USCAR Composite Technology Commercialized by GM
3 February 2000
USCAR Composite Technology Commercialized by GM
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Feb. 2 -- Structural Reaction Injection
Molding (SRIM) technology developed by the Automotive Composites Consortium
(ACC) is being cited by the United States Council for Automotive Research
(USCAR) as an example of where pre-competitive research is resulting in the
production of lower mass vehicles. The output from this technology
development has contributed to the success of the composite pickup truck box
and tailgate recently introduced by General Motors.
The ACC is one of 11 consortia of the United States Council for Automotive
Research (USCAR), the umbrella organization of DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Co.
and General Motors Corp., which was formed in 1992 to further strengthen the
technology base of the domestic auto industry through cooperative, pre-
competitive research.
The ACC was formed in 1988 to focus on structural composite research in
areas such as materials, processing, joining, and crash energy management.
Since its inception, the ACC has directed its efforts towards SRIM technology.
"As new technology is developed in the pre-competitive environment, each of
the auto companies is free to immediately use it for competitive advantage,"
explains Don Walkowicz, executive director of USCAR.
GM's recent announcement that a composite pickup box will be offered on
the full size Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck in the fall of 2000 is an
example of a company's ability to leverage and implement new technology. Tom
Dearlove, lab group manager, GM R&D and Planning, and current Chairman of the
ACC Board of Directors, adds that, "One source of this technology includes
information developed in the ACC Focal Project 2."
Focal Project 2 was initiated in 1993 with the goal of demonstrating the
manufacture of a large SRIM part, at a volume of 50,000 per year, that would
have a 25% mass reduction over steel and be cost competitive to a comparable
steel part. A composite pickup box was selected by the ACC for this
demonstration. DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors all shared composite
pickup box technical knowledge that each had previously developed from
internal projects and, from this input, GM's small Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck
box was chosen as the basis for Focal Project 2. Using the technical needs
and requirements associated with this project, the Materials, Processing and
Joining groups within the ACC have, over the ensuing years, developed a large
body of pre-competitive technical information.
"GM's product development program for the Silverado moved along a similar
technical path as the ACC Focal Project 2 but with a more aggressive
timetable" says Tom Jensen, Engineering Group Manager for GM Truck. "We were
testing composite boxes on durability vehicles in 1997."
Even with this difference, the GM program has successfully utilized
technology from a number of ACC activities. Most important is that in a
number of instances the technology has flowed from the ACC to key suppliers
where the information is best able to benefit the composites community.
According to Tom Dearlove, the following are some examples of ACC
achievements that have been utilized to varying degrees in the GM program and
are available to all participants:
* Information available from a test procedure for structural composites
that was developed by the ACC (SAE J2253) was used in amending company
specifications.
* The ACC and the Oak Ridge National Labs have developed of a group of
durability related test recommendations for predicting the long-term
performance of structural composite parts. In addition, the ACC and
University of Tulsa have designed, validated and patented a low-cost test
fixture used for obtaining stressed environmental test data on composites.
Finally, the utility of a thermal analysis technique and instrumented molding
information was shared by the ACC with Bayer and is proving effective for
developing improved resin systems.
* ACC projects on structural adhesives led to the identification of a
supplier, SIA Adhesives, and a product that met the basic ACC adhesive
requirements. Durability testing and information related to bonding a number
of ACC material substrates helped in the development of an adhesive
specification for Focal Project 2.
* The ACC carried out a detailed investigation determining advantages and
disadvantages of several non-destructive testing methods such as shearography
and thermal wave analysis.
* The ACC chose the Owens Corning developed P4 process as a way of
producing net-shape, net-size chopped glass preforms. By working directly
with Owens Corning, all of the ACC efforts at understanding the
characteristics of different glass products and various binders used in the
process were readily available to Owens Corning customers. In many cases
information on approaches that did not work or had problems were also
invaluable input to the composites community.
Members of the ACC development program team included American GFM,
Aplicator System, Bayer, Magna International, MSX International, National
Composite Center, Owens Corning, SIA Adhesives, Thermal Wave Imaging, and
Textron Automotive. Cost sharing by the Federal Government was provided
through the Department of Commerce (NIST ATP) and the U. S. Department of
Energy.
Other USCAR research deals with safety, emissions, alternative power
sources, electronics, recycling, and -- under its Partnership for a New
Generation of Vehicles effort with the government, suppliers and universities
-- technologies that can lead to more fuel efficient vehicles. For more
information, please visit http://www.uscar.org on the Internet.