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Row your boat
Applications news
BMW intake module provides a challenge MAHLE Filtersysteme, an automotive systems supplier located in Öhringen, near Stuttgart, Germany, is currently manufacturing one of the largest polyamide intake modules for passenger cars. The two-part module weighs more than 7 kg
and goes into the ten-cylinder engine of BMW’s new M5 and M6 sports cars. The components employed BASF’s Ultramid® B3WG6 GP, a polyamide (PA) 6 reinforced with 30% glass fibre. The BASF material used was developed for the production of
intake modules and combines high bursting strength with good dimensional stability. “We use this material not only for (almost) all intake manifold developments, but also for air filters and in-tank filters,” explains Nicole Berg, production engineer at MAHLE. “Its burst-ing strength is almost twice as high as that of conventional PA grades and this material also allows us to create not only a smooth but also a structured surface design.” The eight-cylinder engine posed a challenge for design engineers since its intake manifold has a variable length.
Securely joining the seven individual parts to each other calls for five welding procedures. This requires a very low-warpage material, especially since the individual parts are stored for different periods of time. An accurate fit is also crucial with the ten-cylinder module since the two halves of the part have to be fixed to the engine exactly next to each other during final assembly. BASF; tel: +49-621-60-78780; e-mail: ultraplaste.infopoint@ basf.com; www.basf.de/ultramid
Row your boat The eight-cylinder intake module (right), and the ten-cylinder intake manifold for the M5 and M6 models. (Picture: BASF.)
8
REINFORCEDplastics
February 2006
CALIFORNIA-based ‘adventure athlete/explorer’ Wave Vidmar is currently preparing to row solo across the North Atlantic ocean, from the US to Europe. The boat will be of composite sandwich construction and will become a ‘floating platform’ on which companies can showcase their technologies and expertise, Vidmar says. The boat, currently being built, will be manufactured using the vacuum infusion process. Polyworx, which develops software for vacuum infusion, is project manager for the construction. The Maritime Knowledge Center in Delfzijl, the Netherlands, will construct the boat, which will then be shipped to the USA for launch. “I plan to begin this expedition in early June 2006, but the exact launch date depends upon favourable weather/wind,” Vidmar told Reinforced Plastics. “I’ll have enough food to last 150 days,
but expect to be out anywhere from 60-120 days. Only four other people have accomplished this route before, and I’ll become the first American to do so.” Vidmar will send daily updates of his trip. Over 2000 schools around the world will be involved. He also plans to record marine species that have rarely (or never) been recorded using a special ultrasonic hydrophone and recording deck. “I try to make my expeditions as beneficial to others as possible,” says Vidmar. “I invite participation from a wide range of groups, and in the end they end up being like mini-NASA programmes, helping to develop and refine new or existing technologies and techniques.” Wave Vidmar; e-mail: [email protected] www.wavevidmar.com; Arjen Koorevaar, Polyworx; e-mail: [email protected]
BMW intake module provides a challenge MAHLE Filtersysteme, an automotive systems supplier located in Öhringen, near Stuttgart, Germany, is currently manufacturing one of the largest polyamide intake modules for passenger cars. The two-part module weighs more than 7 kg
and goes into the ten-cylinder engine of BMW’s new M5 and M6 sports cars. The components employed BASF’s Ultramid® B3WG6 GP, a polyamide (PA) 6 reinforced with 30% glass fibre. The BASF material used was developed for the production of
intake modules and combines high bursting strength with good dimensional stability. “We use this material not only for (almost) all intake manifold developments, but also for air filters and in-tank filters,” explains Nicole Berg, production engineer at MAHLE. “Its burst-ing strength is almost twice as high as that of conventional PA grades and this material also allows us to create not only a smooth but also a structured surface design.” The eight-cylinder engine posed a challenge for design engineers since its intake manifold has a variable length.
Securely joining the seven individual parts to each other calls for five welding procedures. This requires a very low-warpage material, especially since the individual parts are stored for different periods of time. An accurate fit is also crucial with the ten-cylinder module since the two halves of the part have to be fixed to the engine exactly next to each other during final assembly. BASF; tel: +49-621-60-78780; e-mail: ultraplaste.infopoint@ basf.com; www.basf.de/ultramid
Row your boat The eight-cylinder intake module (right), and the ten-cylinder intake manifold for the M5 and M6 models. (Picture: BASF.)
8
REINFORCEDplastics
February 2006
CALIFORNIA-based ‘adventure athlete/explorer’ Wave Vidmar is currently preparing to row solo across the North Atlantic ocean, from the US to Europe. The boat will be of composite sandwich construction and will become a ‘floating platform’ on which companies can showcase their technologies and expertise, Vidmar says. The boat, currently being built, will be manufactured using the vacuum infusion process. Polyworx, which develops software for vacuum infusion, is project manager for the construction. The Maritime Knowledge Center in Delfzijl, the Netherlands, will construct the boat, which will then be shipped to the USA for launch. “I plan to begin this expedition in early June 2006, but the exact launch date depends upon favourable weather/wind,” Vidmar told Reinforced Plastics. “I’ll have enough food to last 150 days,
but expect to be out anywhere from 60-120 days. Only four other people have accomplished this route before, and I’ll become the first American to do so.” Vidmar will send daily updates of his trip. Over 2000 schools around the world will be involved. He also plans to record marine species that have rarely (or never) been recorded using a special ultrasonic hydrophone and recording deck. “I try to make my expeditions as beneficial to others as possible,” says Vidmar. “I invite participation from a wide range of groups, and in the end they end up being like mini-NASA programmes, helping to develop and refine new or existing technologies and techniques.” Wave Vidmar; e-mail: [email protected] www.wavevidmar.com; Arjen Koorevaar, Polyworx; e-mail: [email protected]