15, 2009 - PRLog -- Water injection technology (WIT) is increasingly developing into an attractive and cost-effective production method for pipes in car cooling systems. Examples of this trend include double pipes, nozzles and cross pipes that HEYCO GmbH & Co. KG manufactures for the cooling circuit of gasoline engines such as the Audi 2.0l TFSI and 3.0l V6 TFSI. This Remscheid-based company, which has made a name for itself throughout the world as a supplier of products and engineering services for metal and plastics processing technologies, uses Durethan DP AKV 30 X HR EF. This polyamide 66 from LANXESS is specially made for WIT.

“It can be used to manufacture components that have complex geometries with cross-sectional flat areas, numerous branches and large angles in a stable process with short cycle times,” explains Juergen Selig, project manager for engine compartment parts in LANXESS’s Semi-Crystalline Products business unit.

HEYCO also opted for Durethan DP AKV 30 X HR EF because of its excellent strength and impact resistance. These are important as the cooling pipes are subjected to high temperatures and pressures while also being impacted by the water/glycol mixture. In contrast, comparable mineral-filled PA 66 grades for WIT exhibit a poorer mechanical perfor­mance. LANXESS’s PA 66 grade owes its outstanding toughness and stiffness to factors such as a special glass-fiber mix that makes up around 30 percent of the weight of the plastic. The glass-fiber mix was developed by LANXESS itself, one of the largest European manu­facturers of glass fibers.

Another advantage of the glass-fiber-reinforced PA 66 lies in its excellent melt displacement behaviour, thus making thin walls easier  to manufacture. The material also provides smooth, flawless interior surfaces and visually appealing exterior surfaces.

The predominant process for producing coolant pipes from polyamide in particular has until now been gas injection technology (GIT). The attraction of the WIT process lies in the fact that it can be used to cut cycle times by up to 50 percent over the standard GIT process, depending on the component geometry. Larger cavity diameters with more uniform residual wall thicknesses are also possible. Because of these benefits, LANXESS is continuously expanding and optimizing its product range for WIT. The new product Durethan TP 424-009 was recently made available for customers for mold proving. This PA 66 is also reinforced with 30 percent glass fibers and designed to be easy flowing. “It enables production of even better component surfaces, without any compromises having to be made in process reliability and pressure, temperature and hydrolysis resistance,” says Selig.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.58 billion in 2008 and currently around 14,800 employees in 21 countries. The company is represented at 44 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manu­facturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals. More information at http://www.lanxessgoesasia.com.

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LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.58 billion in 2008 and currently around 14,800 employees in 21 countries. The company is represented at 44 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manu­facturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals. More information at http://www.lanxessgoesasia.com.