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SABIC Innovative Plastics, has collaborated with Swiss software maker KISSsoft AG to take the guesswork out of plastic gear design. To accelerate the trend toward replacing metals with high-performance, durable and versatile thermoplastic compounds, KISSsoft is now applying gear sizing calculations for 17 grades of SABIC Innovative Plastics' LNP* specialty compounds, including high-temperature, internally lubricated and fiber-reinforced grades. Now, engineers and designers can replace trial and error with validated data on parameters such as strength, temperature resistance and tooth flank wear to significantly streamline their gear design process. This new solution can help a wide range of industries, from healthcare and automotive to food services, leverage the advantages of plastic gears to reduce system cost, greatly expand design freedom, lower weight and deliver higher performance.
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"A major roadblock to designing plastic gears has been the lack of reliable data," said Dr. Stefan Beermann, CEO KISSsoft AG. "Sizing calculations for metal gears cannot be applied to plastics because plastics' performance properties can vary with temperature. Our work with SABIC Innovative Plastics has enabled KISSsoft to incorporate the properties of a large group of the company's high-end compounds into our calculation software, radically simplifying the gear design process. Whether the gears are for cable car systems, construction equipment, Formula 1 race car transmissions or spacecraft, customers can now select and evaluate SABIC Innovative Plastics' specialty compounds quickly and accurately."
Many Benefits from Plastic Gears
Metal-to-plastic conversion represents a major trend and a significant improvement in gear technology. Plastic gears deliver a number of improvements over traditional metal, beginning with significantly enhanced design freedom. Molding instead of machining enables new configurations while avoiding the costs of secondary operations. The lighter weight of plastics also reduces inertia for greater gear efficiency. Additionally, moving plastic parts are significantly quieter than metal, helping to reduce ambient noise from machinery.
"SABIC Innovative Plastics has always been proactive in adding value to our materials portfolio to help customers achieve the best results in the shortest time," said Rob Janssen, technical marketing product specialist, SABIC Innovative Plastics. "By collaborating with industry experts such as KISSsoft to provide validated engineering data, we make it easy for customers to design new applications with our materials and take them to market quickly. KISSsoft's software with data on LNP specialty compounds is a powerful new tool for wide-scale conversion of gears to high-performance thermoplastics."
Designing Better Gears with LNP* Specialty Compounds
The first group of SABIC Innovative Plastics' LNP materials to be validated includes reinforced grades using short and long glass fibers and carbon fibers, various lubricant technologies and eight different base polymers. Data for these grades, provided by SABIC Innovative Plastics, include temperature-dependent values for modulus, static bending strength and characteristic wear values during dry running. The two companies are working to expand this portfolio.
SABIC Innovative Plastics' LNP specialty compounds offer additional high-performance advantages. For example, LNP Lubricomp* and LNP Lubriloy* compounds with internal lubrication can be used in dry running gears for applications that do not permit external application of oil and grease. The healthcare and food services sectors are key markets for these materials due to regulatory requirements for cleanliness and safety. Other benefits of internally lubricated compounds are cost savings from less maintenance and enhanced environmental protection.
Fiber-reinforced grades of SABIC Innovative Plastics' compounds can further improve the endurance performance in respect to wear and fatigue resistance and enable the transmission of higher torque levels.
For further information on SABIC Innovative Plastics' Noryl GTX products, view website: www.sabic-ip.com Refer to page 35
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Exatec*, a wholly owned subsidiary of SABIC Innovative Plastics, and ULVAC, a leader in mass-production vacuum technologies, are collaborating to accelerate cost-effective, high-volume production of weatherable, scratch-resistant, plasma-coated Lexan* polycarbonate (PC) resin for vehicle windows. Under the agreement, ULVAC will manufacture turnkey mass production systems that leverage its' expertise in high-volume vacuum equipment and Exatec's proprietary plasma coating technology.
The combined ULVAC and Exatec technologies will help automakers and tiers replace heavier glass windows with Lexan resin glazing to meet upcoming regulations for lower CO2 emissions and also provides greater design freedom and cost reduction through parts consolidation. It also offers other industries - particularly consumer electronics - durable and abrasion-resistant coating solutions for a broad range of products. Automakers interested in expanding production of PC windows using Exatec technology will soon be able to order machinery from ULVAC.
"Pressure to reduce vehicle emissions is increasing worldwide, requiring automakers to implement weight-out solutions that can also meet rising demand for superior quality and durability," said Dominic McMahon, chief executive officer, Exatec." Plasma-coated Lexan PC glazing has exceptionally high potential for weight-out. This technology is already validated, and now our relationship with ULVAC builds the path to large-scale production. We are confident that ULVAC's turnkey solutions combined with Exatec's coating technology will change the future of automotive glazing and make a significant contribution to improved fuel economy, reduced emissions and increased vehicle range."
"The technical cooperation between Exatec and ULVAC will no doubt accelerate the full scale production of plasma-coated polycarbonate automotive glazing," said Kyuzo Nakamura, chairman of ULVAC, Inc. "Exatec's superior technology for hard coating polycarbonate is already in production and ULVAC has been engaged in production and distribution of various types of vacuum coating equipment. We believe that this technical cooperation will bring a total solutions package to our customers in automotive and also in consumer electronics."
"SABIC Innovative Plastics recognized the need for new materials that offer automotive designers greater freedom in styling while reducing the weight of glazing components," said Greg Adams, vice president, Automotive, SABIC Innovative Plastics. "Over the past few years Exatec coatings and Lexan have been used for the glazing on many technology demonstration vehicles from innovative OEMs. This technology collaboration with ULVAC is a milestone in the broader adoption of PC glazing in the automotive industry."
More stringent vehicle emission restrictions are planned in major automotive markets. In the United States, new rules mandate that by 2016, vehicles must get an average of 35.5 miles per gallon. In Europe, mandatory reductions of CO2 emissions aim to reach 130gCO2/km (.46lbs/mile) in 2015 for the average new car fleet, and 95g/km (.35lbs/mile) by 2020.
Plasma-Coated PC Glazing Industrialization
The joint solution created by Exatec and ULVAC combines two highly advanced technologies and optimizes them for large-scale production. Exatec's plasma coatings for Lexan PC provide unmatched weatherability and abrasion resistance to ensure crystal-clear, attractive and durable glazing over the life of the vehicle. ULVAC's advanced vacuum equipment technologies enable this coating system to be scaled up for production; they feature a high deposition rate, a continuous process and the ability to coat parts with complex shapes and a wide range of sizes. Together, the companies have optimized this system for exceptional quality, consistency and throughput.
For further information on SABIC Innovative Plastics' Noryl GTX products, view website: www.sabic-ip.com Refer to page 35
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