Rhodia Engineering Plastics introduces TECHNYL® FORCE, an innovative long glass fibre product to meet

Lyon, France, October 20th 2004 – Rhodia Engineering Plastics announced today the launch of a new high-performance range of long glass fibre Polyamides for injection moulding. Based on unique Technyl Star™ technology this new solution has been specifically designed for structural parts or other applications requiring high stiffness and energy absorption in combination with complex design capability and good surface aesthetics.

“The Technyl® Force product range reinforced up to 60% of long glass fibres, offers enhanced impact strength and energy absorption performances combined with design flexibility and aesthetic styling capabilities. TECHNYL® FORCE highlights Rhodia Engineering Plastics’ commitment to provide continuous advances in leading-edge materials solutions,” says Jean-Claude Steinmetz, CEO Rhodia Engineering Plastics.

The new Technyl® Force range, thanks to long glass fibre reinforcement and Technyl STAR™ technology offers enhanced energy absorption capacity with a non explosive mode of failure on like to classical short glass fibre reinforced material. It brings more than a 100% improvement in notched impact strength and increases dramatically the impact energy for rupture showing ductile behaviour.

Technyl® Force range opens the way to satisfy advanced application needs in terms of crash management. For example, tests demonstrate (illustrated in fig.1) that for the same level of reinforcement, a structural beam moulded in Technyl® Force and placed under an impact of 15km/hr, absorbs twice as much energy as the same beam moulded with Polyamide reinforced with short glass fibre.

The advantages of Technyl® Force are also emphasised when a part is subjected to in-use temperatures above 100°C. In flexural tests, at 110°C for example, Technyl® Force 30% long glass fibres reinforced shows a higher stiffness and strength than a standard 35% short glass fibre reinforced PA, or an even more highly reinforced polypropylene material. This advantage of Technyl® FORCE gives the possibility to optimize the design and reduce the weight of structural parts while keeping performances.

Furthermore, the high fluidity characteristic of Technyl® FORCE helps limit the shear effects during the injection process, enhancing fibre length retention thereby providing the material with excellent impact resistance.

The fluidity of Technyl® Force range provides both a wider design freedom and improved surface aesthetics, even with 60% reinforcement as in Technyl® FORCE S 218 LGF60.

Of key importance, the use of Technyl® Force ensures a high level of process productivity. For example, compared to traditional PA6, TECHNYL® FORCE delivers an injection cycle time reduction, a lower injection pressure, a lower clamping force and a processing temperature reduction. These advantages give moulders and users significant cost benefits.

Technyl® FORCE provides an exceptional new balance of impact resistance and stiffness along with high aesthetics and ease of processing offering advanced innovative solutions.

As a new engineering material development, Technyl® Force illustrates Rhodia’s forward-looking approach to meeting the needs and expectations of automotive tier suppliers and manufacturers, globally.

Reader enquiries

Rhodia Engineering Plastics
Avenue Ramboz
F-69192 Saint-Fons Cedex
France

+33 4 72 89 29 24

jerome.pisani@​eu.rhodia.com

www.rhodia.com