GE Invests In Injection Molding Machine To Develop Lightweight, Highly Styled Automotive Body Panels

Pittsfield, MA - As a key initiative within its Global Application Technology (GApT) strategy, GE Plastics will support the application development needs of the Chinese automotive industry with a state-of-the-art Husky Quadloc injection molding machine that will be used in conjunction with GE's GApT Center of Excellence in Shanghai, China. The 2,700-ton production-scale machine, designed for molding large parts up to 1.5 square meters with flat geometries, will be used to create lightweight, highly styled exterior auto body panels and glazing with specialized GE resins. Key materials include GE's Noryl GTX* modified PPO* resins, which will be used to design front fenders and other large body panels, and GE's Lexan* GLX polycarbonate (PC) resin for automotive glazing components such as quarter windows and backlights.

"The success of our GApT initiative depends upon providing customers around the world with the most advanced development tools and technologies for their specific application needs," said John Carrington, general manager of Global Marketing and Chief Marketing Officer, GE Plastics. "We are very pleased to support Husky, a manufacturer of world-class molding equipment, to make state-of-the-art large-part development capabilities available to Greater China. This significant technology investment will help GE achieve its ambitious GApT goals in Asia."

Customers to Benefit from Production Equipment in the Lab

Because the Husky injection-compression press is full-scale equipment, application development work done in the laboratory is directly transferable to the production lines of OEMs and suppliers, saving valuable time and effort. Further, the inclusion of optional robotics with the machine increases the transferability of processing data to automotive production environments. Having such equipment available in a lab setting will enable customers to avoid the high costs of shutting down a production line to develop and test a new part. In addition, the new machine will give customers the opportunity for hands-on training in large-part processing techniques.

"Our collaboration with GE Plastics to provide cutting-edge injection molding capabilities will help Chinese companies compete more effectively in the global marketplace," said Russell Gray, general manager Systems - Husky Asia Pacific. "The ability to develop, test, and optimize large, thin-wall parts addresses the demand for lighter weight and greater design creativity in many industries. Such innovation is beneficial for everyone – consumers, manufacturers, and suppliers."

The injection-compression process, which is gentler than regular injection molding, enables the creation of large, thin-wall parts while reducing molded-in stress. It is one of the few suitable processes for creating large, optical-quality parts for automotive glazing. It also enables the use of lightweight plastics in larger parts such as fenders and tailgates to reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency. The new machine will allow experts at GE's GApT Center of Excellence in Shanghai to optimize processing conditions, produce actual parts for testing, and validate materials for real applications in terms of impact, stiffness, strength, paintability, surface appearance, and dimensional accuracy.

SOURCE: GE Plastics