■ Compiled by Jessy Lu -jessy.lu@kdf-asia.com
前言
AKRO-PLASTIC GmbH, specialists for over 25 years in innovative, application-orientated plastic compounds, has developed a complete process for the manufacture of a weight-saving polyamide compound reinforced with dry carbon fibre roving. The development was carried out within a consortium of companies along the value chain and in partnership with the compounding line manufacturer FEDDEM GmbH & Co. KG. 安科羅工程塑料公司是一個擁有超過25年經驗以創新 應用為導向的塑料混煉專家，已經開發出使用碳纖維添 加增強來製造輕量化聚醯胺複合塑料的完整工藝技術。
這項工藝是由安科羅工程塑料公司與同一集團內的混煉 生產線製造商 FEDDEM GmbH & Co.KG. 以合作夥伴 關係，在價值鏈做上下游整合而成功開發出來的獨特技 術。
AKRO-PLASTIC GmbH, located in Niederzissen, in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany, has developed this new product range based on polyamide 6, polyamide 6.6, PPA and partially aromatic PA 6.6 (AKROLOY®). Reinforcement of these polymer types with carbon fibre contents of between 10 % and 40 % has been achieved. These materials, such as AKROMID® B ICF 40, a PA-6based compound, achieve a tensile modulus of 30,000 MPa and a flexural strength of 320 MPa with a breaking elongation of 1.8 %. AKROMID® A3 ICF 40, a PA-6.6-based compound, even achieves 33,000 MPa, with a flexural strength of 370 MPa. 安科羅工程塑料公司位於德國萊茵蘭 – 普法爾茨地 區的下齊森，已經開發出聚醯胺6、聚醯胺6.6、 PPA 和部分芳香族 PA6.6 (AKROLOY®) 等新碳纖 增強產品系列。這些增強型聚合物中的碳纖含量介 於 10%-40%。這些複合材料中，例如 AKROMID®B ICF 40，是一種PA6 混煉塑料，其拉伸模量高達 30000MPa，彎曲強度 為 320MPa， 斷裂伸長率為 1.8%。AKROMID® A3 ICF 40 則是一種 PA6.6 的混 鍊複合塑料，其拉伸模量甚至可到 33000MPa，彎曲 強度則可達到 370MPa。
The objective of this new reinforced product line is to drastically reduce the weight of high-strength components. The resultant cost of these products falls in line with glass-fibre-reinforced compounds for the first time. Without the presence of any negative commercial factors preventing substitution, projects can proceed with assured success. Together with partners PME Fluidtec and injection moulding machine manufacturer Engel, AKRO-PLASTIC demonstrated a production cell for clutch pedals at the Interplas trade show in Birmingham. The clutch pedal is made with AKROMID® B3 ICF 15 using a water injection process. The moulded component is nearly 10 % lighter than the same component made using a 30 % glass-fibre-reinforced PA 6, yet it is 25 % stiffer. This significant benefit is perfectly in line with the latest automotive industry requirements and is key to ensuring compliance with stringent regulations regarding fleet fuel consumption taking effect in 2020.
