Technological watch

Renolit Gor S.p.A. is promoting its range of recyclable, thermoplastic composite material solutions for vehicle interior trim parts at AIE (Automotive Interiors Expo) 2019 (21-23 May) in Stuttgart, Germany. The Renolit stand (A4085) at AIE will be showcasing the Renolit Composites range of polypropylene- (PP) based materials. This includes Renolit Wood-Stock, along with a wide variety of other formable sheets, rolls, and rigid cored composite products, all developed for the cost-effective fabrication of coated automotive interior trim parts.

The special focus this year is on the company’s latest product innovation: Renolit Tecnogor. This thermoformable sheet and roll material has already gained a leading position in the global automotive interiors market with major OEM end customers. German, Italian, French and Japanese carmakers now use Renolit Tecnogor for a variety of thermoformed, custom coated, vehicle interior 3D trim parts. Commercial applications include parcel shelves, load floors, seat back covers, dashboard inserts, and trunk trims.

Load bearing floors (above) and parcel shelves (below) are commercial examples of recyclable, thermoplastic composite material solutions for vehicle interior trim parts.Renolit Tecnogor is a recyclable, glass fiber (GF) reinforced PP-based, lightweight thermoplastic composite material. It has been designed to cost-effectively produce automotive interior trim parts. Tier 1 converters are able to combine superior part performance with consistent quality and higher productivity, while also achieving lower production costs as it can be 3D shaped in a ‘glue free’ one-step-process.

The stiffness and impact performance of Renolit Tecnogor is thanks to a patented PP/GF composition and extrusion process used. It is also safe to form and handle, as there are no free-floating fibers in the air or exposed glass fibers in the finished molding; all-glass fibers are completely encapsulated in the PP polymer matrix during extrusion. Like virtually all products in the Renolit Composites range, it can be provided with a textile or film applied to the surface.

During the show, a technical presentation titled: Renolit Tecnogor: A clean glass fiber composite for interior applications is being given by Adriano Odino, Technical Director at Renolit GOR S.p.A., who will be joined by a materials expert from an Italian carmaker to explain why Renolit Tecnogor was chosen for parcel shelf applications.

Other recyclable, safe-to-handle, Renolit Composites products for automotive interior applications of interest and on show at AIE 2019 include:

• Renolit Gorcell – a high stiffness, sandwich design composite sheet material with a hexagonal honeycomb PP core, produced in-house by forming and folding PP film using Econmore production technology. The honeycomb core makes this product especially lightweight, with high stiffness and compressive strength. It is also durable and water-resistant, with high thermal and chemical resistance properties. This versatile sandwich product is available in standard 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-mm core thickness options. Depending on the application, the PP honeycomb core can be combined with a wide variety of textile or film surface skin materials such as: Renolit Tecnogor, Natgor or Wood-Stock sheets; high impact or decorative films; scratch protectors; and non-woven fabrics. The main application areas include load-bearing floors, parcel shelves, door paneling and seat back covers.
• Renolit Flexigor– a thermoformable, low-VOC, composite sheet material based on polyolefin and renewable natural/mineral raw material fillers. The product is extruded in sheets or rolls, supplied ready-to-form with the aesthetic surface fabric applied to either one or both sides. Key application areas include door inserts/panels (map pockets), trunk side trims, wheel arch liners.