Seeking to extend its processing capabilities, the Turkish
automotive supplier Teklas chose DuPont as its
development partner for the production of 3D
blow-molded parts on the basis of its high performance
DuPont™ Zytel® nylon and first class technical support.

Cooperation between DuPont and Teklas resulted in the successful blow molding of the intercooler air duct for SEAT (Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo): (left to right) Yavuz Tugyan (technical manager, DuPont Turkey), Murat Bozkurtlu (business development manager, Teklas), Hasan Camur (sales & marketing manager, DuPont Turkey), Adem Senemtası (executive technician, Teklas) and Nedim Us (executive production leader, Teklas)

The majority of the 37-year history of Teklas Kaucuk Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S (Gebze, Turkey) has been as a producer of rubber-based parts for the automotive industry. The broad range of products produced at its Turkish and Bulgarian facilities include turbocharger hoses, cooling hoses, brake hoses, fuel lines, windshield wipers and anti-vibration parts. Yet, it was the realization of the value to be gained by Teklas and its customers from the production of blow-molded air ducts using thermoplastics, that led to the company turning to DuPont for the material and development support required to engage in the technically-challenging process of three-dimensional (3D) blow molding.

3D blow molding is an established approach for demanding duct and fuel-system parts. The process allows laying extruded parisons into special molds using robotic manipulation and suction. These 3D techniques produce contoured parts that are virtually flash-free, with a minimum of pinch-off points or knit lines on the finished part, to improve mechanical performance in critical stressed areas. DuPont has installed 3D blow molding equipment at its European Technical Center (ETC) in Geneva, Switzerland, for use with its modified engineering thermoplatics for advanced blow molding. Following the signing of a development agreement between the two companies, technical representatives of Teklas visited the ETC in 2006.

Teklas took delivery of its first 3D blow molding machine at the start of 2007, and immediately set about the development of an intercooler air duct for Seat – a complex challenge, even for those with more experience of the processing technique. Indeed, Teklas was at first so unsure of its ability to produce the complex part using a single tool, that its initial plan was to mold the duct in two parts and to subsequently weld them together. Yet However, with DuPont’s support, Teklas succeeded in producing a single part made of DuPont™ Zytel® BM73G15THS, a 15% glass-fiber reinforced, heat stabilized, lubricated and toughened polyamide 6 for blow molding. Specific application requirements for the material included resistance to temperatures of around 155 °C (355 °F) and 1.9 bar air pressure. The duct and the material have since been approved by Seat.

Our success in this area is primarily due to the partner-like approach of DuPont to extending our knowledge of this relatively new processing technology, as well as the quality of its materials.