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OEM and Tier One integrated suppliers are in constant search of cockpit system components that reduce the overall number of breaks across smooth surfaces. Traditionally, soft instrument panels with seamless airbag systems have required a separate airbag door and a tether or steel hinge mechanism to secure the door during a deployment. In addition, a scoring operation is necessary to ensure predictable, repeatable deployment characteristics. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the development and performance of a cost-effective soft instrument panel with a seamless airbag door that results in a reduced number of parts and a highly efficient manufacturing process. Because of the unique characteristics of this material, a cost-effective, lightweight solution to meet both styling requirements, as well as safety and performance criteria, can be attained.

Using a combination of engineering test experience, explicit finite-element analysis, and advanced materials characterization, a predictive engineering method has been developed that can assist in the development of active top pads. An active top pad is the component of the instrument panel that covers the passenger airbag module and articulates during a crash event, allowing the airbag to deploy. This paper highlights the predictive analysis method, analytical results interpretation, and suggestions for future development.

Designers and engineers encounter many challenges in developing vehicles for the small-car market. They face constant pressure to reduce both mass and cost while still producing vehicles that meet environmental and safety requirements. At the same time, today's discriminating consumers demand the highest quality in their vehicles. To accommodate these challenges, OEMs and suppliers are working together to improve all components and systems for the high-volume small-car market. An example of this cooperative effort is a project involving an integrated structural instrument panel (IP) designed to meet the specific needs of the small-car platform. Preliminary validation of the IP project, which uses a compression-molded, glass-mat-thermoplastic (GMT) composite and incorporates steel and magnesium, indicates it will significantly reduce part count, mass, assembly time, and overall cost.

Electrostatic painting of exterior body components is considered standard practice in the automotive industry. The trend toward the use of electrostatic painting processes has been driven primarily because of environmental legislation and material system cost reduction efforts. When electrostatically painting thermoplastic body panels, side by side with sheet metal parts, it is imperative that the thermoplastic parts paint like steel. Electrostatic painting of thermoplastics has traditionally required the use of a conductive primer, prior to basecoat and clearcoat application. The use of conductive plastics eliminates the need for this priming step, while improving paint transfer efficiency and first pass yield. These elements provide an obvious savings in material and labor. The most significant benefit, is the positive environmental impact that occurs through the reduction in the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC's).

The automotive industry continues to strive for mold-in-color (MIC) solutions that can provide metallic flake appearances. These MIC solutions can offer a substantial cost out opportunity while retaining a balance of weathering performance and physical properties. This paper discusses a predictive engineering package used to hide, minimize and eliminate flow lines. Material requirements and the methods used to evaluate flowline reduction and placement for visual inspection criteria are detailed. The Nissan Quest® luggage-rack covers are used to illustrate this application. The paper also explores how evolving predictive packages offer expanding possibilities.

This paper describes a bumper system design that satisfies both current FMVSS legislation as well as the European Enhanced Vehicle Safety Committee (EEVC) requirements for lower leg pedestrian impact protection. The dual performance solution is achieved through a combination of material properties and design. Using Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) modeling, the performance of an injection molded energy absorber (EA) was analyzed for pedestrian protection requirements of knee bending angle, knee shear displacement, and tibia acceleration, 4Kph pendulum and barrier impacts (ECE42, FMVSS), and 8Kph pendulum and barrier impacts (CMVSS, FMVSS). The results demonstrate how an injection molded EA using polycarbonate/polybutyelene terephthalate (PC/PBT) resin (Figure 1) can meet both FMVSS and pedestrian safety requirements and can do so within a packaging space typical of today's vehicle styling.

This paper describes a bumper system designed to meet the current FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard) and ECE42 legislation as well as the European Enhanced Vehicle Safety Committee (EEVC) requirements for lower leg pedestrian impact protection [1] (The EEVC was founded in 1970 in response to the US Department of Transportation's initiative for an international program on Experimental Safety Vehicles. The EEVC steering committee, consisting of representatives from several European Nations, initiates research work in a number of automotive working areas. These research tasks are carried out by a number of specialist Working Groups who operate for over a period of several years giving advice to the Steering Committee who then, in collaboration with other governmental bodies, recommends future courses of action designed to lead to improved safety in vehicles).

Automotive engineers and designers are working to develop pillar-trim concepts that will comply with the upper interior head-impact legislation, FMVSS 201U. However, initial development cycles have been long and repetitive. A typical program consists of concept development, tool fabrication, prototype molding, and impact testing. Test results invariably lead to tool revisions, followed by further prototypes, and still more impact testing. The cycle is repeated until satisfactory parts are developed - a process which is long (sometimes in excess of 1 year) and extremely labor intensive (and therefore expensive). Fortunately, the use of finite-element analysis (FEA) can greatly reduce the concept-to-validation time by incorporating much of the prototype and impact evaluations into computer simulations. This paper describes both the correlation and validation of an FEA-based program to physical free-motion head-form testing and the predictive value of this work.

This paper documents the design methodology, part performance, and economic considerations for a generic hardware module applied to a front passenger-car door. Engineering thermoplastics (ETPs), widely used in automotive applications for their excellent mechanical performance, design flexibility, and parts integration, can also help advance the development of modular door-hardware systems. Implementation of these hardware carriers is being driven by pressures to increase manufacturing efficiencies, reduce mass, lower part-count numbers, decrease warranty issues, and cut overall systems costs. In this case, a joint team from GE Plastics, Magna-Atoma International/Dortec, and Excel Automotive Systems assessed the opportunity for using a thermoplastic door hardware module in a current mid-size production vehicle. Finite-element analysis showed that the thermoplastic module under study withstood the inertial load of the door being slammed shut at low, room, and elevated temperatures.

