Automotive plastics

Stronger, lighter and less harmful plastics

As the auto industry accelerates its efforts to create greener vehicles, manufacturers like you need ways to reduce your environmental impact while also meeting new challenges around electric cars, such as heat management and electrical conductivity.

We mine minerals that make excellent, multi-functional reinforcement fillers for automotive plastics such as polypropylene and engineering thermoplastics. They allow you to meet part specifications, reduce part weight, and even enhance special functionalities such as electrical conductivity or sound damping.

Minerals like wollastonite, mica and kaolin make natural replacements for glass fiber to improve isotropy and reduce warpage while enhancing melt flow and surface aesthetics in reinforced plastic. Our high-aspect-ratio wollastonite, Suzorite mica, graphite and hyper-platy kaolin enhance the performance of plastics at elevated temperatures and improve thermal conductivity. 

Applications include interior parts such as instrument panels, dashboards and trims; exterior parts, such as bumpers and bodywork; sound dampening for underbody layers; and thermoplastic compounds for under-the-hood components. We also offer mineral additives for high-performance adhesives and sealants for coating, bonding, sealing and sound dampening.

Whether you need an improved cost/performance ratio, better reinforcement properties, or enhanced surface appearance, talk to our experts about how minerals can turbocharge your results.

In summary:

Automotive under-the-hood parts

• Our engineered talc*, wollastonite, mica and kaolin products improve the stiffness/impact balance of automotive under-the-hood plastics, enhancing heat resistance and Coefficient of Linear Thermal Expansion (CLTE).
• They can be used to replace or extend glass fiber in automotive polyamides, improving cost/performance ratio as well as isotropic dimensional stability and surface appearance.

Automotive interior parts (instrument panel, dashboard, interior trims, etc.)

• Imerys talcs and wollastonite are excellent reinforcing agents in rigid and foamed automotive plastics, including where recycled plastics are used, where they:
  - enhance stiffness, allowing downgauging and weight reduction
  - improves dimensional stability
  - provides enhanced color-control and matt surface
• High cell nucleation can be used to achieve polymer foams with improved mechanical properties
• Imerys mica, kaolin and calcium carbonate products provide a broad range of reinforcement, color (whiteness) and cost options for many interior trim applications.

Automotive exterior parts (bumper, body panels, exterior trims, etc.)

• Imerys high aspect ratio talcs and wollastonite generate excellent stiffness, and improved impact, shrinkage and CLTE – ideal for zero gap automotive designs. They are ideal for lightweight solutions.
• Imerys wollastonite and mica could be used to replace or extend glass fiber in automotive polyamides, improving cost/performance ratio as well as isotropic dimensional stability and surface appearance.
• Many automotive exterior trim applications may utilize Imerys kaolin, talc, mica, wollastonite, and calcium carbonate based on the loading level, reinforcement, isotropy, dimensional stability, color, and aesthetic requirements.
• Imerys micas are an excellent choice for automotive applications requiring sound damping, especially for underbody heavy layers.

Others

Plastisols and sealants

Plastisols and sealants are widely used in the automotive industry for coating, bonding, sealing, and sound dampening. Imerys calcium carbonate is the primary mineral additive used in plastisols and sealants for automotive applications.  

Resin compatibility

Imerys minerals are compatible with Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO), Polyamide (PA), Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), Polycarbonate (PC)/Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT) and PC/Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) blends, Polyphenylene Ether (PPE), biopolymers, polyester blends and Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins.

*Talc products are not available in the USA and Canada. Contact us for an alternative range.