MATERIALS | THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES
SGL and Koller are involved in a Skeletal windshield design based on injection moulding with carbon fibre profiles
requirements. At the same time, we focused on strength and stiffness because the seat also serves as a load floor.” SGL Carbon and Koller Kunststofftechnik have
projects for the 2021 Toyota Sienna. The vehicle, scheduled to launch later this year, has won the Altair Enlighten Award for achievements in vehicle weight savings for reduced mass of the third-row seat. In the previous model, the third-row seat was comprised of 15 different steel components, making it heavy. Toyota wanted the 2021 Sienna’s third seat to be lighter and cost competitive, while exceeding all performance criteria. Toyota turned to BASF to help it achieve its lightweighting goal. “Lightweighting doesn’t always have to be more expensive,” says Todd Muck, from the Toyota Technical Strategic Planning Office at the Toyota R&D Center in Saline, Michigan, USA. “We were able to meet our cost objective and saved 15% compared to the prior generation. The seat is 30% lighter compared to the previous model. We had some great partnerships that helped us achieve these targets, one of which was BASF.” Traditionally, resin components for seating have had metal reinforcement, which can add more cost to the process. Toyota also wanted an injection moulded component that was a shoot-and-ship part – meaning it was made in one piece, without complex and costly post-processing. BASF used its 35% glass-reinforced and impact-modified polyam- ide PA 6 grade Ultramid B3ZG7 CR, and its propri- etary computer aided engineering (CAE) tool Ultrasim, which allowed for accurate CAE simulations during the multiple phases of development efforts. “The third seat design is what I would classify as an enabling technology,” says Matt Parkinson, Manager Applications Development Engineering and Composite Technologies, BASF Performance Materials. “It is the first of its kind in the way it is designed without inserts as a fully injected seat back. One of the challenges was to ensure a high elongation and impact qualities for the crash
38 INJECTION WORLD | January/February 2021
collaborated to manufacture a composite wind- screen for a future high-volume model for the BMW Group. Carbon fibres combined with injection moulding are replacing a conventional steel construction. The carbon fibre profiles are particu- larly flexible fibre tows, pre-impregnated with thermoplastic resin in various dimensions. They will be compiled by SGL Carbon in 50k carbon fibre at its site in Innkreis, Austria, and subsequently processed by the injection moulding company Koller to form a skeletal plastic component. Production of the carbon fibre profiles started in 2020 and production will be ramped up gradually over the next few years for the BMW Group model launch. In the vehicle, the windscreen is a connect- ing element between the roof frames and therefore has an important stabilising function. The carbon fibre profiles add the required stiffness and crash safety to the component. At the same time, they help to reduce the weight of the roof significantly and also support the driving dynamics. The injection moulding process also enables particu- larly complex and material-efficient structures. In the BMW Group model, this component concept will cut weight by 40% compared to conventional steel designs of the component while creating important space for cable ducts and sensors. The production of the carbon fibre profiles themselves is also particularly geared to material and process efficiency in large-scale production. The profiles consist of several smaller fibre strands, the so-called rods, and are manufactured using the a continuous pultrusion process. During product and process development it was one key objective to ensure that material loss during production is almost completely avoided. Jiangsu Hansu New Material has introduced a
new range of high-performance, UD composite tapes – H-poly-Stallone-CF7000 PEI – made with continuous carbon fibre and Ultem 1000F3SP powder from SABIC. Jiangsu Hansu, a leading ther- moplastic composites manufacturer based in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China, worked with SABIC to develop the new UD tapes for potential use in high-performance aerospace applications, such as seat frames and luggage compartments. As a possible replacement for metal, these UD tapes provide opportunities to reduce weight, improve fuel efficiency and support sustainability which are key goals for the aircraft industry. SABIC’s Ultem powder, a special form of advanced polyetherim-
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IMAGE: COMPOSITES UNITED
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