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The increased focus on cost reduction remains one of the major interests of the global automotive industry in general and of interior systems suppliers in particular. This emphasis is heightened due to globalization and expansion of automotive OEMs in their product line, so that they may participate and compete in lower priced niche markets. The cost of plastic components in the automotive interior is about $500 per vehicle, of which a significant portion is material cost alone. Low cost materials hitherto not considered traditional autoplastics are making inroads due to the advancements in the interior component manufacturing technology. This paper describes the process of material selection for IPs using Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) tools to evaluate their functional requirements, such as noise vibration and harshness (NVH), sunload deformations, and safety performance.

The increased focus on occupant protection by automobile manufacturers combined with incessant consumer demand for safety features such as dual airbags has posed design engineers with major challenges in the field of Instrument Panel (IP) design. Typically, airbags are designed to deploy when the speed of the automobile is above 13 mph in a frontal impact. The airbag door should meet head impact requirements for unbelted occupants involved in low speed impacts (<15mph) when airbags are not deployed. This paper describes how computer aided engineering (CAE) simulation techniques were used in improving the design of the passenger airbag door of a full size van for head impact performance. Fewer tests were conducted primarily for validation, which resulted in significantly less prototypes, costs and time.