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Most of the existing energy absorbers (EA) are designed to meet safety regulations with respect to individual geographic locations. North American markets will require that the design should satisfy the FMVSS, IIHS and CMVSS regulations that require the EA to protect the car. The European and Asia-Pacific markets have a different set of requirements that focuses also on the safety of the pedestrian. Design for the former will require the EA to be stiffer, whereas, for the latter markets, the EA will need to be much softer in order to protect the pedestrian. To address the global market, there is a need to design an EA that satisfies these regulations in a truly global sense. In this paper, concept of the global EA is explored and validated using a representative automotive front-end design

This paper describes a methodology to prototype and validate thermoplastic energy absorbers in a broad range of vehicle geometries. The objective of this prototype tool designed with quick prototype methodology is to achieve ready PC/PBT energy absorber designs for pedestrian testing. Generic vehicle models were used to finalize the energy absorber design features. The prototype tool was designed from optimized energy absorber designs that meet pedestrian performance in low packaging space, typically 45–60 mm. A set of prototype tools is being built to match different beam heights and packaging spaces. The tool has also the functionality of achieving different thickness and different design features using the latest manufacturing technologies. A full energy absorber can be built from individual lobes over the width of the car. The finalized design combined with ‘quick prototyping’ methodology was used to finalize the mold design, which can cater to a wide range of vehicle geometries.