Grivory XL: Focus on light-weight construction

Right on time for the Fakuma, EMS-GRIVORY presented a new group of design materials for light-weight construction: Grivory XL. The new generation of high-performance polyamides, characterised by extraordinary stiffness combined with low density.

The new Grivory XL products (XL = Xtra Light) are based on the well-proven partially aromatic polyamide (PA66/PA6l/6X). This is characterised by reduced moisture absorption and material properties which change very little after conditioning. While classic thermoplastic design materials have stiffness values of around 20,000 MPa, the new Grivory XL products can achieve values significantly higher than 35,000 MPa.

Higher performance; lower weight

A special hybrid reinforcement of carbon and glass fibres was developed for this new generation of materials and the required properties were achieved with specific targets in mind. Some of the Grivory XL products are modified to be easily flowing for components requiring a long flow path at low pressures. These products allow efficient production of even very complex components having very little warpage.
Grades with this kind of reinforcing system have also been developed for the very successful product assortment of long fibre reinforced polyamides (LFT) from EMS. They are impressive with extremely low creep values, high notched impact strength and exceptionally elastic spring behaviour.
All these properties are offered by materials which have a very low density; the increased stiffness values do not result in an increase of mass of the component. In addition, the values for specific strength and stiffness are much higher than those of metals like zinc die cast. This makes the materials extremely attractive for light-weight construction.

Superior mechanical properties

Grivory XL products are used when components cannot be constructed with sufficient thickness or cannot be strengthened sufficiently and, therefore, show major deformation under load. The stiffness of the Grivory XL products allows thinner-walled components and correspondingly shorter cycle times to be achieved. Due to the high E-modulus, long fibre reinforced products in particular show even further reduced creep deformation. This means that these new EMS high-performance polymers have creep deformation values which are significantly lower than those of zinc die-cast metals.

Tailor-made materials

Grivory XL products encompass a large spectrum of specifically modifiable properties. These properties can be adjusted to correspond to the requirement catalogue in each case. Table 1 shows some of the various products although this is only a very small section of the possibilities available.
What is more, through focused reinforcement with endless-fibre tapes, the excellent properties of Grivory XL products can be increased even further. In combination with aligned endless fibres in EMS Tape Technology (ETT), the new material grades show linear-elastic behaviour like a spring with no plastic deformation at values up to and above 200 MPa.

With Grivory XL, EMS-GRIVORY is leading the way into new dimensions of light-weight construction and substantially expanding its product portfolio.