It is the third Award of the Russian Automobile Forum (RAF) for R&P Polyplastic. In 2016, the Award was given for activities addressing the automobile industry crisis, while in 2019 R&P Polyplastic was announced Best supplier of the year. In 2020, the competition committee nominated the largest Russian compounder for the Best innovations (auto components) Award for developing nanocomposite antistatic electroconductive compounds. They are the first Russian compounds for injection moulding meeting the auto industry requirements on electroconductiveness and physical mechanical properties for production of external vehicle parts.
The team of R&P Polyplastic R&D Centre together with their colleagues from OCSiAl spent over a year to develop the innovative materials.
“For modifying the polymer and conferring it with necessary characteristics we used the achievements of nano technologies. Our scientists developed polyamide-6 compounds with graphene nanotubes TUBALL™. These compounds are produced under the Armamid brand name. They cover all the parameters necessary for implementing the technology of cataphoresis painting: electrical resistance amounts to 106–108 Ω∙m while the materials’ strength properties remain at a very high level”, said Mikhail Katsevman, Head of R&D of R&P Polyplastic.
Experts believe: future lies in this technology. Innovative materials simplify and cut costs of technological processes of automobile assembly. Splash boards and other body elements including mirror housings are much simpler produced from polymers using the injection moulding technology than from sheet metal. A separate line for painting polymer parts is no longer necessary: electric dispersive compounds provide the opportunity to paint the whole vehicle body on line.
“The challenge for us today is to start industrial output of these materials in volumes required by our customers. Together with Group GAZ and OCSiAl, producer of graphene nanotubes, we have already started implementation of electroconductive Armamid for production of external parts for Gazelle NN vehicle. The process is going on successfully. We hope that in the near future we would be able to offer this material to our foreign clients”, said Pavel Kruglov, Director General of Trade House “Polyplastic”.
R&P Polyplastic Awards of the Russian Automobile Forum:
- 2016 – Award for activities addressing the automobile industry crisis;
- 2019 – The Best supplier Award;
- 2020 – The Best innovations (auto components) Award.
