Phenolics set stiff pace under the hood. (Thermosets/Composites Close-Up).* The air-intake manifold on a highend European car may be one sign of a renaissance for phenolics. This "old-style" thermoset A polymer-based liquid or powder that becomes solid when heated, placed under pressure, treated with a chemical or via radiation. The curing process creates a chemical bond that, unlike a thermoplastic, prevents the material from being remelted. See thermoplastic. has been losing ground for decades to engineering thermoplastics. Although glass-reinforced nylons dominate injection molded automotive intake manifolds, a new manifold for the eight-cylinder BMW 7 series The BMW 7 Series is a line of full-size luxury vehicles produced by the German automaker BMW. It replaced the "New Six" models in 1977. It is BMW's flagship car and is only available as a sedan. (735i and 745i) is made of phenolic phe·no·lic adj. Of, relating to, containing, or derived from phenol. n. Any of various synthetic thermosetting resins, obtained by the reaction of phenols with simple aldehydes and used as adhesives. . Development of this application was a joint effort of BMW BMW in full Bayerische Motoren Werke AG German automaker. Founded as an aircraft engine manufacturer in 1916, the company assumed the name Bayerische Motoren Werke and became known for its high-speed motorcycles in the 1920s. Group in Germany, system supplier Pierburg AG, injection molder Baumgarten GmbH, and materials supplier Vyncolit N.V. of Belgium. The intake manifold was initially prototyped in glass-reinforced PPS (Packets Per Second) The measurement of activity in a local area network (LAN). In LANs such as Ethernet, Token Ring and FDDI, as well as the Internet, data is broken up and transmitted in packets (frames), each with a source and destination address. and PPA PPA 1. Palpation, Percussion & Ausculation 2. Pittsburgh pneumonia agent 3. Postpartum amenorrhea 4. Price per accession 5. Pure pulmonary atresia (a high-temperature aromatic nylon). Ultimately, the housing was molded in Vyncolit X7250 phenolic filled with glass fibers and beads. One reason is that it retains high stiffness at 140 C (284 F) despite an average wall thickness of only 2.5 mm. Room-temperature flex modulus is 120,000 Mpa (1.74 million psi). Maximum temperature exposure of the housing is 338 F. The phenolic housing is injection molded in nine pieces, which are bolted together. Eight single-piece rotors are mounted inside the phenolic housing. They are injection molded of Vyncolit X6952 phenolic with 55% glass fiber, which has even higher stiffness than the housing material. They withstand heat exposure up to 356 F. The complete unit weighs 11.88 lb, including metal inserts. The whole assembly fits inside a magnesium outer shell. Phenolic renaissance Vyncolit sources see the BMW manifold as one example of a revitalizing of phenolic applications under the hood under the hood - [hot-rodder talk] 1. The underlying implementation of a product (hardware, software, or idea). Implies that the implementation is not intuitively obvious from the appearance, but the speaker is about to enable the listener to grok it. . This market is growing 15%/yr in Europe, says Henny van Dijk, president of Vyncolit North America. After its recent acquisition of Rogers Corp.'s Moldable Composites Div., Vyncolit NA opened a Technical Market Development Center near Detroit. Vyncolit specializes in high-end glass-filled phenolics for metal replacement. Van Dijk cites growing applications in automotive water pumps, temperature-regulator modules, fuel pumps, transmission reactor/stators, and commutators. Promising applications in development include air-conditioner compressors and throttle bodies. NEED TO KNOW MORE? Vyncolit North America Inc., Farmington Hills, Mich. (248) 848-0478 www.vyncolit.com |
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