開發這一系列碳纖維增強產品系列主要目標是為了大 幅度減輕有高強度需求部件的重量，而且在成本上也 第一次有機會可以接近玻纖增強塑料的成本。 因此 可以在沒有任何妨礙原料替代的不利商業因素出現的 情況下，能夠順利進行原料替代並確保專案項目的 成功。安科羅工程塑料公司與合作夥伴 PME fluidtec GmbH( 水輔助成型專家 ) 與 Engel GmbH ( 射出成 型專業製造商 )在伯明罕國際橡塑膠展推出以水輔助 射出成型的 AKROMID® B3 ICF 15 離合器踏板，此 成型品與原來用 30% 玻璃纖維增強 PA 6 相比，重量 減輕將近 10%，而且剛性提高 25%。這個意義重大的 輕量化優勢與當前汽車產業的要求完美地契合，也是促使預計於 2020 年生效的降低汽車燃料規範，得以順利執行的關鍵。
Please see the title photo for a geometry cross section of a clutch pedal showing uniformly distributed wall thickness. 離合器踏板的橫切面展示均勻的成品肉厚 (首圖）
The fact that a clutch pedal can be manufactured in such a sensitive process as the water injection process is testimony to the high quality of this newly created product line. The compounder sees great demand for this new series. “In addition to pedals and pedal mounts, we can quickly and easily reduce the weight of a number of large components currently made from glass-fibre-reinforced polyamide without losing sight of cost,” explains Thilo Stier, Head of Sales & Innovation at AKRO- PLASTIC. Components such as centre consoles, activated charcoal filters and control unit brackets
could also benefit from further advantages of carbon fibre such as: electrical shielding, favourable thermal conductivity and low thermal expansion coefficients. 這個以水輔助射出成型這樣如此具有精密要求的加工 方式所生產的離合器踏板體現了這一系列複合塑料產 品的優異品質，也讓安科羅工程塑料公司看見了這一 系列新產品的前景可期。安科羅工程塑料公司的行銷 暨創新總監 Thilo Stier 如此解釋”除了將腳踏板與腳 踏板固定架成功的減重外，我們也可以快速而輕易地 減少很多以玻纖增強尼龍製成的大型部件的重量，而 不會提高太多成本”。 其他零配件如中控設備，燃油濾清器支架，控制元件 支架等更會因為碳纖維的電氣遮蔽效應，比較好的導 熱性與較低的熱膨脹係數而表現得更加優異。
Top performance for high-performance materials 高性能材料的極致表現
We are familiar with carbon-fibre reinforced materials, often called CFK, from more exotic applications such as the construction of racing cars, aircraft or sports appliances. Price plays a minor role in these cases as its light-weight properties are the most important factor in the selection of material. AKRO-PLASTIC would now like to also make these properties accessible to other industrial segments at an economic price point. 我們精通的碳纖維增強材料，又稱 CFK，它也可以應 用在其他更加特殊的的領域，如跑車的結構件，航空 與 運動器材等。而原料的單價在這些應用的原料選擇 上扮演的並非最關鍵的角色，因為輕量化的特性才是 使用者真正的考量重點。所以安科羅工程塑料公司現 在的目標是提供其他工業的客戶也有機會可以使用到 這些性價比優異的材料。
Lightweight without compromises 沒有妥協的輕量化
AKRO-PLASTIC offers carbon-fibre reinforcement of between 10 % and 40 % for all standard thermoplastic polyamides, whereby even special settings such as mixing with other reinforcement materials are also possible (see table 1). 安科羅工程塑料公司也提供各種不同種類的熱塑性尼
龍組合與其他塑料10%到40% 碳纖維含量的物性增 強規格。( 表 1)
If you compare the mechanical properties of the carbon-fibre reinforced polyamides with those of conventional glass-fibre compounds, you can easily see that similar properties can be achieved with a significantly reduced level of reinforcement using carbon-fibre reinforcement. As a result, components with a much lighter inherent weight can be manufactured without any compromises in terms of the technical properties (see table 2). 如果比較碳纖複合尼龍與傳統玻纖複合尼龍的機械特 性，你可以輕易地發現玻纖複合尼龍的物性可以用較 低含量的碳纖複合尼龍來達成。因此，我們可以得到 大幅輕量化的成品，但卻不需要犧牲塑料原來的機械 強度。( 表 2)
After the successful market launch of its carbonfibre reinforced polyamide compounds, AKROP- LASTIC has now also developed other materials based on polyketone (AKROTEK® ICF) and PBT (PRECITE® ICF). These polymers also demonstrate the sophisticated properties of carbon fibre, like the polyamides (see table 3). 在成功地將碳纖複合尼龍行銷至市場後，安科羅工程 塑料公司也陸續開發出 polyketone (AKROTEK®ICF) 與 PBT (PRECITE® ICF)的碳纖增強規格 ， 這些塑料 的碳纖複合規格也展現了如同碳纖複合尼龍的優良物 性。( 表 3)
In fuel-carrying components, a minimum level of electrical conductivity is required for safety reasons. Quick connectors (figure 1), which aft Automotive GmbH in Greven builds into static dissipative fuel systems, are manufactured by MKS Kunststoff- Spritzguß GmbH from the high-temperature material AKROMID® T1 CGM 15/10 S1 (6431). The materials is an impact-modified glass and carbon fibre-reinforced PPA, which in addition to the electrostatic discharge also has mechanical properties allowing the complex latching functions and the assembly of the quick connector. 在裝載有燃油的部件中，基於安全原因需要電性最低 的材料。位於 Greven 的 AFT Automotive GmbH 所 製造用於靜電消除燃油系統的快插接頭（圖 1），是 由 MKS Kunststoff-Spritzguß GmbH 使用耐高溫材料
AKROMID® T1 CGM 15/10 S1 加工而成。該材料為同 時以玻纖和碳纖增強，耐衝擊性改良的 PPA (高溫尼 龍)複合材料，具有靜電釋放功能和高機械性能，以 符合快插接頭需要具備的複雜鎖定和快速組裝要求。
A similar requirements profile is fulfilled by the fuel filter bracket very cheaply manufactured by Hasenthaler Kunststoffverarbeitung from AKROMID® B3 CGM 15/20 1 black (5489). This has also allowed Mann + Hummel to verify the price-performance ratio of the material following comprehensive testing. The balanced ratio of glass fibre and carbon fibre reinforcement also allows precise manufacturing with the strictest tolerances. (Figure 2).
