The application and performance potential of the hybrid technology can be extended even further if, instead of steel sheet or aluminum, fiber-reinforced plastic sheets – so-called nylon composite sheets – are used. These are flat, semi-finished plastic sheets, reinforced with a woven or non-woven fabric of glass, carbon, aramid or blended fibers, which give the component particularly high mechanical performance. Nylon composite sheets are shaped purely by physical means by heating them and subsequently compressing them into three-dimensional parts. The cycle times are very short. The method is similar to that used in the thermoforming of sheet metal. Typical examples of application are safety helmets, components for the wings of passenger planes and bumper brackets for motor vehicles.

High potential for constructive design

This outstanding mechanical performance in combination with low weight is what makes it so attractive to use nylon composite sheets instead of sheet steel for hybrid technology or to combine them with injection molding. Durethan® engineering plastic (polyamide 6) contributes not only its high-quality mechanical properties and outstanding potential for lowering costs to this "marriage", it also affords outstanding design freedom. This means that even complex part geometries can be reproduced accurately and inexpensively. Reinforcements, fixing points, guides and clips, for example, can be directly integrated into the part, considerably simplifying subsequent assembly and other logistic processes.

Recycling made easy

Durethan® is also suitable as a basic material for nylon composite sheets because it has good adhesion to a variety of fibers. If it is additionally used as an injection molding partner, it will result in a hybrid component as a single-material solution – a big advantage in terms of recycling.

Production process with entirely new possibilities

To manufacture an all-plastic hybrid component, the nylon composite sheet is initially formed in a compression process and cut to size. Subsequently, the resultant semi-finished sheet is heated until just below the melting point of the plastic, inserted into an injection mold and encapsulated or provided at selected points with polyamide ribs and reinforcements. Unlike the hybrid technology with sheet steel, there is no need to punch holes or openings into the nylon composite sheet through which the plastic has to flow to achieve good mechanical anchoring. Instead, the thermoplastic melt bonds to the preheated nylon composite sheet during the injection molding process. If the matrix of the nylon composite sheet is also of polyamide, it results – in contrast to the conventional hybrid technology with sheet steel – in even better adhesion across all the contact surfaces, similar to a bond or weld. This non-positive join significantly improves the mechanical data of the overall component. A further benefit of nylon composite sheet hybrid components is that they do not have to be protected from corrosion, which represents an additional cost advantage over their metal-based counterparts. Furthermore, the amount of wear on the injection molding tool is low.