Lightweight accelerates the trend of popularizing plastic cars

In recent years, with the accelerated popularization of lightweight vehicles, the replacement of plastic parts in automobiles has become an irresistible trend. After all, not all cars can afford the cost of an all-aluminum body.

How far is the plastic car from us?

In recent years, automobiles have begun to use plastic materials in large quantities. Although technological innovations in steel products, such as laser welding, have improved the function of steel and reduced its weight, as well as the use of aluminum and other alloys, the advantages of plastics are obvious. It has a good strength-to-weight ratio and is malleable. Improve aerodynamics, enhance style differentiation, reduce manufacturing renaturation, and enhance crashworthiness – these discovered advantages are the reason why cars use plastics, making them a lightweight choice for cars.

Frank Stiller, CEO of the German rubber and plastics giant KraussMaffei Group, said at the 2016 Chinaplas that it has already prepared for the plastics 4.0 era.

An all-plastic convertible was on the road in the UK, and what's even more amazing is that the parts of the car are made entirely of plastic. The maximum speed has reached 100 km/h.

The car, called "Happy Hood", was invented by French researchers and has four colors: yellow, green, white and silver. It is almost identical in shape to Nod's car, without roof and door, front windshield. It is only half the size of an ordinary car, so it looks more like a motorcycle.

What sets it apart is that the entire car, including the various components inside, is made of plastic, so you never have to worry about rust. The car's seat is also waterproof, so you can park your car outdoors even when it's raining. The plastic car weighs only 370 kilograms, is one-third the size of a regular car, and is equipped with a 500-liter 20-horsepower engine with a top speed of 100 kilometers per hour, making the car's power-to-weight ratio perfect. According to the designer, the lightweight body can make the car more agile on the curve. Interestingly, this car has only two forward and reverse gears, no gearbox, and is driven by a belt. The speed of reversing can be as fast as when going forward.

Plastics replace most metals?

In the rubber and plastics exhibition, in addition to traditional bumpers, interior parts, lamps, dashboards, etc., many chemical materials manufacturers also show other applications of new materials in automobiles, such as sunroof, hood, radiator, etc., as well as front-end modules. , door modules, new energy battery packs, etc. DuPont's truck oil sump is 50% lighter than traditional metal oil sump. The BMW MINI center console, which has been mass-produced by a manufacturer, has an internal support of carbon fiber. With the optimization of material and structural design, the production process has the technological advantage. For example, BASF's all-plastic automotive front-end module, which used to be composed of twenty or thirty small parts, requires as many molds, and now requires only one molding, which greatly reduces the cost of the process.

This is reminiscent of whether the future car can be all plastic (except for conductive parts). An executive at Clariant puts forward his own opinion on this issue: some additives help traditional plastics modify and can make new materials change. It is more resistant to high temperatures and suitable for process requirements. At present, engineering plastics processing temperatures are 220-280 ° C, and some new materials exceed 300 ° C and even reach 400 ° C. With the rapid development of materials technology, it is not impossible to use plastic materials for traditional engines in the future. It is only a matter of time to replace most of the metal parts with plastic.

DSM Group DSM cooperated with Steep Plastique and BPP to develop a new polyamide material for Peugeot and Daimler. The engine oil sump made of this material is 60% lighter than the metal oil sump. At the same time, it has strong impact resistance. The EcoPaXX polyamide 410 material is also newly applied to the engine end caps of the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class sedan and the crankshaft end caps of the Volkswagen next-generation fuel-efficient engine. According to Zhanhong, sales manager of DSM Automotive China, DSM has launched a new high-performance material, Stanyl HGR1, which can reduce the friction torque of the engine timing system and provide vehicle manufacturers with tools to reduce energy consumption. Polyamide 46Stanyl HGR1 has been successfully applied to the new five-pointed V6 engine manufactured by Fiat-Chrysler.

What are the advantages of using plastics as automotive materials?

