The trend in the automotive industry is to move towards a modular approach to systems and assembly. In an increasing number of cases the complete front-end module of the car is assembled offline, tested and mounted on the car as a complete unit on the assembly line. The core part of this sub-assembly is the front-end carrier. Traditionally, the front-end of the car has been closed using a metal structure and all components were mounted on the car on the assembly line. The move towards sub-assemblies drove the BIW structure towards an open front-end, which is closed by the front-end module. This opened the door to the use of innovative material and design solutions that reduce cost and weight, increase functionality and improve performance. This paper presents the options for state-of- the-art front-end carriers, which are normally made of long-glass fibre filled materials. As well as PP, various matrix material options are considered, in addition to hybrid metal/plastic solutions. The requirements and specifications of the system are compared with the influence of design and material choice. Cost, manufacturing and weight considerations play a deciding role in the choice of solution. The variety of options for front-end systems is large and continuously increasing. The use of plastic carriers is expected to increase in importance in the coming years. Fibre-filled plastics offer the best balance of properties for the requirements on the carrier. The choice of process to produce the parts is governed by the availability of equipment and skills, the end-part property requirements, production numbers and of course, costs. Metal-plastic hybrid systems are expected to play an strong part in any new developments for front-end systems. Overmoulding and mechanical fastening of the metal reinforcements may be replaced to some extent by adhesive bonding, to improve structural performance and reduce costs and weight.
Fibre-filled materials for front-end carriers
SPE Automotive TPO Global Conference, 3 ; 283-288
2001
6 Seiten, 2 Bilder
Conference paper
English
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