Blow Molding applications
COST-EFFICIENT EXTRUSION AND 3D SUCTION BLOW MOLDING MATERIALS
The combination of tailor-made engineering plastics with comprehensive engineering expertise is the key performance promise of the High Performance Materials business unit. Our many years of expertise in the automotive sector form the basis for our engineering plastics portfolio for blow molding applications.
Especially for extrusion and 3D suction blow molding, we offer materials for the reliable and cost-efficient production of hollow plastic bodies in a wide range of automotive applications. These include air ducts in the engine compartment as well as liners for gas tanks such as those used in CNG and fuel cell vehicles. The materials are also used in smaller monolayer tanks for liquid fuels with high requirements regarding barrier performance.
LANXESS AG
The fiberglass-reinforced materials offer high rigidity and very good resistance to pressure changes. Of course, these properties are still ensured even at high temperatures; with the XTS2 high-temperature stabilization, you can even use our materials at continuous operating temperatures of up to 230°C without any problems. Materials especially optimized for suction blow molding offer you excellent surface quality and a wide processing window.
Experience from numerous projects has also shown that the materials can be perfectly welded with Durethan®injection molding grades and that fasteners can therefore be safely implemented. A great advantage for assembly at a later stage.
Recommended materials:
Hot side:
Durethan®AKV320ZH2.0
Cold side:
Durethan®BKV320ZH2.0
Durethan®BKV315ZH2.0
©Gudellaphoto - stock.adobe.com
Bellows / flexible ducts:
Durethan®BC700HTS
Stiff ducts:
Durethan®BKV315ZH2.0
©Grispb - stock.adobe.com
Type IV tanks are commonly used today for high-pressure gas storage systems for mobile applications. These tanks weigh only a quarter of the weight of a conventional steel tank (Type I) and consist of an outer fiber composite structure that ensures mechanical strength and an inner liner as a gas barrier.
The liner thus prevents the stored gas from escaping and ensures the tightness of the tank system. Our blow-moldable Durethan®polyamides have an excellent barrier against gases such as natural gas and hydrogen. This is many times higher than, for example, with HDPE.
In addition to the barrier, toughness at low temperatures is an important criterion for the liner material.
Our Durethan®blow molding products, especially developed for these conditions, meet these requirements excellently and have already proven themselves many times in series production for CNG vehicles.
Durethan®BC550Z DUSXBL in particular also has excellent melt stiffness. This means that even very long liners, e.g. for transport applications and public transport, can be manufactured in high quality.
Please also note our technical information on high-pressure storage systems.
Recommended materials:
Durethan®blow molding materials are ideal for the production of small fuel tanks, for example for motorcycles, ride-on mowers, quads, snowmobiles and gasoline-powered garden tools.
The main motivation is the very good barrier behavior of the special Durethan®blow molding grades against fuels. Since this is many times better than with HDPE, tanks can be produced extremely economically using the single-layer process. Additional special barrier layers are no longer required and the overall wall thickness can be significantly reduced – a clear advantage for our customers.
Tanks made of these materials meet the stringent requirements of both the U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) for fuel tanks outside the automobile and the ECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) for permeability to hydrocarbons.
In addition, unlike aluminum, for example, they are also resistant to biofuels containing ethanol, resulting in safe, reliable components.
For even more complex geometries, the same material can also be injection-molded.
Recommended material:
Especially the soft and flexible grades are able to replace flexibilized PA12, providing a cost-efficient and robust material alternative. Moreover they can be processed on the same equipment, therefore an easy changeover can be realized. Get in touch with us if you would like to learn more.
Typical applications are cable protection tubes and fluid lines.
Recommended materials: