Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) has chosen Sabic’s next-generation Noryl GTX 989 resin for the front fenders of its 2013 Outlander Sport crossover, Sabic’s innovative plastics business announced.

The fenders will use two-cavity injection moulding with Noryl GTX resin, allowing MMC to cut cycle times in half and reduce tooling costs with other major benefits including weight savings vs steel for fuel economy gains and sustainability benefits and flexibility to design the first North American fenders with integrated pedestrian head impact absorption brackets.
 
“MMC’s adoption of Noryl GTX 989 resin to mass produce the fenders demonstrates the increasing value of Noryl and Noryl GTX resin technology to the automotive industry and its importance to customers as a solution to address diverse manufacturing and sustainability needs,” a Sabic statement said.

“Our close relationship and ongoing collaboration with Sabic were key factors in creating an outstanding front fender for the Outlander Sport,” said Masaki Tsugeno, executive vice president, procurement and supply, Mitsubishi Motors North America.

“Mitsubishi Motors is the first automotive OEM to use the new Noryl GTX resin grade, which speaks to the progressiveness of the company with new strategies that multiply the performance and cost benefits of thermoplastic fenders,” said V Umamaheswaran, director of marketing, automotive, Innovative Plastics.

By adopting two-cavity injection moulding for the Outlander Sport’s front fender, which allows both the left and right fender components to be produced in one shot, MMC was able to largely cut cycle time. In addition, this approach significantly reduced capital costs because only one tool was created rather than two separate tools.

This application, the first automotive body panel using Noryl GTX 989 resin, leverages the improved mechanical performance of the material, which is a conductive blend of polyamide (PA) and modified polyphenylene ether (PPE). Compared to the previous grade, Noryl GTX 989 resin delivers a 10°C improvement in heat tolerance, making it a candidate for use in higher-temperature online painting.

The next-generation Noryl GTX 98X series materials also reduce the coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE) by 10 per cent vs previous grades for increased dimensional stability and improved gap and flush management, giving automotive designers freedom to create larger, high-precision body panels.

The use of Noryl GTX resin instead of steel for the Outlander Sport fenders reduced vehicle weight by 3 kg (approximately 7 pounds).