AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN
and it has almost the required and even better performance for our application.” “Te technical data of the Windform SP displayed a very high potentials to be used for producing the DAB housing by SLS process, says Daniel Alt from the innovations team.”
Tanks to the collaboration with CRP
Technology and to the use of Windform SP carbon composite material, it was possible to produce a functional prototype and to test it in a complete airbag module within a short period.
RESULTS Assembling the entire module of the airbag system
have sufficient strength, impact resistance and heat stability to perform properly under different testing conditions.
SOLUTION
Te team scheduled a very tight programme, aimed to reach specific purposes, that is: produce a real functional prototype part within days instead of months, out of composite materials that are almost similar in mechanical, thermal properties and performance to the original materials; test part performance under real testing environment conditions to examine how the material will perform under thermal changes and to withstand high strain mechanical stresses; eliminate the amount of time-consuming and avoid the highly tooling costs of conventional process. Te team turned
to CRP Technology for its Windform Top-Line range of high- performance materials and its in-house 3D printing service. Ziadeh comments that, “after running some market analysis to find out the most suitable
material and process that could deliver the required performance, we came across the Top-Line family of composite material and, specifically, the Windform SP. Te range caught our attention due to the fact that it’s a material produced from polyamide PA grades and reinforced with carbon fibre as a powder form material,
Final part mounted in the steering wheel
Te test has led to very good results as the material exhibits an excellent mechanical performance in terms of high strength and impact resistance as well a good thermal stability between a low and high range of temperatures (RT; 23°C, -35°C and 85°C). “Terefore this opportunity has opened up a variety of capabilities and considerations for a further cooperation with CRP Technology,”comments Ziadeh. Alt adds, “Also, the prototype part demonstrated an outstanding performance during various testing conditions, which has proven the fact of part functionality for a complete consideration of a new product development. Basically, the advantage of using the SLS process is the possibility to use reinforced polymers with high mechanical performance and stability. Te combination allows for the manufacturing of complex part structures with good tolerance. Te Windform SP indicates an excellent mechanical properties in terms of high tensile strength, impact resistance and thermal stability at high temperature. Tis actually fulfils the requirements of the DAB housing part.”
Te most innovative aspect about Joyson Safety Systems’ project and
application is the fact that this is the first functional prototype of a DAB housing to be produced with SLS process using a composite material that exhibits an excellent mechanical performance in terms of high strength and
impact resistance as well a good thermal stability.
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