Posted to News on 6th Dec 2021, 00:00
EMS-Grivory takes four awards at the SPE Automotive Award Night
At the 20th SPE Award Night, the Society of Plastics Engineers presented their coveted awards for the most innovative polymer applications in the automotive industry, with four applications using EMS materials receiving one of these highly prestigious awards. These included a gear shift module, a rapid recharging system, a headlight bracket and a multiway valve in cooling system
The gear shift module with pistons and cylinders, made of Grivory HTVS-5X1 and used in various Hyundai models, took second place in the ‘Power Train’ category. The hydraulic actuator unit controls gear changes in eight-gear, double-clutch gear systems. The modular design with many non-variable parts allows economic manufacturing of the single components and efficient end assembly. Grivory HTVS-5X1 is used for ten cylinders and five pistons in this design. Decisive for use of Grivory HTVS-5X1 are its excellent surface quality, very good dimensional stability, high bursting strength and high temperature resistance in hot oil.
Also taking second place was an innovative rapid charging system, where Swiss cable specialist Huber+Suhner relies on long-glass fibre products from EMS-Grivory for the main component. This prize was awarded in the category ‘Electronical/Optical Part’. The extremely tough, long-glass fibre reinforced and flame protected high performance grade Grivory GVL-4H V0, provides high reliability of the rapid charging system in rough daily use for charging of electric vehicles.
Also part of the rapid charging system is a liquid-cooled cable. Thanks to the active cooling process, this cable has a significantly smaller diameter than the throughput would make you believe and is, therefore, very easy to handle. The cooling lines in this cable are also made of an EMS material: Grilamid L.
Third place in the category ‘Chassis Unit / Structural Component’ was taken by a one-piece headlight bracket made of Grivory GVL-4H for Jaguar Land Rover. It allows weight savings of 45% to be achieved for this assembly and replaces the previously used bracket made of die cast aluminium, metal profiles and sheet metal components. As no post-treatment is required, manufacturing costs were also reduced by 30%.
The one-piece injection-moulded part makes installation quicker and maintains its shape even during high-temperature painting processes at temperatures above 200°C. The high impact strength and energy absorption of Grivory GVL-4H make metal replacement possible for this crash-relevant component. Using rheological simulation calculations from EMS, the component was optimally modified for the designed construction space.
Also awarded third place was the modular multiway valve from Vitesco Technologies, made using several EMS materials. The actuator housing is made of Grilon TSG-35/4, the valve housing of Grivory HT1V-3HY and the valve lid of Grivory HT1VA-4HY. Further parts, such as the valve spool are made of Grivory HT1V-3HY and the main gear wheel is made of Grivory HTV-4X1.
The multiway valve makes various configurations possible with only minimal changes to the components. This allows flexible adjustment to suit the various requirements of different automotive manufacturers. In the case of design changes, the given technology remains to a significant part unchanged, reducing validation outlay and lowering system costs. The design convinces with its compactness; instead of two types of valve, the multiway value combines all functions in one component. Fewer pipelines, connectors, brackets and rapid connections are needed, allowing further cost savings to be achieved.
