JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 39

AUTOMOTlVE
compression moulding

A moulding process using
two-sided steel compression
Polycon Industries, a division of Magna Exteriors Corp., has developed a
moulding process based on two-sided steel compression moulding. A proprietary fast-cure, high Tg carbon fibre prepreg using industrial grade fibres
was developed for this process. The resulting parts are suitable for Class A
applications.

tures and supplies the unidirectional carbon
fibre prepreg material used in the product.

his innovative process is the result
of years of development at Magna,
which has seen the company at the
forefront of R&D efforts to enable carbon
fibre manufacturing at the required volumes for the automotive industry. The resulting carbon fibre hoods help meet fuel
economy and emissions standards.

Development and market
The primary tooling was supplied by
Century Tool & Gage Co. (Fenton,
Michigan). A modified tool design based
loosely on conventional shear edge compression tools was used. Modifications
based on Fibersim analyses were incorporated. Prepreg sheets are cut to a 2D shape
and then preformed using a proprietary
end-of-arm tool concept to achieve approximately 80% of the final 3D shape.
Barrday Composite Solutions manufac-

Class A surface result

and innovative composites like carbon fibre hoods.
This innovation received a JEC Award on
4 May 2016, as part of the JEC Americas
Composites Show & Conferences in
Atlanta, Georgia.
More information:
www.magna.com

Focus
Magna is a leading global automotive supplier with 306 manufacturing operations and 92 product development, engineering and sales centres in 29 countries. The company has over 147,000 employees focused on delivering superior
value to its customers through innovative products and processes, and world
class manufacturing. These figures include manufacturing operations, product
development, engineering and sales centres and employees in equity accounted operations. Product capabilities include the manufacture of body, chassis,
exterior, seating, powertrain, electronic, vision, closure and roof systems and
modules, as well as complete vehicle engineering and contract manufacturing.
No110 January - February 2017

/ jec composites magazine

Feature Automotive

High temperatures
The value created by the use of composite
materials in this development is based on
the high Tg formulations that enable the
material to withstand heat from harsh environments in parts such as large horizontal
panels. The Tg also allows the parts to be
processed at higher temperatures (125°C)
typically seen in North American paint
shops, vs. typical European paint shop temperatures (81°C).

Cycle time and weight
With a cycle time measured in minutes vs.
conventional autoclave technology where
cycle time is in hours or days, the process
allows for higher volume serial production
to be considered within the automotive sector. At its Polycon Industries manufacturing
division in Ontario, Magna manufactures
the auto industry's first volume production
of carbon fibre hoods for Cadillac's 2016
ATS-V and CTS-V high-performance models. The hoods are more than 27% lighter
than aluminium hoods and 72% lighter than
steel ones.
Through its lightweighting expertise, Magna
can help customers meet challenging fuel
economy and reduced emissions standards.
Their ability to look at the vehicle holistically
uniquely positions the company to offer solutions from advanced and ultra-high-strength
steels to thin seats, multi-material structures,

http://www.magna.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017