Material Processing

As our economy places more focus on efficiency, industry is responding by creating products that are thinner, lighter, and smaller – with the same or more functionality.

In the ongoing quest to do more with less, some automotive applications prove more challenging than other

As car manufacturers continuously focus on reducing weight to improve fuel efficiency, replacing metal parts with plastic remains a key challenge.

Plastics offer a solution that is lighter in weight than metal and rubber. In addition, plastics enable the production of parts with complex geometries, meaning its possible to convert a number of components into a single, simplified part.

UD tapes, tape-based 2D fabrics, and cross plies are used in structural and semi-structural applications, and in the selective reinforcement of injection molded parts.

One of the most challenging environments we work in is under the hood of a car. The parts used in these applications are subjected to high temperatures, broad temperature ranges and corrosive chemicals.

Today’s cars are 90% quieter than cars from the 1970s, when vehicle noise first began to be legislated. OEMs are also increasingly focused on improving the driving experience.

As car manufacturers seek to meet more strict legislation on tailgate emissions, a key area of focus is the reduction of wear and friction in the engine and transmission.

In some consumer electronics applications, key characteristics of the plastic material are haptics and aesthetics – how they look and feel.

Understanding how compounds with low molecular weight migrate across plastic is important for many applications.

The engineering plastics used in various electronics parts have to comply with strict flame retardancy requirements and more environmentally friendly solutions

Learn how Envalior material science helps improve performance with e-friendly materials that do not corrode electrical components.

Designing an innovative part is only one step in the process. Once you have the part design and the material grade selected, and you have successfully manufactured the part in the lab, you need to roll it out for commercial production.

New part designs made from engineering plastics are often able to bypass or reduce the number of secondary processing steps.

While many new parts designed to be manufactured from engineering plastics can bypass or reduce the number of secondary processing steps, some parts still require operations such as painting and printing.

Once you are ready to commercialize your part, you also need to ensure it complies with relevant industry standards and regulations.

Safety is a key concern whenever plastics and electronics meet, and in today’s digitized world, that happens with increasing frequency.

When we talk about Bright Science, Brighter Living, one of the core ideas we’re expressing is our concern for sustainability. That’s why we have integrated green design into our business.