A new front bumper, blow molded from an engineering thermoplastic, is being used to provide full 8 km/h federal pendulum and flat-barrier impact protection, as well as angled barrier protection on a small passenger car. The low intrusion bumper is compatible with the vehicle's single-sensor airbag system and offers a 5.8 kg mass savings compared with competitive steel/foam systems. This paper will describe the design and development of the bumper system and the results achieved during testing.

Three commonly used energy management systems (expanded polypropylene foam, collapsing honeycomb and hydraulic shock absorbers) were fully characterized in 2.2 m/s pendulum bumper impact testing. This work was done to better understand the dynamic energy transfer and absorption of the system components and any synergies which exist between them. The test results showed that the energy absorbing systems which exhibited the best load and deflection performance when considered as individual components do not always work the most synergistically with the reinforcement beam. Simply examining the energy absorber's performance alone did not truly reflect the ability of the beam/absorber system's ability to manage energy.

The August 1996 expansion of FMVSS 201 established head impact performance criteria for upper interior components This standard has forced automotive manufacturers, designers, and suppliers to change their thinking for interiors, especially pillars, compliance with FMVSS 201 will require new, structural designs and energy-absorbing materials An ongoing study has examined the implications of FMVSS 201 and its effect on pillars The results of this study have demonstrated how energy-absorbing engineering thermoplastics can be used to meet and exceed the requirements of the head impact legislation through single-piece pillar trims

Textron Automotive Trim, Valeo Climate Control, and Torrington Research Company, with assistance from GE Plastics, have developed an integrated instrument panel system to meet ever-increasing industry targets for: Investment and piece-cost reduction; Mass/weight savings; Quality and performance improvements; Packaging and space availability; Government regulation levels; and Innovative technology. This system, developed through feedback with the DaimlerChrysler Corporation, combines the distinctive requirements of the instrument panel (IP) with the heater-ventilation-air-conditioning (HVAC) assembly. Implementing development disciplines such as benchmarking, brainstorming, and force ranking, a number of concepts were generated and evaluated. Using a current-production, small, multi-purpose vehicle environment, a mainstream concept was designed and engineered.

This paper will describe an approach to satisfying proposed European Enhanced Vehicle Safety Committee (EEVC) legislation for lower leg pedestrian impact. The solution for lower leg protection is achieved through a combination of material properties and design. Using Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) modeling, the performance of an energy absorber (EA) concept was analyzed for knee bending angle, knee shear displacement, and tibia acceleration. The modeling approach presented here includes a sensitivity analysis to first identify key material and geometric parameters, followed by an optimization process to create a functional design. Results demonstrate how an EA system designed with a polycarbonate/polybutyelene terephthalate (PC/PBT) resin blend, as illustrated in Figure 1, can meet proposed pedestrian safety requirements.

The high costs of prototyping, revisions, and production tooling, with a higher emphasis on quality, concurrent with demands for miniaturization, higher-density packaging, stricter performance, and a shortened product development cycle, have led to the development of advanced analysis techniques that address the performance issues associated with failure prevention in automotive connectors. Because of the complex material and geometric nonlinearity demands in performance, traditional calculations are inadequate, and new methods, utilizing finite element analysis techniques were developed. These highly specialized analysis techniques will enable the designer and engineer to predict connector performance with a high degree of confidence. Concurrent with concept designs, structural analyses (in the areas of assembly, disassembly, and terminal retention) must be done prior to design release.

Thermoplastic body panels are emerging in the industry as automotive manufacturers seek to design for advanced aerodynamic styling, lower weight, and cost effective vehicles. To best exhibit the advantages of GE thermoplastic resins in these applications, an extensive study has been completed to demonstrate the impact performance of thermoplastic body panels in the field based on the current success with the Buick LeSabre T-Type, Buick Reatta, and the Cadillac Deville and Fleetwood models using NORYL GTX® 910 resin fenders. This study provides a “real life” scenario of the advantages of thermoplastics compared to steel in body panel applications.

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.

With the recent amendment to FMVSS 201 upper interior components must now absorb the energy imparted during a head impact The necessary redesign of these parts will require a thorough understanding of material behavior under impact conditions. A study was conducted to evaluate several materials at strain rates and temperatures representative of upper interior conditions under head impact The results of this study show that engineering thermoplastics behave more consistently and predictably at higher strain rates than do polyolefins and are much less rate sensitive than the olefinic materials

The I-Section bumper design has evolved over the past 10 years into a lightweight, low cost, high performance alternative to traditional bumper beams. Initial I-Section Bumpers were developed with 40% Chopped fiberglass GMT. Through the development of lower cost Mineral-Filled/Chopped fiberglass GMT, improved static load and dynamic impact performance results have been achieved in I-Section Bumper Designs.

Recent vehicle design trends require bumper systems to be crashworthy under more demanding circumstances, e.g. tighter package space, heavier vehicle mass, and wider rail spans. Meanwhile, pressure to reduce cost and weight of bumpers continues at a time when roles in the supplier community are changing. These factors have combined to increase the importance of optimizing bumper design and material properties for specific platforms. Materials suppliers have responded by developing a range of specialized engineering thermoplastic (ETP) resins that can help meet increasing performance requirements yet also offer the potential for improved manufacturing productivity, significant weight savings, and systems cost reductions. Material suppliers have also increased the level of technical design support provided to OEMs and 1st Tier suppliers.