A growing focus on lightweighting
Vehicle weight is a considerable factor in fuel economy. Of many possible solutions to meet CAFE standards – among them alternative fuels, electrification and advanced powertrain – lightweighting is increasingly a primary focus in automakers’ push to achieve fuel efficiency goals.
Automakers have already achieved improvements in fleet fuel economy through downsizing and engine efficiency programs, but as the industry faces progressively tougher regulations, OEMs are shifting focus to lightweighting.
A WardsAuto and DuPont survey released in August 2015 reported lightweighting as a top technology focus in the automotive design and engineering industry, where only a few years ago, powertrain improvements took the top spot.
But the survey results also noted concern about the cost of implementation of lightweight materials. Though respondents expressed confidence in the ability of the existing materials portfolio to meet OEMs’ requirements and lightweighting needs, many are not yet cost-effective for mainstream use.
Carbon fiber
With continuing development of the carbon fiber supply chain, analysts predict largescale automotive adoption of carbon fiber in the mid-2020s. Lux Research predicts a $6 billion market for automotive CFRPs by 2020. Both research organizations and automakers have shown great interest in building the carbon fiber supply chain and preparing the technology for wider implementation.
Carbon fiber had a high-profile moment at the 2015 North American International Auto Show with the unveiling of Ford Motor Co.’s new GT supercar. The high-performance vehicle has a carbon fiber passenger cell and structural carbon fiber body panels. Executives at the time described it as a jumping-off point for the company’s carbon fiber plans, pointing to the common practice of introducing new technologies in low volumes and committing to develop carbon fiber components for a broader market.
Natural fibers
Several automakers are creating programs to design parts using bio-based or renewable materials, like incorporating natural fibers into plastics.
When major automotive supplier Faurecia SA sold its exteriors business to Cie. Plastic Omnium, it retained its composites business, citing anticipated growth in the sector. In addition to carbon fiber, the business includes Faurecia’s natural fiber program, headlined by its hemp-reinforced NafiLean injection molding material. The supplier has been building capacity and is in the process of rolling out global production, touting the material’s design flexibility as well as weight reduction potential.
A new generation of materials
Suppliers continue to develop new materials and new fillers that can provide weight savings while meeting OEMs’ design and performance needs.
General Motors Co., working with Continental Structural Plastics, introduced sheet molded compound body panels reinforced with hollow glass microspheres from 3M Co. instead of more conventional calcium carbonate. The technology, which appears in the 2016 Chevrolet Corvette sports car, won the top prize in the Society of Plastics Engineers’ 2015 Automotive Innovation Awards.
Collaboration and development
When any and every part in a vehicle is a potential target for lightweighting, increased collaboration between material suppliers and part designers can reveal new opportunities to reduce weight and complexity. The automotive industry is seeing more collaboration in the supply chain, moving beyond simply taking a metal part and making it in plastic instead, and working to optimize performance and streamline assembly for multiple components.
As the automotive supply chain continues to develop new materials and technologies and advance them for cost-effective widespread use, plastics remain a key utility for lightweighting.
Ford in December announced its new GT would swap traditional windshield glass for Gorilla Glass, the stuff in billions of smartphone screens worldwide, layered with a thermoplastic adhesive. Again, Ford stated its intent to develop the technology for more widespread use.
(According to Report “Plastics in Automotive” – Plastics News)