Styrene Maleic Anhydride (SMA), typically glass reinforced, is widely used in automotive for interior trim and instrument panels. However presently available materials are not able to fill all of the increasing demands for both toughness and temperature resistance that are being required by automotive OEM's due to higher quality requirements, passive restraint legislation, and increased global competition.
This paper will review a new family of SMA's that, due to differences in the manufacturing process and formulation, are available with a wider window of available temperature resistance and toughness properties. The properties of these materials will be reviewed along with comparisons to other materials such as existing SMA's, polycarbonates, modified poly phenylene oxides/ethers, ABS and other commonly used plastics for interior trim applications.
Interior applications, along with their requirements, where these materials have found use will also be reviewed.