MIC Living Hinge in a Steering-Column Cover

By molding a living hinge into a steering-column cover, parts are reduced (2 to 1) and greater functionality and increased visual appeal re achieved while reducing tooling costs $70,000 USD and piece price costs $1.10 USD/vehicle.  The hinged cover can be joined to the instrument panel without exposing screw attachments and it also permits much easier access to both the on-board diagnostics (OBD) connection and/or fuse-panel by service personnel or consumers without necessitating removal of the cover. During vehicle assembly, it is now easier to package electrical wiring and less wire is needed, contributing an additional $0.40/vheicle savings owing to shorter wire lengths.  The 20% talc-filled PP material is injection molded in a 2-cavity tool that uses large tooling action and localized gating. Each living hinge is flexed 3x post-molding to ensure long service life to the part.

OEM/Vehicle Ford Motor Co. 2013 Fusion midsize sedan System Supplier International Automotive Components Group Material Processor International Automotive Components Group

Material Supplier Advanced Composites, Inc. Resin ATX832N PP Tooling/Equipment Supplier Roush

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