17 Mar 2004

AZDEL SUPERLITE® COMPOSITE GIVES SIGNIFICANT COST AND WEIGHT SAVINGS IN LOW VOLUME AUTOMOTIVE BONNETS/HOODS

AT TWO MILLIMETERS THICK, AZDEL SUPERLITE® COMPOSITE IS STIFFER THAN STEEL AND 50 PERCENT LOWER IN WEIGHT

BERGEN OP ZOOM, The Netherlands — Feb. 2, 2004 — As the result of a joint development, GE Advanced Materials’ AZDEL SUPERLITE® composite will be used by BI Composites, a major UK automotive molder, to replace the steel in the bonnet/hood of a high-powered sports vehicle to be launched by a leading international carmaker in early 2004.

The bonnet development was driven by the need to provide a cost-effective material solution that could be applied to low-volume production, niche segment vehicles. Key application criteria included recyclability, impact strength, low weight combined with high stiffness, the ability to bond with steel, extremely low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), and the ability to obtain a Class A finish with strong paint adhesion.

BI Composites tested a range of high-temperature engineering thermoplastics before selecting AZDEL SUPERLITE composite as the material that offered the optimum balance of properties and met the cost-reduction target.

While initial series production using AZDEL SUPERLITE composite indicated a premium over that for a steel bonnet skin, the tooling cost for a steel skin solution could only be justified by amortization over high-volume production. In contrast, tooling for
AZDEL SUPERLITE composite is a substantially lower investment because of the material’s low-pressure formability. With a 70,000 € (approx. $88,000 USD) tool, meeting a production level of 15,000 units per year, and the process being developed to achieve 150,000 units from a single tool, unit cost represents a 50 percent savings over low-volume steel production and a 75 percent savings over comparable thermoset composites. This illustrates the competitiveness of AZDEL SUPERLITE composite and the low-pressure forming process for vehicle production volumes of between 500 to 50,000 units, whereas steel shows savings after 100,000 units.

“This development also achieved a very considerable weight savings,” says Mike Birrell, business development director for BI Composites. “With an optimized skin thickness of two millimeters, AZDEL SUPERLITE composite gave greater stiffness than the steel it replaced at 50 percent lower weight. As part of our benchmarking process we also produced a bonnet skin in a carbon fiber/epoxy composite, however, it weighed as much as steel in this application.”

The performance of AZDEL SUPERLITE composite bonnets was independently measured. In high-speed, offset front-impact tests, the bonnets exhibited less damage than that sustained by similar steel panels tested under the same procedure. Moreover, the bonnets' adhesive bonding remained intact throughout impact testing.

As well as delivering high impact strength, the continuous unidirectional glass fiber reinforcement of AZDEL SUPERLITE composite, and its thermal stability, enable a Class A paint finish. The material’s surface is flame treated and prepared with a standard polypropylene primer before painting with a finishing coat.

“With AZDEL SUPERLITE composite, we are offering the outstanding combination of light weight, high impact strength, and thermal stability properties,” says Gordon King, commercial director of AZDEL, Inc., Europe. “We expect AZDEL SUPERLITE composite to benefit OEMs in the automotive industry for specific applications – from interior to bonnet – where, previously, composites would not have been considered.”

GE Advanced Materials’ AZDEL SUPERLITE composite is a low-pressure, thermoformable composite developed specifically for automotive applications. AZDEL SUPERLITE composite is based on short, chopped-fiber reinforcement, with a glass content of 42 to 55 percent and a weight of 600 to 2,000 grams per square meter. The material can be compression molded in less than one minute at very low pressures of 0.5 to 5 bars. This ratio of fibers to polymers, as well as the base weight of the web, can be customized for different interior and exterior automotive applications.

Characterized by light weight, a high stiffness-to-weight ratio, good dimensional stability, and hig

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Helen Vandebovenkamp
helen.vandebovenkamp@ge.com

Tel: +31 164 29 20 97
Fax: +31 164 29 10 66
Netherlands

+31 164 29 20 97

helen.vandebovenkamp@ge.com

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Notes for editors

GE Advanced Materials

GE Advanced Materials is a world leader in providing materials solutions through engineering thermoplastics, silicon-based products and technology platforms, and fused quartz and ceramics. Headquartered in Pittsfield, Mass., GE Advanced Materials is the combined entity of GE’s former Plastics, Silicones, and Quartz businesses. Its offerings include:

• Silanes, specialty silicones, urethane additives, adhesives, sealants, caulks, resins, and elastomers for a variety of vertical markets such as personal care, automotive, tire and rubber, construction, healthcare, electronics, household and institutional, agriculture, textiles, appliances, bedding and furnishings, and foam control, as well as the consumer “do-it-yourself” market (www.gesilicones.com);

• Engineering thermoplastics resins serving customers in a variety of industries including aerospace, appliances, automotive, building and construction, data storage and optical media, medical, electrical and electronics devices, telecommunications, computers and peripheral devices, outdoor vehicles and devices, and packaging (www.geplastics.com);

• High-purity quartz and advanced ceramic materials for the semiconductor, telecommunications, lighting, electronics, personal care, and water purification industries. GE Advanced Materials is a leading supplier of quartz materials to the semiconductor industry (www.gequartz.com).

AZDEL SUPERLITE composite is produced and distributed by AZDEL, Inc., a joint venture of GE Advanced Materials and PPG. The AZDEL business was established in 1972 by PPG Industries, and a 50/50 joint venture was set up with GE in 1986. AZDEL SUPERLITE composite customers are provided with support in design, testing, molding, and prototyping to achieve excellent performance and weight reduction in automotive applications (www.azdel.com).

SUPERLITE is a registered trademark of AZDEL, Inc., a joint venture of General Electric Company and PPG Industries.

Related images

As the result of a joint development, GE Advanced Materials’ AZDEL SUPERLITE® composite will be used by BI Composites Plc, a major UK automotive molder, to replace the steel in the bonnet/hood of a high-powered sports vehicle to be launched by a leading international carmaker in early 2004. In high-speed, offset front-impact tests, the bonnets exhibited less damage than that sustained by similar steel panels tested under the same procedure. The bonnets’ adhesive bonding also remained intact throughout impact testing.