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Livonia, MI-The intersection of plastics, automotive, and innovation was celebrated in Livonia, MI at the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE; Brookfield, CT) Automotive Innovation Awards, with top honors going to a fuel tank that represents not only an innovative part but, in many ways, a new process. The twin-sheet blowmolded (TSBM) fuel system, which also won in the process/assembly/enabling category, took home the show’s grand award for supplier Inergy Automotive Systems (a joint venture between Plastic Omnium and Solvay).

November 27, 2008

4 Min Read
Automotive innovation celebrated

The technology splits a parison in the die head so that each side is blown onto a central core to combine the advantages of an extrusion blowmolded fuel system with the design flexibility of a half-shell process. The still-hot halves are joined together for a strong seal, and the result is a fuel tank for the BMW 7 Series that meets PZEV emissions requirements, boosts tank capacity, lowers emissions, eliminates post-mold operations, and reduces system weight and cost.

According to Inergy’s Dave Hill, who presented the system to the awards judging panel on which MPW sat, the technology allows all the necessary components, like baffles, to be mounted within the tank automatically and without having to cut open the tank post production. Hill said the five- and six-layer tanks are produced in cycles that are only about two seconds longer than traditional methods, with total times around 100 seconds, depending on the tank. Among other benefits to TSBM, Hill cited greater wall-thickness control, which lowers part weight; integrated baffles to reduce fuel sloshing; and optimal positioning of the level-sensor gauge, venting valves, and the fuel-delivery module, which all increase fuel capacity, and therefore, the car’s range.

Runner up to the TSBM 7 Series fuel tank for the grand award and winner of the materials honor was a specially formulated thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO)/thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) slush molded into an instrument panel (IP) skin. Winning the materials category, the first TPO/TPE slush-molded IP manufactured in North America was created by Inteva Products (ex. Delphi Interiors) for General Motors and the Saab 9-7X SUV.

Inteva’s Tom Ellis said the patented technology, which has been licensed to compounder A. Schulman, can be molded on the same equipment as the vinyl and urethane it replaces, with equivalent or greater performance, 20% lower weight, and without VOC emissions or fogging. An additive is used to boost the high powder-packing density and increase flow, bringing the cryogenically ground material closer to PVC’s melt viscosity. Marketed under Invision SLX trade name, the system utilizes a proprietary powder flow material and is not fluorinated. Ductile at -30°C, Ellis said it exhibits better brittle failure than PVC.

Other winners included soy-foam automotive seat cushions for the Ford Mustang molded by Lear using soy-polyol-based foam in the environmental category, and an oil-pan module in the chassis/hardware/powertrain category molded from DuPont’s glass-reinforced nylon 6/6 by G. Bruss GmbH for Daimler’s Mercedes C Class sedan—the first all-plastics oil-pan in a passenger car.

In the body interior category, an integrated floor shifter/front console for the Ford Flex CUV molded by Automotive Component Holdings using Nova Chemical recycled styrene maleic anhydride and long-glass PP was honored. The integrated rocker molding/running board for the Ford Escape, an industry first, won in the body exterior category. Blowmolded by the ABC Group, the patent-pending design uses Salflex Polymers’ 30% glass-filled PP.

In the performance and customization category, a dual-weave carbon-fiber composite hood assembly claimed the top prize. The hood, with an integral polycarbonate window, was created by Plasan Carbon Composites for GM’s ZR1 Corvette. The safety prize went to polystyrene foam head-impact protection created for the Ford Focus by Grupo Antolin using Dow materials.

Beyond the individual part awards, Ford was recognized with a new prize, the Vehicle Engineering Team Award, for its Ford Flex crossover. Multiple components and systems, including an integrated rear-seat fridge and acrylic appliqués for security code entry, had been nominated for individual part awards. SPE also recognized seven members of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership for their work to advance fuel-efficiency in cars through new technologies. In its hall of fame prize, SPE recognized polyurethane foam seating, first applied in Chrysler’s 1957 DeSoto and 300.

The SPE also honored Frank Macher with its Lifetime Achievement prize. Macher started in 1966 at Ford’s sprawling Saline, MI facility, which became an injection molding hub for the automaker, and eventually the basis of spun-off part supplier Visteon. That facility grew from 800,000 to 1.6 million sq ft, with Macher named plant manager at 34 after nine years. Macher would go on to work with Collins & Aikman, Federal Mogul, and ITT Automotive. He is currently CEO and managing partner of FMAC & Associates LLC (Ann Arbor, MI). Macher kept the tone light in his acceptance speech, reminiscing about running 40% asbestos filled parts at the start of his career, among other things, but he did use his time at the podium to air concerns he had about the automotive industry in particular and U.S. manufacturing in general.

“No longer does the U.S. stand alone in the determination of its future,” Macher said, highlighting the global nature of business and politics today, and his belief in the need for energy independence. “There’s an adage that necessity is the mother of invention,” Macher added, urging his colleagues to press forward with innovations. “That’s never been more true then now.”

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