Rice Hull-Filled Polypropylene Electrical Cowl Bracket

In this injection-molded cowl bracket, talc filler was replaced with rice hulls in a PP grade, which also features 25% PCR content. Rice hulls (a by-product of domestic food processing) were selected to reinforce the resin because they were readily available, had a fast growing cycle, and had a consistent composition season-to-season and field-to-field vs. other natural reinforcements. No additional energy was required to produce the hulls (eliminating the cost and energy associated with mining minerals) and their reuse avoids costs otherwise associated with landfilling.  The renewable and recyclable material was a direct drop in, speeding development time and eliminating tooling changes.  It was weight and cost neutral, but opens up longer term cost opportunities by using both recycled and renewable materials.

OEM/Vehicle Ford Motor Co. 2014 F-Series pickup System Supplier Yazaki North America, Inc. Material Processor A. Raymond Tinnerman

Material Supplier Rhe Tech, Inc. Resin Rhe Vision RH10P325-00 PP Tooling/Equipment Supplier A. Raymond Tinnerman

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