The blow molded knee bolsters on the 1996 Chevrolet Astro and GMC Safari vans are the first blow molded parts used on an interior structural application. These knee bolsters also meet FMVSS 208 requirements. The one-piece bolsters, used on both the driver's and passenger's sides of the vehicle reduced cost by $4.00 and weight by 40% per vehicle compared with two-piece, steel-reinforced plastic knee bolsters.Additional savings were realized in tooling cost reductions of $300,000 and a development time that was shortened by 64 weeks. Part testing was also reduced to the tunability of the process. Aesthetic concerns of matching adjacent injection molded and vinyl parts were also met.This paper discusses the combination of material, processing and tooling technologies that made this program a success.


    Access

    Check access

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Blow Molded Knee Bolsters: An Alternative Approach


    Additional title:

    Sae Technical Papers


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    International Congress & Exposition ; 1997



    Publication date :

    1997-02-24




    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English




    Blow molded knee bolsters: an alternative approach

    Giba,R.J. / Reny,G.P. / Sadr,C. et al. | Automotive engineering | 1997


    Blow-Molded Plastic Active Knee Bolsters

    Schenck, David / Conlee, James K. / Best, Michael et al. | SAE Technical Papers | 2004


    Blow-Molded Plastic Active Knee Bolsters

    Roychoudhury, R. S. / Conlee, J. K. / Best, M. et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2004


    Blow-Molded Plastic Active Knee Bolsters

    Roychoudhury, R. S. / Conlee, J. K. / Best, M. et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2004


    The Development of Blow Molded Knee Bolsters for a Full Frontal Air Bag Application

    Moll, John W / Morra, Mark A / Rowley, Thomas A et al. | SAE Technical Papers | 1996