Plastic Automotive Exterior Parts
Background
The development of plastics abroad has a history of hundreds of years. From the initial ordinary plastics to the later engineering plastics and now to the special plastics that can completely replace some metals, plastics seem to have the development trend of replacing metals. Facing the shortage of energy at home and abroad, the reform of automobiles lightweight has become an important magic weapon for major automobiles manufacturers. Every 10% reduction in the self-weight of automobiles can make the consumption of fuel (driving energy) reduced by 6% to 8%. Reducing the weight of the whole vehicle has become the key to light weights, and the application of plastics has unique advantages. Therefore, the idea of replacing steel with plastics will be an important development direction in the automobiles industry. According to statistics, the average plastic consumption per car in the world reached 105kg in 2000, accounting for about 8% to 12% of the total weight of the car. At present, the average proportion of automobiles plastics used in developed countries in the total weight of automobiles has reached more than 15%. In some countries, it has exceeded 20%. Plastics have been widely used for functional parts in automobiles in addition to ordinary appearance covers, such as plastic fenders, door inner modules, front end modules, rear tire boxes and rear door systems.
Selection of plastic parts
Selecting materials
At present, plastic parts have been widely used in the automobiles industry. The application of plastics to automobiles is mainly divided into three categories, that is, exterior parts, interior parts and functional structural parts. Plastic exterior parts reduce the weight of the car and achieve the purpose of energy saving, such as front and rear protection, fenders and door outer panel decorating parts. Plastic interior parts have the characteristics of being safe, environmental friendly and comfortable. Elastomer and foamed plastics that absorb shock and vibration energy are used to manufacture instrument panels, seats, headrests and other products, which can reduce the damage to the human body during a collision and improve the safety factor of automobiles. Functional structural parts are mostly made of high-impact engineering plastics to reduce weights, costs and simplify processes, such as plastic fuel tanks, some parts on the engine and chassis. At present, plastics used for automobiles include polypropylene, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, thermosetting composite materials, ABS, polyamide, polycarbonate, polyoxymethylene, polyphenylene ether, polymethyl methacrylate and polyethylene. Generally, modified PP and composite materials are used.
PP (polypropylene) is widely used in assembly systems of major automobiles due to its outstanding advantages such as wide sources, low density, good mechanical balance, chemical corrosion resistance, easy processing and low prices. However, general PP has the disadvantages of high shrinkage rate, poor dimensional stability of products, easy warpage deformation, brittle fracture at low temperatures, poor low-temperature toughness, poor light aging resistance and heat aging resistance, which makes PP unable to meet the special requirements of automobiles bumpers, fenders and front door skirtboards and other parts. It is necessary to modify the general PP. Therefore, the materials used for exterior plastic parts are all modified PP-T20, that is, polypropylene containing 20% of talc content.
The influence of material properties
Compared with models made of traditional materials, models made of traditional materials adopt metal plates, while plastic exterior decorative models use modified PP. There are obvious advantages in light weights. Taking the fender as an example, the plastic fender has a weight difference of more than 50% compared with the metal fender.
The development of plastics abroad has a history of hundreds of years. From the initial ordinary plastics to the later engineering plastics and now to the special plastics that can completely replace some metals, plastics seem to have the development trend of replacing metals. Facing the shortage of energy at home and abroad, the reform of automobiles lightweight has become an important magic weapon for major automobiles manufacturers. Every 10% reduction in the self-weight of automobiles can make the consumption of fuel (driving energy) reduced by 6% to 8%. Reducing the weight of the whole vehicle has become the key to light weights, and the application of plastics has unique advantages. Therefore, the idea of replacing steel with plastics will be an important development direction in the automobiles industry. According to statistics, the average plastic consumption per car in the world reached 105kg in 2000, accounting for about 8% to 12% of the total weight of the car. At present, the average proportion of automobiles plastics used in developed countries in the total weight of automobiles has reached more than 15%. In some countries, it has exceeded 20%. Plastics have been widely used for functional parts in automobiles in addition to ordinary appearance covers, such as plastic fenders, door inner modules, front end modules, rear tire boxes and rear door systems.
Selection of plastic parts
Selecting materials
At present, plastic parts have been widely used in the automobiles industry. The application of plastics to automobiles is mainly divided into three categories, that is, exterior parts, interior parts and functional structural parts. Plastic exterior parts reduce the weight of the car and achieve the purpose of energy saving, such as front and rear protection, fenders and door outer panel decorating parts. Plastic interior parts have the characteristics of being safe, environmental friendly and comfortable. Elastomer and foamed plastics that absorb shock and vibration energy are used to manufacture instrument panels, seats, headrests and other products, which can reduce the damage to the human body during a collision and improve the safety factor of automobiles. Functional structural parts are mostly made of high-impact engineering plastics to reduce weights, costs and simplify processes, such as plastic fuel tanks, some parts on the engine and chassis. At present, plastics used for automobiles include polypropylene, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, thermosetting composite materials, ABS, polyamide, polycarbonate, polyoxymethylene, polyphenylene ether, polymethyl methacrylate and polyethylene. Generally, modified PP and composite materials are used.
PP (polypropylene) is widely used in assembly systems of major automobiles due to its outstanding advantages such as wide sources, low density, good mechanical balance, chemical corrosion resistance, easy processing and low prices. However, general PP has the disadvantages of high shrinkage rate, poor dimensional stability of products, easy warpage deformation, brittle fracture at low temperatures, poor low-temperature toughness, poor light aging resistance and heat aging resistance, which makes PP unable to meet the special requirements of automobiles bumpers, fenders and front door skirtboards and other parts. It is necessary to modify the general PP. Therefore, the materials used for exterior plastic parts are all modified PP-T20, that is, polypropylene containing 20% of talc content.
The influence of material properties
Compared with models made of traditional materials, models made of traditional materials adopt metal plates, while plastic exterior decorative models use modified PP. There are obvious advantages in light weights. Taking the fender as an example, the plastic fender has a weight difference of more than 50% compared with the metal fender.
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