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APPLY SYSTEMS HELPS DELIVER CONTROL & CONSISTENCY IN GEN II & GLOBAL BRAKE VACUUM BOOSTERS
The vacuum booster multiplies brake pedal effort by converting air pressure to hydraulic pressure, which actuates the calipers to bring the vehicle to a stop. The new AMODEL PPA material afforded Delphi’s engineers excellent dimensional stability, allowing them to better control tight tolerances associated with the most crucial functional parameters of a brake vacuum booster. Additionally, due to its higher strength capabilities, Delphi engineers were able to design for heavy duty brake applications. Delphi’s Global series of vacuum boosters features both single and tandem power pistons. “We really pushed the envelope on this one,” says Michel Vermoesen, senior project engineer who led the team that worked for years to develop the next-generation vacuum booster. “A material like AMODEL gives us much greater control over the dimensions and geometric location of the critical features on the part. This greatly reduced variation within the system, and improved its function, reliability, and durability” This 45% glass-reinforced PPA allowed Delphi to drastically reduce the wall thickness. The new design offers a 60% weight saving over traditional thermoset material. The thinner walls permitted Vermoesen’s team to package components more efficiently inside the power piston, enlarging air passages and consequently improving response time. These advances provide a driver with better pedal feel and quick feedback under braking conditions. “Higher underhood temperature and much higher heavy-duty brake pressures were the main reason for our choice of the AMODEL material,” Vermoesen points out. Not only was performance enhanced, but pedal feel was also improved, noise and weight were reduced, and the life expectancies of some mating components were extended. The power pistons are molded by DynaPlas in Scarborough, Ontario, and at the new, Wyoming, Michigan, facility of Pixley Richards. The capabilities of both suppliers helped Delphi to achieve the stringent tolerances required for these programs. http://www.solvayadvancedpolymers.com
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