Smart Molding International 1-2022

48 materials smart_molding international 1/2022 S peciality chemicals company LANXESS and Kautex Textron GmbH & Co. KG, a Textron Inc. company, have been collaborating for several years to research whether bat - tery housings for electric vehicles can be designed and manufactured from technical thermoplastics. Together, they have developed a near-series technology demonstrator in a feasi - bility study. With a length and width of around 1,400 millimeters each, the system is a technically sophisticated, large-format all-plastic housing part with a weight in the mid-double-digit kilogram range. The goal of the project was to dem - onstrate the advantages of thermoplas - tics over metals in terms of weight and cost reduction, functional integration and electrical insulation behavior. “As a first step, we have completely dispensed with the use of metallic re - inforcement structures while proving we can commercially produce these complex large components,” Fe - lix Haas, Director Product De - velopment at Kautex Textron, explains. “Going forward, Kautex and LANXESS want to use the results of the cooperation to enter into development proj - ects for series production with automotive manufacturers,” adds Dr. Christopher Hoefs, Project Manager e-Powertrain at LANXESS. Single-stage manufacturing process with short cycle times The demonstrator was developed based on the battery housing of a C- segment electric vehicle. It consists of a housing tray with crash structure, a housing cover and an underrun (un - derbody) protection. The housing components can be produced in a single-stage Direct Long Fiber Ther - moplastic (D-LFT) molding process. LANXESS has optimized Durethan B24CMH2.0 as the material for the D-LFT molding compound. Kautex Textron compounds the PA6 for the process with glass fiber rovings. The local reinforcement of the housing structure is carried out using con - tinuous fiber-reinforced thermoplas - tic composites of the Tepex dynalite brand from LANXESS. “The process enables shorter and thus more eco - nomical cycle times than the process - es in which steel or aluminium are processed,” Haas explains. • Research cooperation between Kautex Textron and LANXESS • Substitution of steel and aluminium • Advantages in weight, functional integration and mass production • Technology demonstrator as the basis for series developments Think big – large-format plastic housings for high-voltage batteries of electric vehicles The demonstrator was developed based on the battery housing of a C-segment electric vehicle (All pictures: Kautex Textron GmbH & Co. KG)