Bond-Laminates GmbH, a subsidiary of specialty chemicals company LANXESS, has reportedly commissioned two new production lines for its Tepex continuous-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites.
To accommodate the expansion from six to eight production lines, a new hall covering around 1,500 m2 has been built. LANXESS says that total investment was up to the mid single-digit millions and included three cutting machines, one of which is a four-head waterjet cutting machine for prefabricating component cuts.
According to the company, Tepex can be used in the automotive industry for the large-scale production of lightweight structural components such as front end and bumper brackets, brake pedals and underbody paneling components. Recently, the company’s polyamide-6-based Tepex dynalite material was used to make Audi A8 seat shells in a hybrid molding process. LANXESS says that the seat shells are around 45% lighter than a comparable metal version.
‘We have increased our capacity for manufacturing Tepex by around 50% and, in doing so, are responding to the strong demand in the mass production of highly stressable components for lightweight vehicles and consumer electronics,’ said Dr Christian Obermann, MD of Bond-Laminates.
The company says that Tepex can also be used to produce backrests and armrests as well as seat shells for autonomous cars or for comfort seats for shuttle, VIP and family buses, as well as electric vehicles. ‘The spectrum of applications ranges from brackets for frontends, doors and bumpers, luggage compartment recesses, battery housings and brackets for electrical and electronics modules through to structural components in the ‘greenhouse’ section and structural trims in the underbody area to protect the battery,’ said Henrik Plaggenborg, head of Tepex Automotive.
This story uses material from LANXESS, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
