7 Jan 2007
GE Plastics’ Automotive Business Offers Dynamic Market Structure Geared Toward Meeting Evolving Industry Needs
Body & Glazing
For automotive manufacturers seeking to differentiate themselves with top technological advancements for automotive exteriors, GE Plastics’ Automotive business offers a variety of innovative solutions to rejuvenate design, reduce weight and minimise capital investment.
By adopting Lexan* polycarbonate resin for innovative new glazing designs, OEMs are finding ways to reduce weight and cost while enhancing the “open-air” experience for drivers and passengers. Larger glazed areas and wrap-around designs take glazing to a new level, helping to give drivers and passengers a better all-round view, while offering improved safety due to the outstanding impact resistance of Lexan resin. GE Plastics has turned imagination into reality with Lexan resin glazing that can reduce costs for integrated door windows and quarter window designs in complex shapes that traditional flat glass cannot deliver. Lexan resin glazing can offer weight savings of up to 50 percent versus glass and metal systems, while helping to lower the center of gravity for greater stability.
GE Plastics products for injection-molded vertical body panels also give customized painting options through all three traditional paint methods. Off-line solutions include paintable – or molded-in-color – Xenoy* resin panels. On-line and in-line painted body panels can also be manufactured from Noryl GTX* resins.
For exterior trim panels and panoramic roof surrounds, GE is helping drive cost out by eliminating the need for secondary paint operations with “no-paint” solutions. Advanced Lexan SLX film provides automakers with a ‘paint-free’ option that can deliver a Class A surface finish with deep gloss consumer appeal. Furthermore, the film has the ability to withstand prolonged exposure to UV rays with minimal fading, and offers greater scratch and chemical resistance when compared to similar films.
Exterior & Interior Components
From bumper to bumper, GE Plastics offers a wide variety of high performance engineering thermoplastics and composites for exterior and interior component applications. Geloy* XTW resin, for example, is a game-changing material that may deliver three- to five-times better color and gloss retention than conventional acrylic-styrene-acrylonitriles (ASAs), and comes in a spectrum of colors. More than additives, this revolutionary resin uses new polymer building blocks to dramatically improve weatherability in exterior applications. While molded-in color eliminates paint and hard coat, automakers can also achieve blacks that are deeper and darker, whites that are brighter and cleaner, along with an excellent depth of image that will be noticed and appreciated by auto consumers.
The Visualfx* resin solutions offers OEMs and molders reduction of total systems costs without compromising styling by eliminating metallic paints in exterior and interior trim. Visualfx resin is GE’s premium resin formulated with a variety of effects (i.e. luminescent, diffusion, and many more) inherent in the pellet to create colorful and exceptionally rich looking parts. Visualfx resins help designers to explore new boundaries without costly secondary paint and coating operations.
Lighting
The pristine, jewel-like appearance of today's headlamps are progressively more attainable in larger sizes, with augmented lighting functions, and increased heat requirements compared to just a few years ago. GE Plastics meet the demanding set of materials requirements for illuminating both roadways and pedestrians at high speeds and in inclement weather while maintaining an aesthetically pleasing design. Heat resistance, optical-dimensional stability and beautiful molded appearance are all hallmarks of GE’s engineering plastics that enable headlamp performance.
Automotive lighting components made from GE Plastics’ resins have proven to be tough, stylish, and durable against the demanding high heat requirements of today’s headlamps and fog lamps. Millions of vehicles worldwide already rely on standard Lexan resin and Ultem resin grades to help provide high impact resistance, heat resistance and clarity in headlight lenses, reflectors and bezels. Lexan XHT resins present an improvement in the balance of flow and heat resistance previously available for high heat lenses and bezels that require direct metallization and high surface quality, while permitting faster cycle times and greater productivity.
Ultem* XHT resin, also delivers extraordinarily high modulus, plus outstanding heat resistance to 225 C. Additionally, it offers exceptional dimensional stability, strength and durability, and presents opportunities for recycling. The lighting segment at GE continues to help light the way for the automotive industry of today and tomorrow.
Structural and Safety Systems
The experience of GE Plastics, Automotive in structural and safety systems is broad, encompassing new instrument panels, energy absorption systems, steering wheels, and headliners that include injection-molded Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) and solutions to meet Pedestrian Impact Protection requirements across the globe. Integrated front-end modules (FEMs) also support the development of lightweight all-plastic FEMs, along with advanced steel and plastics systems such as HydroPlast™ Structures and materials for use in integrated airbag designs.
With a new Instrument Panel program in the works, GE presents a stylish and safe solution with the seamless integrated airbag door instrument panel system made with Lexan EXL resin. Innovative design enables the seamless integration of the air bag door into the instrument panel, for outstanding aesthetics, while helping to contribute to safety by facilitating robust, fragment-free air bag deployment, even at –40 C.
HydroPlast structures are a metal / plastic hybrid solution that can combine the strength of steel with the low mass of plastics, all in a single cost-effective molding process. Because of its substantial savings potential, GE Plastics focused this innovation on large front-end structures to help lower weight and investment while reducing mass and parts integration. HydroPlast Structures and SmartLok™ Connections permit hydro-formed steel to be combined with engineering thermoplastic structures in a single molding process.
Additionally, GE Plastics has developed energy absorbing countermeasures that meet US FMVSS, US IIHS, Europe and Pacific Pedestrian Phase I and II requirements. GE is also developing Global EA solutions along with Xenoy iQ* resins which are available for the OEM's that require a more environmentally progressive solution.
Energy management technology from GE Plastics was first used on the Ford Escort in 1984. In 1998 GE was awarded Grand Prize from SPE for the Mitsubishi Gallant Azdel I-Beam bumper. In 2004 SPE awarded the Ford Xenoy bumper with Hall of Fame status and in 2005 the Suzuki Swift was recognized for automotive safety.
Powertrain
Powertrain and chassis high performance components also provide benefits that may reduce cost, weight, integrate parts, and maintain high dimensional stability versus metal.
Wire coating made with Flexible Noryl* resin meets the global automotive industry’s need for an ultra-thin high-performance wire/cable insulation that also meets the requirements for halogen-free parts. This unique technology helps meet international standards for recyclability – in contrast to cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) – allowing parts made with the new product to meet recycling and reuse requirements in Europe and Asia.
Electronic throttle bodies molded from GE’s high-heat Ultem resins may lower system cost and reduce parts by up to 30 percent, while eliminating machining and lowering weight by up to 50 percent when compared to traditional metal materials. The Ultem material can provide these benefits, while maintaining the high precision required in a throttle body. With a wide applications base ranging from air intake systems to engine covers to new flexible wire, GE Plastics offers a broad portfolio of engineering resins and composites designed to withstand automotive performance demands.
* Lexan, Xenoy, Noryl GTX, Geloy, Visualfx, Ultem, Xenoy iQ and Noryl are Trademarks of General Electric Company.
™ HydroPlast and SmartLok are trademarks of General Electric Company, Carlisle Engineering Products, Inc. and Vari-Form Inc.
Reader enquiries
GE Plastics, AutomotivePlasticslaan 1
4600 AC Bergen op Zoom
+31 164 29 31 48
anne.clement@ge.com