BASF Ultraform in award-winning design
VW Golf loudspeaker grill now made from BASF plastic
Yet another metallic part has made way for plastic: the Austrian company HB-Plastic (www.hb-plastic.com) recently started moulding a loudspeaker grill for the VW Golf from BASF Ultraform® (POM copolymer). The grill is part of a triangular door-mirror base module, which houses a loudspeaker.
Working together, BASF, VW and HB-Plastic succeeded in producing a very intricate component that combined the characteristic advantages of plastics - low weight, fast assembly and cost savings.
The biggest challenge was to produce a functional design while achieving the desired mechanical strength. That was not so easy given the fact that the mesh above the tweeter had to be very thin to allow higher frequencies through, yet be strong enough to survive significant mechanical impacts. "To do this we not only had to optimise the mould tool and the position of the gate, we also needed a very easy-flowing resin with outstanding mechanical properties", explains Gerald Just, Key Account Manager at HB-Plastic. "That and the high light stability that Ultraform (grade: W 2320 U03) offered was what finally convinced us."
This special Ultraform grade yields further cost savings in terms of easier logistics. "We want to help our POM customers achieve greater competitive advantage by offering a product that is cheaper and easier to mould", says Wolfgang Sauerer, Technical Product Manager for Ultraform at BASF.
By combining high stiffness with mechanical strength, as well as exhibiting good resilience, dimensional stability and frictional behaviour, BASF's Ultraform grades go a long way to meeting the requirements demanded of engineering materials. For example, Ultraform is used in the automotive sector for fuel tank modules, valves, stabilizer links and ball sockets. Industrial applications include gear wheels, chain links and guide rollers for conveyor systems. In the home, Ultraform can be found in toys, water taps and vacuum cleaner components. Be it toughened, glass- or mineral-reinforced, UV-stabilized or laser-markable grades, BASF offers a wide variety of Ultraform resins to meet a broad range of applications.
In 2001, HB-Plastic received an Automotive Division Award (body interior category) from the Society of Plastics Engineers for its development of the triangular door-mirror base module.
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