Materials: Low-Emission Polyacetal for Gear Applications

A new low-emission polyacetal for both automotive and non-automotive gear applications, said to outperform high-viscosity polyacetal resins, has been launched by DuPont Performance Materials (now, a unit of DowDuPont Materials Science), Wilmington, Del. Delrin 100CPE NC010 is an alternative to Delrin 100, which for sixty years has been the resin of choice for OEMs and Tier 1’s in high-performance gears—and particularly in automotive actuators such as window lifters, steering support, safety restraint systems, wipers, and many more.

The thermal properties and high-temperature tensile creep  of this grade are comparable with the state-of-the-art product, and when it comes to low-emission- and molding productivity performance, the new material is said to exceed all expectations. Its level of formaldehyde emissions is below 2 ppm according to the VDA 275 testing method—which allows compliance with current and future tougher emissions industry norms. It also boasts strong molding productivity performance, enabling continuous molding for several thousand shots. Its use is said to leave a very clean surface with a step change improvement in mold deposit performance vs. the incumbent materials resulting in a cost reduction for manufacturers.