Ultramid® PA (Polyamide) - Automotive Oil Pan - The Long Road Traveled: BASF and Dana Partner to Engineer Thermoplastic Oil Pan
Performance Solutions:
Dana Holding Corporation and BASF conducted an oil pan module study to demonstrate
and validate that Ultramid® PA (Polyamide) can perform not only as
an oil pan, but as an oil pan that integrates and combines multiple
components and functions. These features will provide the OEM
with a variety of benefits ranging from weight and cost reduction to
the consolidation of parts and functions that will increase installation
efficiency and decrease installation efforts.
The road traveled by the oil pan study was not without "bumps".
Potential concerns and challenges included the resistance to stone
impact, the amount of noise and vibration transmitted by the oil
pan, and the results of exposure to high heat over time.
Overcoming the myriad of challenges was accomplished by conducting
propriety CAE analysis and employment of other analytical
tools, all of which confirmed Ultramid PA's ability to meet the material
requirements demanded by this application.
Not only were analytical studies a key component of the program,
but a production-intent oil pan module was placed on a Durango
driven by BASF's Advanced Engineering Manager. The study is
ongoing, but many initial questions posed relating to the performance
of Ultramid PA in this type of module have been answered.
BASF
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