BERGEN OP ZOOM, The Netherlands: SABIC Innovative Plastics is putting a new spin on the traditional steering wheel with an injection-molded design featuring its Lexan* EXL copolymer resin. At Chinaplas 2010, in booth W2G41, the company is showcasing the benefits of weight out, high performance, manufacturing ease, styling freedom, and parts integration provided by this innovative new steering wheel concept. Importantly, Lexan EXL resin avoids key environmental drawbacks of existing steering wheels, whose materials can be difficult to recycle and involve potentially hazardous waste products from casting and processing. The company's investment in new technologies provides automotive industry customers with advanced materials solutions for the most demanding applications.
"It's high time for a new direction in steering wheel design, and SABIC Innovative Plastics has made a 180-degree turn with our two-part molded design," said V. Umamaheswaran (UV), director of Products and Marketing, SABIC Innovative Plastics. "Tough new demands on steering wheels - from integration of features to safety and weight-out - require an entirely new approach. We're excited to show Chinaplas attendees this breakthrough injection-molded design featuring our innovative Lexan polycarbonate copolymer resin material, and are confident that the auto steering wheel is entering a new era."
Steering Wheels Overdue for New Material Solutions
Typical steering wheels are comprised of a die-cast magnesium or aluminum armature overmolded with flexible urethane foam. This creates a solid rim section with no package space for integration of electronic components. Additionally, the soft polyurethane makes structural attachment of components impractical. This approach also restricts styling possibilities such as advanced shapes and innovative aesthetics.
In addition to meeting these challenges, updated steering wheel design called for: improved energy management for head and torso impacts; net weight-out even with the addition of integrated components; durability and long service life; avoidance of secondary operations; and overall system cost reductions.
Lexan EXL Copolymer Resin Steering Wheel Cuts Costs and Mass
Lexan EXL glass-filled polycarbonate-siloxane copolymer resin provides excellent stiffness and a high degree of impact over a very wide temperature range. SABIC Innovative Plastics has developed two designs; a two-part injection molded design with a leather wrap as a high-end solution and a one-piece injection-molded armature with a polyurethane overmolding. Both are attached to the steering column with a small metal hub. They have been shown to cut system costs by up to 20 percent and reduce mass by up to 40 percent compared to a magnesium or aluminum alloy steering wheel.
Both designs also provide other benefits:
- In the two-piece design, the space created by the hollow rim and spokes enables integration of damping and sensing technology, switch housings, wiring and other functionality inside the steering wheel.
- Injection molding Lexan EXL copolymer resin is a more environmentally responsible process than die-casting magnesium alloy as it reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions dramatically. Compared to die casting 1.1kg of magnesium alloy, which generates nearly 70 kg of carbon dioxide, manufacturing 1.0kg of Lexan EXL copolymer resin only generates 7.6 kg, about one-tenth the emissions.
- Greater design flexibility to create new shapes and ergonomic configurations
- New styling options such as special colors and effects
- Part consolidation through integration of driver airbag attachment and reaction plate, horn mechanism, etc.
- Simpler manufacturing by reducing the number of secondary processes
Overall technical feasibility of the new steering wheel design has been tested. Prototype parts have been built and further OEM validation on vehicles is in progress.
For more information on SABIC Innovative Plastics' Lexan EXL copolymer resins, please visit the company website at www.sabic-ip.com.
-Ends-
SABIC Innovative Plastics is a leading, global supplier of engineering thermoplastics with a 75-year history of breakthrough solutions that solve its customers' most pressing challenges. Today, SABIC Innovative Plastics is a multi-billion-dollar company with operations in more than 35 countries and approximately 9,000 employees worldwide. The company continues to lead the plastics industry with customer collaboration and continued investments in new polymer technologies, global application development, process technologies, and environmentally responsible solutions that serve diverse markets such as automotive, electronics, building & construction, transportation, and healthcare. The company's extensive product portfolio includes thermoplastic resins, coatings, specialty compounds, film, and sheet. SABIC Innovative Plastics (www.sabic-ip.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), one of the world's top five petrochemicals manufacturers.
* Trademarks of SABIC Innovative Plastics IP BV.
Media Note: The proper name of the company is SABIC Innovative Plastics, and excludes any abbreviations or variations when referring to the company. As an acronym, SABIC should be all caps whenever it appears in print.
SABIC Innovative Plastics Media Contacts
Global
Jodi Kennedy
SABIC Innovative Plastics,
Pittsfield, Mass., U.S.A.
Tel: +1 413 448 7383
E-Mail: jodi.kennedy@sabic-ip.com
Agency Media Contacts
The Americas
Jim Allison
AH&M Marketing Communications,
Pittsfield, Mass.
Tel: +1 413 448 2260, Ext. 25
E-Mail: jallison@ahminc.com
Brazil
Gabriela Bruschi
Edelman Brazil, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Tel: 55 11 3017 5300, x221
E-Mail: gabriela.bruschi@edelman.com
Europe
Kevin Noels
Marketing Solutions, Bergen op Zoom,
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 164 317 011
E-Mail: knoels@marketingsolutions.be
Japan
Mitsu Sugino
Tokyo PR Inc., Tokyo, Japan
Tel: +81 332 732 731
E-Mail: m-sugino@tkd.att.ne.jp
China
Shona Liu
Edelman, Shanghai, China
Tel: +86 21 6289 2929 x470
E-Mail: shona.liu@edelman.com
This press release and relevant photography can be downloaded from www.PressReleaseFinder.com
Alternatively for very high resolution pictures please contact Kevin Noels (knoels@marketingsolutions.be , +31 164 317 011)
SABIC Innovative Plastics is putting a new spin on the traditional steering wheel with an injection-molded design featuring its Lexan* EXL copolymer resin. At Chinaplas 2010, in booth W2G41, the company is showcasing the benefits of weight out, high performance, manufacturing ease, styling freedom, and parts integration provided by this innovative new steering wheel concept. Importantly, Lexan EXL resin avoids key environmental drawbacks of existing steering wheels, whose materials can be difficult to recycle and involve potentially hazardous waste products from casting and processing. The company's investment in new technologies provides automotive industry customers with advanced materials solutions for the most demanding applications.
* Trademark of SABIC Innovative Plastics IP BV.
© Press Release 2010
