Swiss manufacturer Closomat AG (Embrach, Switzerland) manufactures Avantgarde—a compact, automatic shower-toilet. The wall-integrated unit has a neat, stylish and functional design. This design is possible due to the use of materials from DuPont Engineering Polymers (Geneva, Switzerland).

Designed for hygienic rinsing, a sliding nozzle and guide on Avantgarde are made of Crastin PBT thermoplastic polyester resin. For safety, Closomat selected a flame-retardant grade of this resin because Avantgarde’s rinsing nozzle is situated near a hot air exit and the toilet’s electronic control box. Crastin PBT was also selected because of its long-term resistance to immersion in water.

"As an important hygienic feature, the douche nozzle is automatically cleaned when it retracts after use.

This reduces the amount of time for the whole operation and is also more convenient for the user," says Guenther Ruegg, development director of Closomat.

The warm air-drying system on Avantgarde is another new feature that was redesigned using Crastin PBT. The warm air dryer retracts under a cover when not in use and only comes out when activated.

"We knew that with Crastin PBT, there would be no rusting despite constant immersion of these critical parts in water. In addition, there is a major cost advantage for us. All the new parts of DuPont plastic are quicker to injection mold, cheaper to produce and lighter than the ceramic materials we used previously," explains Ruegg.

Avantgarde’s rocker arm is made of Delrin 500P acetal resin. The device’s push rod is made of Delrin 570, the pivot arm out of Delrin 500P, the holder out of Zytel glass-reinforced nylon resin, the push arm out of Delrin, and a reset rocker arm out of Delrin 500P.

Closomat’s new automatic shower-toilet is significantly more compact than previous models due to the design flexibility of these polymers. Until now, automatic shower-toilets have traditionally been bulky to accommodate electronic functions like water spraying and warm air jets.

Prewag AG (Hinteregg, Switzerland) molded most of the Avantgarde parts. "The polymers are quick to injection mold, economical to produce and easy to assemble. Using these polymers means that Avantgarde is substantially lighter, more compact and easier to handle and transport than previous Closomat models," says Guido Guggenberger, managing director at Prewag AG.

For more information on engineered polymers, call 800-441-0575 or visit http://www.plastics.dupont.com.