Plastics used to make cars

Bend New Materials into Futuristic Shapes

New materials for car bodies may soon transform the auto industry. Auto engineers can mold these carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics into virtually any shape. The materials are both strong and light which increasies fuel efficiency and safety at the same time. Cars built entirely out of plastic could be the wave of the future, making metal a thing of the past when it comes to cars.

New, innovative cars made almost entirely of plastic are paving the way for what you may be driving in the future.

A mechanical engineer at Porsche Engineering Services in Troy, Mich., says, “With plastics you can design cars which are very bold, and that gives you an advantage to sell nicer cars.”

Plastics have gained a lot of ground over traditional metals used in cars, making it possible to build almost an entire vehicle completely of non-metal material.

Mechanical engineers use a lightweight, high-strength aerospace material called carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. It’s used in the doors, hoods, fenders, chasis and also in support frames for the engine and transmission. You can mold the plastics into very complicated shapes that maybe you can’t do in steel, plastics help cars lose weight to go farther on fuel.

New materials, like plastic, are usually tested on high-end vehicles first. Once the materials are proven to be more efficient and cost effective, they eventually filter down to affordable consumer vehicles.

BACKGROUND:

Student designers at the College for Creative Studies are creating new plastic polymer materials as alternatives for automobile elements typically made of steel. The designs were part of a semester-long project and the automotive division of the Society of Plastics Engineers.

ADVANTAGES:

Among other advantages, plastics can significantly reduce the weight of a vehicle, improving fuel efficiency by reducing drag, and also cutting down on emissions. Because plastic can be more easily molded, components can be tailored for more comfortable human-ergonomic features, as well as more streamlined, aerodynamic shapes. Less material can be used than with steel components and the durability of plastics results in a longer, more reliable vehicle lifetime.

SOURCES:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_fiber-reinforced_polymer

http://www.azom.com/Details.asp?ArticleID=1662

http://www.icis.com/Articles/2008/09/08/9153976/plastics-use-in-cars-rises-as-emissions-laws-get-tough.html

http://news.softpedia.com/news/New-Materials-Boost-Hydrogen-Cars-039-Efficiency-54358.shtml