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The first single-piece, injection-molded, thermoplastic, front bumper for a light truck provides improved performance and reduced cost for the 1997 MY Explorer® Ltd. and 1988 MY Mountaineer® truck from Ford Motor Company. Additionally, the system provides improved impact performance, including the ability to pass 5.6 km/hr barrier impact tests without damage. Further, the advanced, 1-piece design integrates fascia attachments, reducing assembly time, and weighs 8.76 kg/bumper less than a baseline steel design. The complete system provides a cost savings vs. extruded aluminum and is competitive with steel bumpers.

Owing to OEM pressures to reduce costs and mass, improve production efficiency, consolidate parts, and eliminate secondary finishing operations, a series of new-generation fascia materials in engineering thermoplastics are being positioned to replace lower performing thermoplastic polyolefins - the current industry standard in both North America and, to a lesser extent, in Europe. Among these materials are resins capable of thin-wall molding, electrostatic conductivity, primerless adhesion to paint, the ability to eliminate paint in certain segment-specific applications, and the ability to be painted on-line with the rest of the body-in-white. These new materials are expected to have a significant impact on fascia production in both North America and Europe, as requirements for fascias change to an emphasis on lighter weight, higher structural performance, lower cost, and more efficient finishing.

Finite-element analyses were used to develop an injection-molded one-piece bumper system for the front bumper of a midsize vehicle (1350 to 1450 Kg). The method used in design was to first examine the performance using linear equations related to four-point bending of abeam. Using results from the initial calculations, a design to fit in a generalized package space was developed and then analyzed for structural integrity in barrier impacts. Results from detailed finite-element analyses were used in further design iterations, and a final design concept was analyzed in all required bumper impacts, excluding corner. It will be shown that based on package space, deflection requirements, and rail load requirements, an injection-molded one-piece bumper system such as the one presented here should offer acceptable performance while reducing weight and number of parts.