AIM for Excellence

Soybean SMC

  • James Chantler         ThyssenKrupp Budd Company

  • Ruth Carteaux           Ashley Industrial Molding

  • Greg McCunn            John Deere

    COMPOSITES 2002 Convention and Trade Show

Composites Fabricators Association

September 25-27, 2002

Atlanta, Georgia

Overview

History of Soybean use in Plastics

  • Origins in 1920s
    - 1924 soybean production: 5 million bushels
  • Ford all plastic motor car body - 1941
    - Panels from 70% cellulose fiber, 30% phenolic resin extended with soybean meal
    - Further development stopped by WWII
  • United Soybean Board (USB) formed - 1991
    - 2002 soybean harvest estimate: 2.85 billion bushels

The US Soybean Industry

  • 2.85 billion bushels soybeans yielding 17.7 billion pounds soybean oil (2002)
  • N American resin consumption in plastics estimate for 2001: 95 billion pounds
    - 13% used in thermosets
    - Lower cost of soy polyols vs. conventional polyols in resin manufacture
    - Low industrial awareness of soy as raw material

Soybean Resin Development

  • USB supported research
    - ACRES (Affordable Composites from renewable RESources)
    - RTM material used for John Deere round hay baler door (1997)
  • Soybean based polyester resin
    - John Deere / Ashland, 1999
    - Ashland Soybean resin blended with LPAs
    • Ashland Initial SMC formulation
    • Budd Compounding
    • AIM molding

Soybean SMC Development

  • Initial Ashland SMC
    - Comparable Physical Properties
    • Low Water Absorption
    • Un-notched IZOD Impact-Results Higher
    - Surface Quality Marginal
  • Initial Budd SMC
    - Marginal Hot Strength
    - Good Surface Quality
  • Current SMC
    - Improved Hot Strength, sufficient for production
    - Good Surface Quality
    - Paint Adhesion, passes (180 F bake)
 

Physical Properties

Soy Material Comparison

PropertiesBuddInitial SoyFinal
Conventional SMCSMCSoy SMC
Glass Fiber Reinforcement, %28.029.028.5
Specific Gravity, g/cc1.92n/a1.82
Moisture Absorption, %0.5300.4800.290
Flexural Modulus, Mpa15000982312704
Flexural Strength, Mpa173194208
Tensile Strength, Mpa7210281
Tensile Modulus, Mpa121671078910150
Unnotched Izod Impact, J/M116112601324
Notched Izod Impact, J/M961n/an/a
Poisson's Ratio0.245n/a0.223
Coeffecient of Expansion(in/in/F)7.2 E-6n/a7.0 E-6

SMC Part Design

Left Front Gullwing Door


Soybean SMC Formulation
ComponentWeight %
Soybean Resin13.8
Styrene monomer1.9
PVAc blend3.7
Rubber copolymer3.7
Viscosity reducer0.2
Catalyst0.3
Inhibitor0.2
Mold Release1.2
Filler46.1
B Side1.4
Glass27.5

Soybean SMC molding at AIM
Approx. 6 ft X 6 ft
16 oz/sq ft SMC sheet weight

Current SMC Development Challenges

  • Concern - Inconsistent Paint Adhesion
    - AIM to use low bake paint process in future (Bake Temp = 150 F)
    - Soybean SMC passed at normal bake of 180 F but failed cross-hatch paint adhesion test in low bake trials
  • Solution
    - Slightly modified versions of Soybean SMC to be tested at AIM Oct 2002
  • Establish final formulation compatible with low bake process
  • Increase presence of Soybean SMC
 

Soybean SMC

Exterior Combine Styling

SMC molder/painter:
Ashley Industrial Molding, Ashley, In
Top coat and prime:
Sherwin Williams

Future of Soybean SMC

  • John Deere HarvestForm
    - Range of plastics, including SMC, containing soybean and corn based resins
    - Current applications are agricultural; potential for wide range of uses
    - Open market potential - John Deere exclusivity agreement has expired
  • Further Soybean SMC development
    - Automotive applications
    - Additional research - exploring new soybean based resins in SMC
 

Acknowledgements

  • Ashland Specialty Chemical
    - Bud Leach, Dwight Rust
  • Ashley Industrial Molding
    - Ruth Carteaux, Rod Schoon, Bill Sowders
  • John Deere
    - Greg McCunn, John Cerny
  • USB
    - Tom Doyle
 

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Ashley, In 46705
(260)587-9155
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