Advantage foam in the automotive world

Mecaplast, a Monaco-based supplier of plastic automotive components, says it can cut the weight of interior and exterior trim parts by at least 30%,sanitary napkin using a new injection moulding process. 

It has just begun working on a project called Plume, sponsored by the French government, which uses moving cores - and a blowing agent - to reduce the density of moulded polypropylene (PP) components. 

"Parts made by this process could lead to a total vehicle weight reduction of between 5 and 7kg," says Elsa Germain, research and innovation engineer at Mecaplast. 

In the process, material is injected into a mould with moving walls (which begin in the forward position). Once all the material has been injected, and the skins of the part have solidified, the walls retract. This reduces pressure in the cavity,blower and fan causing a chemical blowing agent - which had been dissolved in the melt - to come out of solution in those areas that are still molten. 

This creates a cellular structure,Vsi crusher which fills the newly created space. The foaming process alone can deliver a weight reduction of at least 30%,digital scales wholesale compared to a conventional solid moulding. 

This can be increased by the compound formulation. These compounds incorporate new types of reinforcing filler that improve surface quality and reduce part weight (by up to 7%) without loss of mechanical properties. 

Compounds with various fillers will be trialled during the project. The new compounds, based on PP impact copolymer, are being developed exclusively for Mecaplast. They have good flow properties and a melt flow index above 50g/10min. 

Mecaplast will run trials of the process on two components: a tailgate interior trim, and exterior beltline mouldings. The beltline mouldings will be produced in two versions - one with a grained surface (that requires no painting) and another that will be paintable. 

The project involves a number of French companies:, including compound producer Sumika Polymer Compounds (part of Sumitomo Chemical Group), mould-maker Cero, polymer science research laboratory IMP,China 4x4 Accessories wholesalers and Cemef.