Steering wheels made from polycarbonate-siloxane

Dutch company SABIC Innovative Plastics has developed a new glass filled polycarbonate-siloxane copolymer, Lexan EXL 4016H to enable OEMs to increase steering wheel functionality and enhance design. Current steering wheel designs usually employ a die cast Mg or Al skeleton, over molded with flexible thermoset urethane foam. This creates a solid body in the rim section with literally no package space. Hence integration of electronic components can only be achieved via cost intensive secondary operations. The two piece plastic steering wheel design is said to provide a number of potential benefits. Due to the hollow nature of the design, package space is available for increased functionality and all the typical advantages of part consolidation and integration of plastics engineering apply. Also, the first surface potential enables customised interiors combined with direct paint or hydrographic patterns throughout the steering wheel. This has been incorporated to provide the opportunity for new designs with potentially flatter spokes, advanced shapes and innovative aesthetics.