Driving innovation in the automotive sector

Two automotive applications moulded from SABIC's Innovative Plastics' broad portfolio of thermoplastic materials received top honours at the 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Automotive Innovation Awards competition – including the coveted Hall of Fame award and the overall Grand Award. These innovative components – ranging from the world's first all-plastic door module and a lower leg protection system made with sustainable material to a lighter-weight instrument panel – underscore the many major innovations on resin technologies to achieve top automotive industry goals of weight and cost reduction, design freedom and improved safety.
The first all-plastic structural door-hardware module, also known as the SuperPlug, from Inteva Products, LLC, was the Hall of Fame winner. It replaced 40 separate metal parts with a single gas-assisted injection-moulded part made with SABIC's Xenoy 30% glass-filled polycarbonate/polybutylene terephthalate (PC/PBT) resin. The door module concept began with Xenoy PC/PBT resin and has been widely adapted in the industry as the material of choice for this application. The SuperPlug door module reduces costs by 10%, reduces weight by 3.3 lb per door/13.2 lb per vehicle and simplifies assembly by allowing the module to be placed within the door on the assembly line. This door module programme paved the way for door modules across the industry.
The overall Grand Award winner – also the Process/Assembly/ Enabling Technologies category award winner – is the Ford Escape/ Ford Kuga instrument panel made by Faurecia using Trexel MuCell microcellular foam injection moulding technology and SABIC STAMAX 20% long glass fibre (LGF) polypropylene (PP). This application reduces weight by 1 lb, reduces cycle time by 15% and lowers cost by about $3 per vehicle compared to an instrument panel moulded with a standard injection moulding process.
The Ford C-Max lower leg protector, a finalist this year in the Safety category, features an undertray with uniquely designed spring-back action to help reduce knee bending and resulting injury during an impact with a pedestrian. The undertray is moulded by Faurecia from SABIC's Xenoy iQ PC/PBT-based resin, which incorporates up to 60 percent up-cycled post-consumer plastic waste and helps to increase the sustainability of the vehicle. This approach also reduces mass by providing tuned stiffness without the need for additional steel spoiler supports.
Sustainable Xenoy iQ resin is also used to mould the upper load-path energy absorber for the Range Rover Evoque sport utility vehicle, which was also a finalist this year in the Safety category. This application is a one-piece plastic fascia reinforcement with pedestrian safety functionality and is designed to meet the challenges of lower-leg impact protection in a vehicle with a higher bumper. This part, moulded by Magna International, integrates five functions, including air intake, headlamp support and grille attachments.
To reduce weight, Sanyo Electric moulds the battery module for the Volkswagen Touareg hybrid – a finalist in the Powertrain category – from SABIC's Noryl modified PPE resin featuring non-halogenated flame retardance and compliance with the UL 94 vertical burn test. By replacing die-cast aluminum, Noryl resin reduces weight by 48%, provides design freedom to integrate air temperature control, and eliminates costs associated with stamping and machining aluminum.
The world's first structural plastic technology (SPT) spoiler, a finalist in the Body Exterior category, features SABIC's Geloy polycarbonate/acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (PC/ASA) resin and is moulded by ABC Group. The Geloy resin is foamed at the corners using SPT and a chemical foaming agent via gas-counterpressure moulding to accomplish a thicker, 0.26 inches (6.5 mm), wall section for a challenNike Roshe Run Men