MATERIALS IN DESIGN & PROTOTYPING FEATURE
HOW COMPOSITE MATERIALS CAN HELP TO REDUCE VEHICLE WEIGHT
In order to meet standards – such as the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) mandate that, by 2025, the national automobile fleet should average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 to minimise emissions – automotive companies are looking for ways to make cars lighter without sacrificing their strength and structural integrity. According to Exel composites,
thermoset composites are one of the best replacements for steel. These are formed using glass, carbon or aramid fibres, which are then combined with resins such as polyesters, vinyl esters, epoxies or phenolic resins. Fibreglass is one of the key reinforcing materials used in the US thermoset
composites industry. It is a good replacement for steel in vehicle structural components such as drive shafts, bumpers and roof beams. Carbon fibre, meanwhile, has comparable properties to steel, but is only one-fifth the weight. When directly compared to steel, composite materials can meet or surpass
the automotive industry’s material property demands, including low coefficients of thermal expansion for heat conduction, dimensional stability for shape retention, corrosion resistance in wet conditions, and high-impact strength to withstand repeated use. In addition, the low weight of composite components also helps provide good sound baffling and an overall quieter performance. Electric vehicles are one area that can benefit from composite components.
Their batteries are heavy and it is likely that the bulk battery weight will not decrease. Minimising component weight is, therefore, critical. The batteries must be held in special boxes to protect them and to prevent any discharge from shocking passengers, and composites are ideal for this application. In many Asian countries, composite materials are becoming increasingly
popular in the electronics sector, especially for companies supplying to the automotive industry. While North America and Europe account for a key share of the global thermoset composites market, an increase in demand for electric and lightweight vehicles is also anticipated to propel the composites market in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.
Exel Composites
www.exelcomposites.com
PROTOTYPE ANALYSIS TOOL HAS ‘PRODUCTION-LIKE’ APPEARANCE
Developed by New Zealand based environmental design house Koringa Systems, the portable Agrichem Residue Tester (ART S2) is a hand-held chemical and contaminant analysis tool that will work on any foodstuffs or hard surface to identify any chemical or pesticide, herbicide and fungicide, from a seed through to final harvest. Using this, a farmer would be able to detect over-watering, contamination and other information to be able to maximise yields in a sustainable way. Ogle Models was commissioned to build a model of the device
to demonstrate its eventual look and feel to potential investors. As part of the brief, the battery pack and main scanner part needed to have a positive clip feel without having any actual clips within the prototype. To achieve this, magnets were used and the team at Ogle had to experiment with which ones worked best, where to locate them and how best to fix them in position. SLA was used to ensure the best level of finishing and crisp
detail, and a realistic weight. Lead weights were placed in an internal cavity and secured in strategic areas to ensure the centre of gravity was correct. With the paint and hand finishing imperative to the model, certain details and features were split at the CAD stage and printed separately to give the model crisper split lines for the finer detailing. Paints and lacquers were then applied for the production-like
appearance. The handle included a soft-touch paint to mimic a rubber feel, iridescent paint on machined Perspex to simulate a lens, and metallic paints to represent metallic components without the cost of machining them from actual metal.
Ogle Models
www.oglemodels.com
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