PHOTO: The final lift-gate of the new Renault Espace

TRINSEO, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastic, latex and rubber, highlighted the launch of the Enlite™ line of structural polymers at the 2015 International VDI Conference ‘Plastics in Automotive Engineering’ in May. The Enlite line is targeted at semi-structural applications.

Trinseo Automotive, previously known as Styron, focused on two lines for semi-structural applications, Enlite long glass fibre polypropylene (LGF-PP) and Enlite glass fibre (GF) alloys.

Enlite structural polymers use technologies that can replace existing materials such as steel and aluminium with lighter, globally available, cost-efficient solutions.

Enlite LGF-PP provides a lightweight alternative to help customers meet market regulations regarding vehicle weight. With a 60% glass concentrate system, which is diluted with neat PP, customers have the flexibility to achieve the direct proportion of glass they need.

One example featured at VDI was the development of the lift-gate and front-end module of the new Renault Espace, which was designed with LGF-PP polymers from Trinseo. This innovation is part of a long-term collaboration between Renault and Trinseo Automotive, which began with a real serial life solution in the Renault Clio.

Enlite GF-alloys offer lightweight optimization and customer flexibility. This product provides a bridge between the glass-filled PP solutions of today and the enhanced carbon fibre solutions of the future.  Enlite GF-alloys tackle specific areas in which process constraints are difficult to overcome. For example, when the design of the part necessitates thick walls to meet stiffness requirements, or the elimination of steel reinforcements, GF-alloys provide an optimal solution. The first product designed in the GF-alloys range is the GF-ABS alloy, which is a glass concentrate diluted with ABS.

www.trinseo.com