High-end domestic appliance producer Miele & Cie. KG (Miele) has selected Elix Polymers’ high-flow acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) grade 118HF for its new battery-powered vacuum cleaner model, the Triflex HX1. Elix Polymers developed the grade specifically for the application, with improved rheological properties that enable a reduction of wall thickness of the vacuum cleaner housing parts.

Miele chose ABS grade 118HF — colored in customized grey, red and white — because it meets the company’s key property requirements: high flowability, dimensional stability, good heat resistance and high surface gloss. The thinwalling capabilities of the grade translate into cost savings for Miele in terms of material consumption and reduced cycle times, leading to higher productivity.

“We are very pleased to work with such an innovative producer of high-end products like Miele,” commented Joachim Kroeger, Regional Sales Manager of Elix Polymers. “Faithful to Miele’s creed — always better — Elix modified the formulation and improved the rheological properties in order to provide the best possible solution for the new product.”

When designing and developing the innovative and multi-functional Triflex HX1 battery-powered vacuum cleaner, Miele’s objective was to create a product with long battery life as powerful as a conventional vacuum cleaner. When selecting a material suitable for the housing parts of the handheld device, the main focus was on minimizing the wall thickness in order to save part weight. “Beside mold filling properties, material selection was also based on mechanical properties such as strength and stiffness as well as part performance and part aesthetics”, said Miele’s materials and process development specialist.

Elix Polymers has for many years been a leading development partner and preferred supplier of high-performance engineering thermoplastics used for many household appliances in Miele’s product portfolio. “We have an excellent supplier relationship with Elix Polymers and consider it as a very valuable and reliable supplier as well as a development partner for demanding technical projects,” said Miele’s head of strategic purchasing.