First Thermoplastic Fenders

This was the first use of an engineering thermoplastic (MPPE/PA) on a vertical body panel. Making the switch from steel to plastic enabled GM to reduce part weight 40% and eliminate denting and corrosion. GM’s success here was quickly translated into thermoplastic fenders on other GM vehicles. To date, over 45 platforms and 20-million vehicles globally have used or currently use this material. Thermoplastic body panels have since been translated beyond automotive to tractors and lawnmowers for home and agricultural use.

OEM/Vehicle 1987MY General Motors Co.: Buick® LeSabre® T-Type Sedan System Supplier General Motors Factory 8 Material Processor General Motors Factory 8

Material Supplier GE Plastics Resin Noryl GTX® MPPE/PA Tooling/Equipment Supplier Delta Mold

For More Information See: http://www.plastics-car.com/Todays-Automobiles/Auto-Body-Exterior/Bumpers-Fascia-Systems.html

Pedestrian-Protection-Compliant Front Fender

This is the first SUV with thermoplastic fenders that meets tough European pedestrian-protection requirements for head impact in a single part, eliminating the need for secondary bracketry under the fender as in steel designs. The MPPE/PA material is online paintable, dent and corrosion resistant, a unique styling enabler, and reduces both weight and cost by 50% vs. steel. The vehicle was also able to qualify for a better insurance rating thanks to this innovation.

OEM/Vehicle 2009MY Ford Motor Co.:  Ford®    Kuga® Compact CUV System Supplier Montaplast Material Processor Montaplast

Material Supplier SABIC Innovative Plastics Resin Noryl GTX® 979 MPPE/PA Tooling/Equipment Supplier Schneiderform

For More Information See: http://www.plastics-car.com/Todays-Automobiles/Auto-Body-Exterior

Pedestrian-Protection Bumper Reinforcement System

An innovative energy absorber (EA) design mounted on the grille opening reinforcement instead of cross-car beam enabled this vehicle to be the first in the SUV class to meet tough European pedestrian-protection requirements for lower-leg impacts, eliminating the need for a separate EA in front of the bumper beam. An unfilled PC/PBT resin was used to injection mold this EA/upper reinforcement, providing best-in-class  performance and facilitating the vehicle’s aggressive styling thanks to the need for less packaging space.

OEM/Vehicle 2009MY Ford Motor Co.: Ford®   Kuga® Compact CUV System Supplier Plastal Germany Material Processor Plastal Germany

Material Supplier SABIC Innovative Plastics Resin Xenoy® CL101 PC/PBT

For More Information See: http://www.plastics-car.com/bumpers

Expansion Slots in Passenger-Airbag Cover

Design changes to the surface of the passenger-airbag (PAB) door eliminated the cross-car crown on the door and necessitated design changes in the door substrate. To prevent warpage during elevated temperatures, CAE was used to evaluate a number of potential design changes to the aluminum-wrapped PC/ABS door. Expansion slots in the PC/ABS substrate proved to be the right solution to accommodate CTE differentials between the substrate, appliqué, and TPE/TPO IP base. This design eliminated the warpage issue ensuring proper airbag deployments, enabling the plastic door to be kept (rather than necessitating change to a full aluminum one) while minimizing mass and saving significant cost.

OEM/Vehicle 2010MY Ford Motor Co.: Ford®  Mustang® Sports Car System Supplier Takata Material Processor Northern Engraving

Material Supplier Dow Automotive Resin Pulse® 2000EZ PC/ABS

For More Information See: http://www.plastics-car.com/Safety

Protective Layer for Airbag Assembly

Cross-laminated HDPE film was diecut and sandwiched between the airbag module and IP substrate as a protective layer to maintain flexibility of airbag deployment while eliminating foam adhesion and fragmentation issues that can occur with seamless airbag designs. The HDPE film flap reduces cost and packaging space, improves quality of bag deployment, and saved development time.

OEM/Vehicle 2007MY Ford Motor Co.: Lincoln®  MKX CUV System Supplier JCI - Intertech Material Processor JCI - Intertech

Material Supplier Avery Dennison Resin   HDPE

For More Information See: http://www.plastics-car.com/Todays-Automobiles/Automotive-Safety

Folding Head Restraint

This is the first folding headrest system for stowable rear seats that is fully compliant with new FMVSS 202A and EC standards. The integrated system makes use of toughened, glass-reinforced nylon 6 to reduce overall part count by 50%, lowering weight by 2.5 kg, and simplifying manufacturing and installation. 

OEM/Vehicle 2010MY Kia Motors: Kia®    Sorento® CUV System Supplier Gill Industries Material Processor Sturgis Molded Products

Material Supplier BASF Resin Ultramid® TG7S PA 6 Tooling/Equipment Supplier Sturgis Molded Products

For More Information See: http://www.plastics-car.com/InteriorComponents

Ultrahigh-Durability Pneumatic Bladder

Pneumatic bladders in seating help increase passenger comfort, but a desire to meet ultrahigh-durability requirements necessitated development of a method to correlate radio-frequency input factors, weld geometry, and the life cycle of the bladder. Using DOE methodology and a 3-factor interaction, a predictive equation was developed to accurately model the RF-weld process and predict bladder durability. New RF-welding requirements were established that differed significantly from benchmarked standards, yet allowed for consistent, maximized weld strength. Weld failures during ultrahigh-durability testing have now been reduced from 80% to 0%.

