Toray Industries, Inc. (headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Akihiro Nikkaku; hereinafter referred to as "Toray") today announced that it has decided to install large-scale 3D suction blow-molding machines supplied by Germany-based Kautex Maschinenbau GmbH (headquarters: Bonn, Germany; CEO: Dr. Olaf Weiland; hereinafter referred to as "Kautex"), the world's largest manufacturer of extrusion blow-molding machinery, in order to improve its mold processing technologies and materials for making the turbo ducts used in turbocharged vehicles. This will be the first time for such machinery to be adopted by a Japanese engineering plastics manufacturer. Toray plans to have the machinery installed at its Nagoya Plant (in the Plastics Application Technology Engineering Center) by August of this year, and begin fully operating the machinery from the following October.
Through this plan to install the suction blow-molding machinery, Toray intends to strengthen its relationship with Kautex Maschinenbau and draw on the firm's extensive expertise and know-how, as it works to develop materials and offer total solutions that include mold processing technologies.
In recent years, compact turbocharged cars, which have small engines fitted with turbochargers, have been appearing on the market in rapidly increasing numbers as automakers strive to improve the fuel efficiency of their vehicles. Although metal has traditionally been used to produce these turbocharged engines, resin materials are now commonly used because they help to reduce vehicle weight and create new possibilities for design. Specifically, high-performance engineering plastics like polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin, polyamide (PA) resin, and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) resin are being widely used as materials since their properties meet the requirements for these engines, including chemical resistance and high heat resistance over long periods of time.
The main methods for molding resin-based turbo ducts are injection molding and suction blow-molding. The latter, however, is increasingly attracting attention because it allows more options for designing the turbo ducts, including long and complexly shaped ducts, and a shorter cycle time needed to mold each unit.
Toray has a broad lineup of various engineering plastics that can be used as a material for turbo ducts, including TORELINA® high-performance PPS resin, AMILAN® PA resin, and TORAYCON® PBT resin. By installing suction blow-molding machinery produced by Kautex, a global leader in the industry, Toray expects to accumulate technical know-how related to new molding methods. By applying this expertise, Toray will strive to improve its ability to develop optimal materials for suction blow-molding, and, at the same time, make it possible to offer customers total solutions incorporating turbo duct mold processing technology.
The global market for turbocharged vehicles is projected to continue growing, and the number of vehicles is estimated to approximately double from the current level to about 39 million vehicles by 2020. Accordingly, Toray is aiming to further expand its sales of engineering plastics for turbo ducts by promoting close cooperation with its Automotive Center, an integrated technical development facility for developing advanced materials and composites for vehicles, and by making the most of its suction blow-molding machinery to proactively pursue joint-development initiatives with customers.
