A Metal Replacement Star Is Born

Celanese has announced global availability of its new Zytel XMP70G50 polyamide (PA) material at Chinaplas 2024, which ends its run today, April 26, in Shanghai. This innovative material is set to redefine automotive chassis and structural component design with its unmatched balance of strength, light weight, ease of processing, and fatigue resistance.

Zytel XMP70G50, a PA 66 resin reinforced with 50% short glass fibers, is tailor-made for injection molding and offers a robust solution for the evolving needs of the automotive industry. With a tensile strength of 270 MPa and a 19,000 MPa elastic modulus at 23°C (dry as molded), this material is ideally suited to replace metal in electric vehicle (EV) chassis and structural components as well as many of the same components on vehicles with internal combustion engines. Compared with other thermoplastics, it reportedly offers a significant leap forward in durability and fatigue resistance, without sacrificing mechanical strength or processability.

Transitioning to plastic-metal hybrid designs.

"Zytel XMP is not just theoretically better," said Laurent Lefebvre, automotive marketing manager. "Top-tier suppliers are already considering this material for their projects. It’s an excellent solution to enable the transition from metal to plastic-metal hybrid designs. The material offers tangible benefits, from weight reduction to cost efficiency, without compromising structural integrity. We are excited to showcase Zytel XMP at Chinaplas 2024, where industry leaders can experience its potential firsthand."

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A unique blend of mechanical properties and processability.

The material's unique combination of mechanical benefits and processing ease represents a significant advance for automotive component designers. Typically, the extreme mechanical properties of Zytel XMP70G50 are only possible with compounds loaded with 60% short glass fibers, which often prove difficult to process and can slow cycle times. The Zytel XMP solution allows automotive engineers to create more efficient components without sacrificing performance or manufacturability. As the industry moves toward more lightweight and energy-efficient designs, Zytel XMP70G50 stands out as a game changer.