GREENFACTORY4COMPO

Dashboard trim for the 500 model in back-injected thermoplastic composite.

Description

The project aims to find innovative production solutions to increase the use of high-performance polymer composite materials in an environmentally friendly way (factory and beyond), managing to combine technical benefit with costs/investments, sustainable environmental and energy impact. The project followed two research lines: i) Production and use of new materials for structural and aesthetic applications, developed using high-tech thermoplastic and thermosetting composites to produce components and structures; ii) The manufacturing of the Smart Factory. The various explored aspects were related to molding, painting, assembly, process control, reduction/treatment of waste materials (for each process phase), energy consumption.

Result to be enhanced

Composites are already used for applications on sports or high-end cars but limited to these niche productions. The cost of the processes, due to the very long cycle times to form the composite, usually thermosetting, influences this limitation. The innovation lies in the development of a hybrid compression and overmolding technology, based on thermoplastic composites with high productivity and lower cost. Therefore, it is possible to extend the use of composites on all types of cars, even those with higher production volumes.

Why is it important?

By reducing the weight of car parts, thanks to the use of composites with mass production technologies, the energy required is reduced, with a consequent decrease in consumption. This translates into a reduction in emissions and CO2 in combustion engine cars, and into a longer lifetime in electric cars.