automotive | SPE Awards
From left to right: Ford 2015 Mustang glove box door. One piece LED collimator lens used on Ford’s F-150. Carbon- fibre reinforced PA sunroof frame for Hyundai
alternative designs, the part has resulted in a $250,000 reduction in fixed costs and a $300,000 saving in indirect costs. First place in the Powertrain category went to an injection moulded crankshaft cover with integrated oil seal developed by German Tier One supplier KACO and machinery maker Engel for use on Volkswagen’s 2014 MDB diesel engine product line. The injection moulded part is produced in 70% renewable content EcoPaxx Q-HG10, a 50% glass reinforced PA 4,10 from DSM Engineering Plastics which is over-moulded onto a seal comprised of a PTFE dynamic element co-mould- ed with an LSR static part. It is produced in tooling developed by Elmet. “In the application itself, the dynamic PTFE seals
reduce friction to a minimum; the manufacturing process is completely waste-free; and the part makes substantial use of sustainable materials,” says Andreas Genesius, head of project management at KACO. The EcoPaXX crankshaft cover weighs around 40% less than a crankshaft cover with similar geometry made in aluminium and the total system cost is said to be reduced by up to 25%. DSM’s Stanyl PA4,6 resin is used in another finalist
Right: KACO of Germany moulds this crankshaft cover with
integrated seal in 70%
renewable content PA from DSM
in the Powertrain category, a hot side charge air cooler duct and resonator produced by Hutchinson FTS for the 2014 Fiat Chrysler Jeep Cherokee. Injection moulded in a highly stabilised Diablo OCD2100 grade, the new design reduces the part count, cutting weight by 32% and cost by 42%. It also offers a wider acoustic tuning range, allowing a broader range of applications. Overall winner in the Process, Assembly and
Enabling Technologies category was awarded for the injection moulded single collimator LED lens used on the 2015 model Ford F-150. The part, developed by Ventra Plastics and produced by Flex-N-Gate, is injection moulded in Makrolon LED 22.4.5 PC from Bayer MaterialScience using a multi-layer moulding technique. It is said to be the first time a low and high beam lens system has been produced in plastic. The use of a multi-shot injection moulding process
allowed the 45mm thick lens to be moulded layer-by- layer on a shortened cycle time while still holding the
40 INJECTION WORLD | November/December 2014
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required surface tolerance of ±40 microns. Cost savings of around $5 a vehicle are achieved. Other finalists in this category included a high gloss
entertainment system bezel for the 2013 Mercedes S-Class injection moulded in a T65 XF PC/ABS blend from Bayer MaterialScience. The part is produced for Johnson Controls by French moulder Plastivaloire using the Mucell microcellular foam moulding tech- nique developed by Trexel in conjunction with variother- mal (heat/cool) mould temperature control. The part replaced a two-part assembly, reducing weight by 40% and cost by 20%. The injection moulded carbon fibre reinforced PA6
panoramic sunroof frame produced by Inalfa Roof Systems Korea for Hyundai Motor Group’s Sorento utility vehicle won first place in the Body Exterior category. Produced in Hiprene ALC12B carbon fibre reinforced PA6 from GS Caltex Corp, the new design is claimed to the first application of a carbon fibre reinforced thermo- plastic in a sunroof frame and allows 33 steel compo- nents to be reduced to just four plastic mouldings. Other Body Exterior finalists included a transparent
rear spoiler fin for the 2014 GM Chevrolet Corvette Stingray injection moulded by 3-Dimensional Services Group in impact and UV resistant Lexan SLX1432 PC copolymer from Sabic and a multi-airdam belly moulding produced in a talc-filled PP compound from KW Plastics by US Farathane Corporation for the 2015 Ford Mustang. First place in the Environmental category was awarded
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