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JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 54

FEATURE “Automotive” Thoughts on automotive construction: opportunities for thermoplastic composites Even as we speak of “green” cars and energy issues are giving cause for thought, conventional ways of thinking are hard to get rid of. For all of this, composite materials can tout some genuine advantages. M. REYNE, ENGINEER, ENSIAS I n automotive construction, 15% of the average weight of current vehicles consists of synthetic materials. The breakdown for the three major functions is as table 1: Table 1: The breakdown for the three major functions. Groups engine and mechanisms body/shell/chassis Average proportion of plastics by weight 10 to 15% Basic functions mechanical and thermal properties structural parts (including self supporting) providing stiffness supported parts for comfort and safety (reduced mechanical stresses) - surface treatments like chromium coatings and paint, which can double the cost of the part (while plastics can be selfcoloured as they are processed); - finishing steps like machining, welding or screw assembly (while a moulded multi-functional product with reduced handling has an advantage over metal assemblies); - logistics (in fact, multifunctional modules – for which it is easier to use plastics – make for more cost-effective logistics). Other cost “culprits” are heat treatments and high-temperature processing which, within the plastics category itself, make thermoset compression a more costly choice than thermoplastic injection. As an illustration, here is a concrete example: before 1970, all car bumpers were made of chromium steel, and the chromium coating accounted for 70% of the bumper’s cost. At the time, Renault put out its R5 model, which featured the first front bumper made of SMC composite, and many Renault executives were saying, “We’ll never sell a car without chrome bumpers”. The SMC bumper was a key element in the car’s image, however, and the car was a great success. It sold very well, and Renault’s competitors all adopted SMC bumpers later on. Due to cost and recycling issues, these bumpers are now made of polypropylene (unfortunately, they are often painted, making them more expensive and more difficult to recycle). 15 to 20% interior trim 60 to 70% Interior trim panels already consist mostly of plastics, and temperatures restrict the use of plastics in the engine assembly. Neither of these cases applies to body parts, however, so the share of plastics here should rise significantly in future. Who knows, perhaps one day we will see an all-plastic/composite body shell. In the automotive body industry, you have to paint steel to keep it from rusting, but there is something illogical about painting colour-fast, age-resistant plastic components just so that they will resemble painted steel. The industrial approach is to allow a material to become established on its own merits, but marketing channels tend to conceal the use of polymers instead of promoting their characteristics to customers. Value analysis Cost price seems to be the only barometer by which the automotive industry takes the plunge or not. It is difficult to imagine, therefore, that a synthetic material that costs more than steel per weight unit and takes longer to process than metal could replace metal just because it reduces weight. And yet, value analysis shows that what eats up the most cost are: Concept « CCV », body in 2 parts injected. The thing to know for an automotive plant is that it is not the drawing presses which constitute the largest investment, but rather the E-coating lines and accessories, including pollution control. These have a major impact on cost price, due to the high energy consumption for a 20-minute E-coating step at jec composites magazine / No45 November-December 2008

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008

Cover
Editorial
Market Place
Advertisers
CONTENTS
NEWS WORLDWIDE
- Companies
 - Innovations
 - Agenda of events
 - Innovations
BUSINESS
 - Market survey
 - Trends: Productivity
 - Human Capital: Designer
FEATURE - AUTOMOTIVE
 - Design
 - Raw material
 - Thermoplastics
 - Prepreg
 - Structural materials
 - Foam materials
 - Induction
 - Software
- Lighting
USERS' PLATFORM
 - Composites in the world
 - Successful partners
- Applications
KNOW-HOW
 - Biopolymer
 - Processing
 - Modelling
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - Cover
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 2
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - Editorial
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - Market Place
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - Advertisers
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - CONTENTS
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 7
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - - Companies
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 9
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Innovations
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 11
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 12
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 13
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 14
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 15
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Agenda of events
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 17
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Innovations
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 19
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 20
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - BUSINESS
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Market survey
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Trends: Productivity
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Human Capital: Designer
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - FEATURE - AUTOMOTIVE
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Design
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 27
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Raw material
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 29
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 30
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 31
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Thermoplastics
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 33
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 34
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 35
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 36
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 37
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 38
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 39
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 40
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Prepreg
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 42
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 43
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Structural materials
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 45
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Foam materials
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 47
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 48
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 49
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Induction
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 51
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Software
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 53
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - - Lighting
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 55
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 56
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - USERS' PLATFORM
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Composites in the world
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 59
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Successful partners
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 61
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - - Applications
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 63
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 64
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - KNOW-HOW
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Biopolymer
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 67
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 68
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 69
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Processing
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 71
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 72
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 -  - Modelling
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 74
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 75
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #45 - November/December 2008 - 76
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