OEM/Vehicle 2010MY Ford Motor Co.: Ford®   Taurus® Sedan System Supplier L&P Automotive Group Material Processor L&P Automotive Juarez

Material Supplier Nike Resin PUR Tooling/Equipment Supplier Stellar

For More Information See: http://www.plastics-car.com/Todays-Automobiles/Auto-Interior/Auto-Upholstery.html

Soft-Foam-Feel IP

This is the first ultrasoft-foam instrument panel (IP) in North America that uses injection mold/closed-pour soft foaming and spray urethane skin technology to improve customer-perceived craftsmanship. The program began with competitive benchmarking and a customer tactility clinic to learn which variables affected consumer perceptions of softness and quality. This led to an ability to quantify softness targets and development of a new Ford softness spec. The commercial launch has helped reduce manufacturing foam scrap rates and lowered part weight 100 g, while improving customer craftsmanship expectations.

OEM/Vehicle 2010MY Ford Motor Co.: Ford®  Taurus® Sedan System Supplier Automotive Components Holdings Material Processor Automotive Components Holdings

Material Supplier Renosol Systems Resin PUR Tooling/Equipment Supplier Frimo

For More Information See: http://www.plastics-car.com/InstrumentPanels?css=print

Molded-in Faux Stitching

The realistic appearance of a hand-wrapped leather insert with French and Coach seams was achieved on this door panel using a 1-piece molded spray urethane part without need for separate operations. The realistic appearance of leather stretching, bunching, and stitching is achieved via a silicone mold cast from leather originals. Each of the vehicle’s four-door panels retains its own unique bunching and stretching pattern, yet each panel is absolutely repeatable vehicle-to-vehicle. The result is a $50 USD/vehicle cost savings, better quality, perfect repeatability, and greater durability.

OEM/Vehicle 2010MY Ford Motor Co.: Ford®   Taurus® Sedan System Supplier Ford Motor Co. Material Processor Automotive Components Holdings

Material Supplier BASF & Red Spot Paint Resin Elastoskin® 50555 PU Tooling/Equipment Supplier Frimo

For More Information See: http://www.plastics-car.com/Upholstery

Radio Case with Insert-Molded EMC Shielding

This application features an innovative, patented method of embedding EMC shielding into an environmentally friendly plastic case, enabling significant reduction in weight and assembly time. A metallic-mesh Faraday cage is insert molded into the reprocessed, 16%-glass-reinforced PC/ABS material. The case is greener and enables the use of slide lock & snap lock design features that speed assembly while eliminating the previous sheet-metal case and 29 screws. The resulting unit provides significant weight reduction, assembly cost & time savings, with improved physical and EMC shielding.

OEM/Vehicle 2009.5MY General Motors Co.:   Chevrolet® Tahoe® / GMT900 Family System Supplier Delphi E&S Material Processor Delphi E&S

Material Supplier MRC Resin Naxaloy® 770GF16 PC/ABS Tooling/Equipment Supplier Amity Molding

For More Information See: http://www.plastics-car.com/InstrumentPanels

Hybrid-Composite Bolster with Glass-Mat Reinforcement

By converting from a pelletized 40%-long-glass thermoplastic (LFT)-PP with metal reinforcement to a 40%-glass direct-LFT PP grade reinforced with 3 layers of 70% unidirectional glass mat (in 0º/90º orientations), this compression-molded front-end module (bolster) offers better airflow, improved serviceability, a 25-30% piece-price reduction, and approximately $500,000 USD in tooling savings due to component reduction. The final part can withstand severe hood-latch loads of 5,340 N without the need for metal reinforcement.

OEM/Vehicle 2010MY Ford Motor Co.: Ford®   Taurus® Sedan System Supplier Magna Exteriors & Interiors Material Processor Magna Composites - Lenoir

Material Supplier Dow Automotive, Owens Corning & Composite One Resin DLFT-PP with Uni-Glass Mat Tooling/Equipment Supplier Century Tool & Gage Company

For More Information See: http://www.plastics-car.com/Todays-Automobiles

Simultaneous-Shot Invisible PAB Door

This soft, seamless passenger airbag (PAB) door is integrally molded into a hard instrument panel using a simultaneous-shot molding process and two grades of olefins: talc-filled PP for the IP and a TPO grade for the door itself. This system provides a simple, uncluttered appearance and color harmony while eliminating fit & finish issues and providing improved cold-temperature impact strength. Both design and materials optimization were required for success, and the final system – covered by 7 patents – provides better performance at a $5.00 USD cost and 500 g weight reduction, while significantly reducing molding and assembly operations.

OEM/Vehicle 2009MY Hyundai Motor Co.: Hyundai® i20 Supermini Car System Supplier Hyundai-Mobis Material Processor Hyundai Motor Co.

Material Supplier Multibase Co. Resin Multiflex® TPO 3202 ST2 TPO Tooling/Equipment Supplier Samwha Elec. Co.

For More Information See: http://www.plastics-car.com/sideimpactsafety