First, the biggest advantage of automotive materials in plastics is to reduce the weight of the car body. Lightweight is the goal pursued by the automotive industry, and plastics can make a big difference in this regard. Generally, the specific gravity of plastic is 0.9~1.5, and the specific gravity of fiber reinforced composite material will not exceed 2, while in metal materials, the specific gravity of A3 steel is 7.6, brass is 8.4, and aluminum is 2.7. This makes plastic the preferred material for lightweight vehicles.

Second, plastic molding is easy, making it easy to machine parts with complex shapes. For example, the instrument panel is processed by a steel plate, and it is often necessary to first process and shape each component, and then separately assemble or weld with a connecting member, and the number of steps is large. The use of plastic can be molded at one time, the processing time is short, and the precision is guaranteed.

Third, the elastic deformation characteristics of plastic products absorb a large amount of collision energy, which has a large buffering effect on strong impact and protects vehicles and passengers. Therefore, modernized vehicles use plasticized dashboards and steering wheels to enhance cushioning. The front and rear bumpers and body trim strips are made of plastic material to reduce the impact of objects outside the car on the sound of the car. In addition, the plastic also absorbs and attenuates vibration and noise, which improves ride comfort.

Fourth, the plastic is highly resistant to corrosion and will not corrode if it is partially damaged. However, if the steel surface is damaged or the pre-corrosion is not good, it will easily rust and corrode. Plastics have higher corrosion resistance to acids, alkalis, and salts than steel plates. If plastic is used as the body cover, it is very suitable for use in areas with high pollution.

Fifth, plastics can be used to produce the required properties of plastics by adding different fillers, plasticizers and hardeners according to the composition of the plastics, changing the mechanical strength and processing properties of the materials to meet the requirements of different parts of the vehicle. . For example, the bumper should have considerable mechanical strength, while the seat cushion and backrest should be made of soft polyurethane foam. It is more convenient that the plastic color can jump out of different colors through the additive, eliminating the trouble of painting. Some plastic parts can also be plated. For example, ABS plastic has good plating performance and can be used to make decorative strips, signs, switch knobs, wheel trim covers, and the like.

Virtual alternative real model development?

Material selection is only part of the car's weight loss. Equally important, the specific design and handling of the components can be optimized for the use of plastics. In order to minimize the weight of each part or system of the car, three factors must be considered: design, process and materials, which must be thought of in the early stages of development. Today, powerful plastic particle providers are able to offer early solutions in this area. For example, BASF's simulation tools, through the use of computer simulation technology combined with plastic materials, virtual design optimization of components. By simulating the material parameters under different temperature, strain rate and stress states to accurately predict the actual working behavior of plastic parts, the customer's mold is designed by computer virtual simulation. The optimized design allows the mold to pass once, without the need for repeated mold repair and reopening.

Robots replace skilled workers?

There are many robots in the smart manufacturing area of ​​the Rubber and Plastics Exhibition. I am used to the dexterous one-arm robot. The reporter feels that the two-arm robot displayed by ABB is not simple. I saw that the left and right arms of the robot were started at the same time, the left claw accurately took a small piece from the tray, and the right claw also took another material of different shape from the right tray; then the left and right arm claws acted at the same time, the left claw was small The piece is re-fixed, and the right-handed claw picks up the side piece on the target, just like a skilled operator is finishing the work. The difficulty is that the left and right arms are coordinated, just like a person's left and right arms and hands move at the same time. After the modification, it can completely replace some simple and repeated auto parts assembly line labor. The reporter also saw this robot at the same exhibition held in Shanghai at the same time to demonstrate the personality of the assembled Apple mobile phone.

It is understood that this 14-axis robot named YuMi is the world's first truly dual-arm cooperative robot. The robot's mechanical claws also have a vision system and vacuum suction cups with repeatability of 0.02 mm. An ABB product engineer told reporters that he personally understands that this is a way to ask for more powerful products in the future. If the sensing system is added with visual precision and the load is stronger, then the more widely used and more powerful "industrial workers" will be born in a few years.

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