Venturing a quiet business ripple

The patented Sandwiform consists of a honeycombed cellular core positioned between two thermoplastic skins reinforced with glass and polypropylene.

Venture a guess as to which company reigns as the largest supplier of plastic components to Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, and SEAT. The company also ranks as the largest producer of bumper systems in Europe. Among its future product efforts, the firm is managing the design, tooling, and production of 74 components that comprise the hardtop roof on the 2002 Ford Thunderbird. Venture Industries, headquartered in Fraser, MI, provides automakers with interior systems, cockpit modules, front-end systems, and exterior trim as well as composite closures and body panels.

"We're a private company that has remained low-key, but that's slowly starting to change," said Scott Pickelhaupt, Vice President of Marketing for Venture. "We work with all the major automotive manufacturers, and we conduct business with Eastern block nations and Chinese automakers. We're a broad-based automotive supplier with $2.4 billion in annual revenues."

Vehicle applications for Sandwiform include cargo load floors.

The company's patented Sandwiform material has particularly caught the attention of automakers. The Renault Avantime's cargo load floor and the Nissan Primera's reversible floor panel are made of Sandwiform. "We've created a system that uses one base material," said Lloyd Hilligoss, Director of Advanced Composite Systems Development for Venture Industries. "Everything from the core to the carpet is the same material—for example, polypropylene. The entire process is done in one step. All of the related components—core, reinforcing skins, decorative carpets/grained skins—are placed in the forming process at the same time. In one motion, the part is formed in 3-D with finished edges, living hinges (providing indefinite flex), varying wall sections, (and) punched holes."

Sandwiform features a honeycombed cellular core that's positioned between two thermoplastic skins reinforced with glass and polypropylene. The company employs a thermo-compression production process, which simultaneously exposes the materials to heat and pressure, creating a thermoplastic composite that ranges in thickness from 5 and 30 mm (0.2 and 1.2 in).

Moldite is more than six times stiffer per pound than steel and is highly machinable.

Application possibilities for Sandwiform include engine shields, trunk panels, backrests, skid plates, spare wheel pans, truck beds, front and rear bumper beam systems, and cargo load floors. "Traditional load floors with hinges typically weigh double (and) are made of wood chip or particle boards that require reinforcement plates to attach the piano-style steel hinge. Then the whole part must be sprayed with adhesive to attach the carpeting," said Hilligoss.

Sandwiform is also being positioned as an interior floor pan alternative. "It would be a finished, one-piece product that is just dropped into the vehicle," said Hilligoss. "This front-to-rear vehicle floor pan could have concealed compartments and integrated attachment points for seats, center console, shift console, and center armrest; anything that you'd attach to the floor of a vehicle could attach to this. You'd also have insulation qualities because the product would serve as an acoustic and thermal barrier. This material is rust proof, corrosion resistant, and 100% recyclable." The vehicle floor pan application is already targeted for a future production vehicle.

Venture Industries produces 74 components that comprise the hardtop roof on the 2002 Ford Thunderbird.

This spring, Venture Industries and composites developer Moldite, Inc. announced the development of a new lightweight, high-strength material via their joint venture company, Moldite Technologies. Billed as an alternative to ultra-high-strength steel and aluminum, the thermal-set resin composite's unique aspect is its proprietary core. "We can actually create any continuous shape you want with this material," Hilligoss said about Moldite, citing such examples as square tubes, round tubes, pipes, and bars for applications such as side intrusion beams in doors and stiffeners in pickup truck boxes.

The floatable Moldite has demonstrated up to a 90% product weight reduction. "In a recent plastic pallet application, we were able to replace 10 kg (22 lb) of square 3-mm (0.12-in) wall steel tube with just 1 kg (2.2 lb) of Moldite and pass all customer specification tests," said Dave Peash, Moldite Technologies CEO and Venture Industries Executive Vice President. Moldite's patent-pending composition yields fire-retardant and corrosion-resistant properties as well as resistance to harsh chemicals, caustics, mold, and mildew. "We're continuing to work with different core materials and different resins," said Hilligoss.

- Kami Buchholz

Magnesium on the move

If high-temperature, creep-resistant magnesium alloys become a cost-worthy alternative to existing choices for powertrains, the automotive industry may turn more often to the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust.

"This will be a very important milestone as it will open up many powertrain application opportunities," said Stephen Erickson, Technical Specialist for Noranda Magnesium, Inc. during the 12th Annual Magnesium in Automotive Seminar in Troy, MI. A new magnesium alloy known as MRI 153 for temperature applications up to 150°C (302°F) is considered a future bellwether.

MRI 153, developed and patented by Dead Sea Magnesium Ltd. and Volkswagen AG, is a creep- and corrosion-resistant alloy for diecasting. Powertrain components made of the magnesium alloy are undergoing road tests by Volkswagen, and a MY03 European Volkswagen vehicle is slated to use MRI 153 for various components, including gearbox, clutch, and transmission housings. "We have cast engine blocks for their (Volkswagen's) larger vehicles. It will probably be another year before we can come out and publish some results," said Nick Fantetti, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Dead Sea Magnesium with offices in Beer-Sheva, Israel, and Auburn Hills, MI.

Since 1991, the amount of magnesium used in passenger vehicles has had an annual growth rate of 12%. Vehicles currently in production average 2.3 kg (5 lb) of magnesium. The most magnesium-intensive vehicles tip the content scale at 25 kg (55 lb). "We expect magnesium to grow even faster in the next 10 years, and that's not even talking about powertrain (components)," said Bob Powell, Product Leader of the USCAR/U.S. Automotive Materials Partnership.

The barriers to using magnesium in powertrain applications include the high cost of creep-resistant alloys, corrosion concerns, lack of long-term field validation or controlled fleet testing data, and a limited scientific understanding of magnesium alloys and casting processes. "But the situation is changing," said Powell.

Powell, who works in the materials and processing lab at Warren, MI-based General Motors' R&D Center, outlined details about the new Magnesium Powertrain Cast Components Project during the magnesium seminar. DaimlerChrysler, GM, Ford Motor Co., and the Department of Energy have approved the four-year program to demonstrate the feasibility of cast magnesium powertrain components.

The first phase will identify potential high-temperature magnesium alloys, benchmark the properties of the alloys' cast specimens, and create a results database. In addition, this phase will encompass the design of magnesium powertrain components using FEA and cost modeling. Finally, it will launch research and development in the U.S. for future magnesium alloy and powertrain component advances.

After phase one wraps—likely in June 2002—the team will decide if a magnesium-intensive powertrain has sufficient cost benefits to justify moving to phase two. Assuming phase two is given the green-light, the workload includes completing detailed powertrain component designs, building the dies and tooling, and casting the components. A property database on specimens excised from the castings also will occur as will the assembly of complete powertrains for dynamometer and vehicle tests to validate design, performance, and durability. After testing, teardown inspections will unfold as well as any necessary failure analysis, and a common materials specification for an industrial high-temperature magnesium alloy will be written.

The phase-two team will include representatives from the U.S. big three automakers, ingot and casting suppliers, tool and die manufacturers, flow/solidification simulation software companies, and testing laboratories. Phase two is slated to conclude in March 2005.

- Kami Buchholz