Most components made from ICF compounds use the extreme stiffness of the material at low filler levels. As such, Grammer GmbH successfully replaced a PA66 GF 30 with AKROMID ® A3 ICF 10 (5117) in the centre console for BMW and in doing so reduced the weight by over 15% with the same mechanics. Other examples of successful weight saving are the control panel steering wheel from Joma-Polytec GmbH and a roof rack manufactured by JAC Product in Michigan. 由 Hasenthaler Kunststoff ver arbeitung 使 用 AKROMID®B3 CGM 15/20 1 黑色 (5489) 製造的燃 油濾清器支架滿足了類似的性能要求，並且成本優勢 明顯。這也使曼·胡默爾公司在全面測試後驗證了材料 的性價比。玻纖和碳纖維共同增強的最佳化平衡比例 也確保了成品可以符合最嚴格公差的精密製造要求。 （圖 2）
大多數由 ICF 改性材料製成的部件只需要使用低碳 纖維填充百分比，即可達到材料的優異剛性。比如， Grammer GmbH 成功地使用 AKROMID®A3 ICF 10 (5117) 替代了 PA66 GF 30 來製造的寶馬 (BMW) 汽 車的中控台，並在不降低機械性能的情況下減重高達 15％以上。由 Joma-Polytec GmbH 製造的控制面板 方向盤支架和由 Michigan 的 JAC Product 製造的車 頂行李架也是輕量化的成功案例。
The control panel steering wheel bracket from AKROMID® A3 ICF 20 (5102) carries all the control elements of the steering wheel and must position the components with minimal vibration and with precision. Here, a polyamide 66 GF 50 was replaced saving significantly more than 20% in weight. With the roof rack manufactured from the crabon-fibrereinforced PA/PP blend AKROMID B3 ICF 15 1L, the maximum weight reduction was achieved with the addition of the AF-Complex TM propellant.
The component weight was reduced compared to the glass-fibre-reinforced polyamide 6 by around
600 g to under 1 kg and meets all the requirements in dimensional accuracy and mechanical load. The black color, which is inherent to all carbon-fibre compounds, could be considered a limitation, but is a welcome side-effect for many applications. 由 AKROMID®A3 ICF 20（5102）製成的控制面板 方向盤支架承載著方向盤的所有控制元件，必須以最 小的振動和最高精度定位元件。使用AKROMID®A3 ICF 20（5102）替代 PA66 GF 50 後，重量顯著降低 20％以上。車頂行李架由碳纖維增強的PA/PP接枝 共聚物 AKROMID B3 ICF 15 1 L 製成，通過添加 AFComplex TM化學發泡母粒實現了最大的減重。與使 用玻璃纖維增強 PA6 改性材料相比，部件重量減少了 約600g 至 1kg，並且滿足尺寸精度和機械承載的所 有要求。黑色作為所有碳纖維複合材料的固有顏色， 或許可能造成應用限制，但對許多應用來說黑色恰恰 是所需要的顏色。
Engine covers in cars are almost always black because most plastics discolor significantly within hours under the conditions in the engine compartment. The high temperatures, the unavoidable contact with aggressive media and the necessity to be able to disassemble and reassemble parts in the engine compartment make it necessary to use robust materials.
