Nylacast Automotive

Capabilities

Research & Development

Home Capabilities Research & Development

Nylacast Automotive's R&D centers play a key role in materials science and product design and engineering, with two R&D centers in the UK and China that have comprehensive materials characterization and product validation capabilities to ensure that new materials and products meet the increasingly demanding application requirements of our customers.

Polymer Formula Development

Nylacast possesses comprehensive Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) capabilities. Based on specific customer needs and application requirements, we develop custom polymer materials with the following characteristics:

High strength: Ensures material stability under various stress conditions.
Good Flexural Modulus (for shock loading): Suitable for applications subjected to impact loads.
Lower Co-Efficient of Friction (lower power motor): Helps reduce energy loss in low-power motors.
High strength: Ensures material stability under various stress conditions.
Extended Temperature Range (for under hood applications):
Particularly suitable for high-temperature environments such as engine compartments.
Long service life: Extends product lifespan and reduces maintenance costs.

Full testing and validation

Full testing and validation of materials and products to international standards such as ASTM, ISO and IEC, as well as customer-specific test specifications.

Certificate of Analysis & Compliance
Product quality testing & materials testing
Bench Testing of samples
Customised testing
Tensile, Crystallinity, Hardness testing

Optimization and Innovation

Continuous research and development activities to optimize the performance of existing materials and products while exploring new avenues of innovation to enhance product competitiveness and reduce environmental impact.

Quality Assurance

Ensure that all materials and products developed meet or exceed customer expectations.

Component-level Testing

Polymer formulation development

Developing customised co-polymers with combined key properties to meet Customers’ product testing specifications. Fundamental properties include ultra-high molecular weight, low coefficient of friction (static and dynamic), long service life (high durability), high strength, stiffness, and toughness for a wide temperature range.

Optimization and Innovation

Continuous R&D activities to optimize the performance of existing materials and products while exploring new avenues of innovation to enhance product competitiveness and reduce environmental impact. Part optimization is conducted via specific gear design and FEA software packages always aligned with international design guidelines (VDI 2736).

Pull-off / Knurl adhesion

Physically isolated segments of the polymer ring subjected to a “pull-off” test to validate the bonding resistance (adhesion) to the metal hub.

Axial push-off

A worm wheel blank is subjected to an axial force to validate the integrity of the polymer ring and metal hub interface perpendicular to the plane of the wheel.

Ultimate interface torque

A worm wheel blank (i.e. without machined teeth) is torsionally loaded to validate the integrity of the polymer ring and metal hub interface (by shearing) in the plane of the wheel.

Ultimate tooth torque

A worm wheel (prototype or production series) is torsionally loaded to analyse the tooth deflection and load capacity against its meshing pair (worm shaft).

Polymer & Component validation techniques

The dual flank inspection instrument analyses every tooth relative to each other. This measures the radial run-out, composite error and tooth to tooth error. The worm is driven by an electric motor (fitted with an encoder) which, in turn, revolves the worm wheel through 360 degrees. An algorithm in the instrument accurately calculates the accuracy of every tooth.