DuPont™ Hytrel® TPC-ET in CVJ Boots - 30 Trouble-Free Years
Case Study
Application Description
Among the great unsung heroes in a vehicle – the Constant Velocity Joint (CVJ) boot. Emphasis on “constant,” this component faces an average of 150,000 miles of pounding, pelting and thermal cycling.
Enter DuPont™ Hytrel® thermoplastic elastomer. Now in its 30th year and celebrating no material failures on the road, Hytrel® delivers the flexibility of rubber, the strength of plastic, and the processibility of thermoplastic. In 2014 the CVJ boot was given the SPE The Hall of Fame Award. The Hall of Fame Award is given to one component in continuous production for at least 15 years that has made a significant and lasting contribution to the application of plastics in automobiles.
Hytrel® is the industry standard for excellent balance of grease resistance, high temperature durability, low temperature flexibility and historically proven performance. Hytrel® is proven for use in inboard and outboard CVJ (constant velocity joints) boots, prop shaft boots and rear-wheel-drive boots.
With new product grades optimized for higher temperature resistance, better abrasion resistance and flex fatigue, Hytrel® continues to deliver trouble-free performance despite extreme thermal cycling and exposure to chemicals like road salt.
Benefits to Customer / End User
Compared with rubber, Hytrel® invites thinner design for better packaging in tight spaces, vastly improves performance and durability for greater service life.
Compared with co-polyesters, Hytrel® delivers the optimal combination of flexibility and stiffness, protecting against expensive repairs.
Excellent fatigue resistance and design flexibility of Hytrel® allows CVJ boots to be designed in smaller sizes than rubber boots, which reduces amount of greases and total cost of the CVJ system.
Hytrel® is the preferred material because it is thinner and more durable than many rubber materials, and it has a more optimal combination of flexibility and stiffness than co-polyesters. In addition, the fatigue resistance and design flexibility of Hytrel® allows CVJ boots to be designed in smaller sizes, reducing the amount of greases and the total cost of the CVJ system.
Processing
Hytrel® blow-molding grades can be processed on press-blow, extrusion-blow and injection-blow molding equipment. Hytrel® blow-molding resins can be processed on extrusion-blow, injection-blow and Ossberger press-blow machines.