Structural adhesives in electric sport cars

ITW - © ITW Plexus

© ITW Plexus

A Scandinavian built battery-powered sports car is soon to be debuted at a competition in the USA and structural adhesives from ITW Plexus were chosen to bond no fewer than 24 individual components of the car body.

The car is known as the Electric RaceAbout (E-RA) car and it was conceived by Finland-based Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. A full-size model was produced by a consortium consisting of engineering students, staff and partners from a number of automotive companies who supplied the technical know-how and materials.

This is no ordinary electric car. At the outset the objective was to showcase the next generation of battery driven sports cars and as such the standard for excellence was unprecedented. It uses the very latest in electric power train and battery technology, is extremely lightweight, has no emissions, and uses very low energy consumption. The E-RA represents the latest in cutting-edge design, style and technology and its creation is intended to give us all an insight into what motoring in the future will look like.

Harri Santamala, E-RA Chief Engineer, commented “Using Plexus structural adhesives have allowed us to bond the components quick and easily, whilst offering excellent gap filing properties and retaining a strong bond. We added a prepreg layup to the joint; therefore a heat resistant adhesive was required. The characteristics of MA425 & MA830 were perfect to meet our requirements”.

The company says MA425 has long open time, excellent fatigue endurance, toughness and impact resistance while MA830 has high tensile and shear strengths along with a gap-filling capability of 12 mm. Both adhesives have excellent working time and were formulated to meet the client’s optimum fixture times.

The ITW Plexus team were proud of their involvement in this project because their adhesives have contributed to the car’s sleek lines and futuristic body styling. The E-RA car has amazing environmental credentials. It is a real ‘head-turner’ which has, once and for all ended the boring, practical, and unsporting image of electric and hybrid cars.

ITW Plexus specialises in the design and manufacture of sophisticated structural adhesives for the bonding of materials used in such diverse markets as transportation, marine, automotive, engineering and construction and the company is a division of ITW Performance Polymers Europe (ITWPPE), headquartered in Rushden England (www.itwppe.eu).

About ITW Plexus
ITW Plexus is a division of ITW Performance Polymers Europe (ITWPPE). ITW (Illinois Tool Works) is the world’s most diversified industrial company, with a sales turnover in 2007 of US$ 16 billion. ITW was established in 1912 and today employs 50,000 people world-wide. The Performance Polymers Europe division has more than 25 years experience in the design, development and production of UV curing, epoxy and methacrylate bonding agents. It has an extensive and ongoing adhesive R&D programme centred at its modern UK and German laboratory facilities. Technical service is particularly important to the company and it offers its customers free professional advice, substrate and bond-strength testing as well as ideas on dispensing equipment and process improvement. The company is accredited to ISO 9001:2000 quality certification.

Source : ITW Plexus

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Structural adhesives in electric sport cars

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