The global automotive industry continues to
benefit from the technological innovations that yield lightweight, environment-friendly
components and parts. Given the importance of transportation, tremendous resources are being
poured into the manufacture of automobiles to meet rising demand.In the latest issue of International Plastics News for Asia, we featured the winners of in the 45th-annual Automotive Innovation
Awards Competition by the Automotive Division of the Society of
Plastics Engineers (SPE®). The Automotive Innovation Awards is the
oldest and largest recognition event in the automotive and plastics industries,
and participated by leading companies in the automotive industry and related industries.
It is also a reflection of ongoing efforts to develop high-performance parts
and components utilizing the latest materials and technologies.
The Materials category winner in 2015 was selected Grand Award winner, representing the most innovative use of plastics by a blue-ribbon panel of judges. In the Materials category, the winner was the Ultralight Class A Body Panels on the 2016 Corvette Stingray convertible sports car from General Motors Co. Tier supplier / material processor / material supplier, Continental Structural Plastics; and toolmaker, Century Tool & Gage & Paragon Die & Engineering Co. also were named on the award.
The application featured TCA Ultra Lite SMC and was produced via the compression molding process. A new 1.2 SG SMC eliminated 9 kg of body-panel weight after a running change from a mid-density grade, where no tooling changes were required. Suitable for Class A or structural components, the new composite offers 28% mass reduction vs. mid-density (1.6 SG) grades and 43% vs. conventional (1.9 SG) SMC. It provides greater benefits vs. metal, including reduced weight and tooling costs, enhanced design flexibility, corrosion and dent resistance, and superior surface finish. Key to achieving the ultralow density was replacement of CACO3 with hollow-glass microspheres and use of a proprietary surface treatment to improve the resin/reinforcement interface.
The Transparent Lightweight Wind Deflector in the 2016 General Motors Co. Corvette Stingray convertible sports car with material supplied by SABIC won in the Aftermarket category. For the first time, a self-mounted, transparent and frameless wind deflector is used for convertible cars that meets AS2 ANSI and ECE requirements. Lexan 9043 PC with Exatec 900 coating and CNC-trimmed sheet created a steeply raked design that minimizes air turbulence and noise when the top is down. Replacing glass with PC lowered mass 33% and allowed a contoured shape to be achieved that would have been difficult and costly in glass. A laser-etched monogram under the surface is unobtrusive to vision during driving, yet visible during inspection and meets regulatory requirements for glass marking. A plasma coating enhances scratch, chemical, and UV resistance for long use life.
Many other winners bring into focus the innovative technologies in the plastics industry that have benefited the automotive industry. With major players in these two industries working side by side to develop products that support the move toward lightweighting and sustainability we expects more breakthrough products and processes to be developed in the future.
The Materials category winner in 2015 was selected Grand Award winner, representing the most innovative use of plastics by a blue-ribbon panel of judges. In the Materials category, the winner was the Ultralight Class A Body Panels on the 2016 Corvette Stingray convertible sports car from General Motors Co. Tier supplier / material processor / material supplier, Continental Structural Plastics; and toolmaker, Century Tool & Gage & Paragon Die & Engineering Co. also were named on the award.
The application featured TCA Ultra Lite SMC and was produced via the compression molding process. A new 1.2 SG SMC eliminated 9 kg of body-panel weight after a running change from a mid-density grade, where no tooling changes were required. Suitable for Class A or structural components, the new composite offers 28% mass reduction vs. mid-density (1.6 SG) grades and 43% vs. conventional (1.9 SG) SMC. It provides greater benefits vs. metal, including reduced weight and tooling costs, enhanced design flexibility, corrosion and dent resistance, and superior surface finish. Key to achieving the ultralow density was replacement of CACO3 with hollow-glass microspheres and use of a proprietary surface treatment to improve the resin/reinforcement interface.
The Transparent Lightweight Wind Deflector in the 2016 General Motors Co. Corvette Stingray convertible sports car with material supplied by SABIC won in the Aftermarket category. For the first time, a self-mounted, transparent and frameless wind deflector is used for convertible cars that meets AS2 ANSI and ECE requirements. Lexan 9043 PC with Exatec 900 coating and CNC-trimmed sheet created a steeply raked design that minimizes air turbulence and noise when the top is down. Replacing glass with PC lowered mass 33% and allowed a contoured shape to be achieved that would have been difficult and costly in glass. A laser-etched monogram under the surface is unobtrusive to vision during driving, yet visible during inspection and meets regulatory requirements for glass marking. A plasma coating enhances scratch, chemical, and UV resistance for long use life.
Many other winners bring into focus the innovative technologies in the plastics industry that have benefited the automotive industry. With major players in these two industries working side by side to develop products that support the move toward lightweighting and sustainability we expects more breakthrough products and processes to be developed in the future.