The polymer of choice is polyamide. Today, mineral or glass-fibre mineral reinforced polyamides are often used. These materials are easy to process and meet the mechanical requirements, but the surface quality of these components are not easy to control.
The high demands of designers are not always met. Carbon-fibre reinforced materials are an excellent alternative here, because the mechanical properties demanded can easily be met with a 10% filler content. A positive side-effect is a significant weight reduction of around 20% with a significantly more homogeneous surface quality.
由於引擎室內的高溫條件，大多數引擎罩蓋的塑料在 數小時內都會顯著變色，所以汽車的引擎罩蓋幾乎都 是黑色的。引擎室部件必須能耐高溫，同時不可避 免 地會接觸到腐蝕性介質，而且部件還必須能夠拆卸和 重新組裝，這些因素決定必須使用堅固結實的材料來 製造該部件。而被選中的聚合物就是聚醯胺。目前， 最被常使用的是純礦物填充或玻纖礦物共混增強聚醯 胺。這些材料易於加工並滿足機械強度要求，但所製 造部件的表面質量不易控制，有時無法滿足設計師 的嚴格要求。此時碳纖維增強材料是一種很好的替代 品，只要10％的碳纖填充含量就可以輕鬆滿足所需的 機械性能。 此外，更加正面的效應是，可顯著減重約 20％，製品表面質量也明顯更加均勻。
Even the most sophisticated visible components can be manufactured. Radiator grilles, which are almost the same in all cars, typically have horizontal blades, which must be highly rigid due to their function.
The components are also in the direct field of vision of the car passengers and should therefore fit into the dashboard design, particularly in terms of quality. Accordingly, the requirements for surface quality of the plastic parts are high, especially where an additional lacquering step is to be avoided. With AKROLOY® PARA ICF 40 black (6128), a very stiff material (e-module approx. 40 GPa), the Dr Schneider Group from Kronach-Neuses was not only able to meet the purely technical requirements, but also manufacture blades with excellent surface quality (figure 3). These radiator grilles are used in the current BMW 7 series.
碳纖維增強的聚醯胺材料甚至可以用於製造最複雜的 外觀部件。空調出風口葉片在所有汽車中幾乎相同， 通常具有水平葉片，由於其功能要求，葉片必須具 有高剛性。這些部件也因為處於汽車乘客的直接視 野範圍內，必須符合儀錶板設計要求，尤其是在質量 方面。因此，對塑料部件的外觀質量要求很高，尤其 是在無法做額外噴塗處理的情況下。使用超高剛度的 AKROLOY®PARA ICF 40 黑色（6128）材料 ( 楊氏 模量約 40 GPa），Kronach-Neuses 的 Dr.Schneider Group 生產的出風口葉片不僅能夠滿足技術要求，而 且表面質量優異（圖 3）。因而使得這些出風口葉片 可以成功地被BMW寶馬 7 系列所採用。
AKRO-PLASTIC’s Background 關於安科羅工程塑料公司
AKRO-PLASTIC’s history stretches back more than 30 years. In this time, we have accrued a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field of plastic compounding. We have been operating under our own brand name within the Feddersen Group since 1998. Since then, we have experienced constant growth. We produce over 180,000 tonnes of plastic compounds annually and specialize in developing upgrading standards and plastic technologies which can offer the solutions for any specific industry and application.
Our production sites are located in Germany, China and Brazil, and we work within an international network that can offer services ranging from development to logistics. In response to rapidly changing market requirements, we use globally Standardized Compounding and Extrusion Technology (ICX®),which we developed with our sister company FEDDEM.
安科羅工程塑料公司的成立至今已有超過30年的歷 史。我們在複合塑料的領域累積了豐富的專業知識與 經驗。自1998年起我們加入開德阜集團，並以自有 品牌運作，銷售業績也逐年成長。目前我們每年有超 過18萬噸的產能，我們專門研究標準升級與塑料技 術，專為特定行業和應用設計方案。
我們生產基地分佈於德國、中國與巴西；而且我們具 有遍佈國際間的運作架構，可以提供從應用開發到物 流支援的完整服務。為了因應快速變化的市場需求， 我們使用與集團內部姊妹公司(FEDEM) 合作開發的全 球標準化混煉押出技術(ICX®) 。■
