In recent years, the application of plastics in automobiles has continued to increase. At present, the consumption of automotive plastics in Germany, the United States, Japan and other countries has reached 10% to 15%, and some even reached more than 20%. Judging from the materials used in modern cars, whether it is exterior decorative parts, interior decorative parts, or functional and structural parts, the shadow of plastic production can be seen everywhere. And with the continuous improvement of engineering plastics’ hardness, strength, and tensile properties, plastic windows, doors, frames and even all-plastic automobiles have gradually appeared, and the process of automobile plasticization is accelerating.
What are the advantages of using plastic as automotive materials?
1. Plastic molding is easy, making it very convenient to process parts with complex shapes. For example, when the instrument panel is processed with steel plates, it is often necessary to first process and shape various parts, and then assemble or weld them with connectors, which requires many procedures. The use of plastic can be molded at one time, the processing time is short, and the accuracy is guaranteed.
2. The biggest advantage of using plastics for automotive materials is to reduce the weight of the car body. Lightweight is the goal pursued by the automotive industry, and plastics can show their power in this respect. Generally, the specific gravity of plastic is 0.9~1.5, and the specific gravity of fiber-reinforced composite materials will not exceed 2. Among metal materials, the specific gravity of A3 steel is 7.6, brass is 8.4, and aluminum is 2.7. This makes plastics the preferred material for lightweight cars.
3. The elastic deformation characteristics of plastic products absorb a large amount of collision energy, have a greater buffering effect on strong impacts, and protect vehicles and passengers. Therefore, plastic instrument panels and steering wheels are used in modern cars to enhance the cushioning effect. The front and rear bumpers and body trim strips are made of plastic materials to reduce the impact of objects outside the car on the sound of the car. In addition, plastic also has the function of absorbing and attenuating vibration and noise, which can improve the comfort of riding.
4. plastics can be made into plastics with required properties by adding different fillers, plasticizers and hardeners according to the composition of the plastics, and the mechanical strength and processing and molding properties of the materials can be changed to meet the requirements of different parts on the car. For example, the bumper must have considerable mechanical strength, while the cushion and backrest must be made of soft polyurethane foam.
5. The plastic has strong corrosion resistance and will not corrode if damaged locally. However, once the paint surface is damaged or the anti-corrosion is not done well in the steel production, it is easy to rust and corrode. The corrosion resistance of plastics to acids, alkalis, and salts is greater than that of steel plates. If plastics are used as body coverings, they are very suitable for use in areas with greater pollution.
Generally speaking, automotive plastics have developed from ordinary decorative parts to structural parts and functional parts; automotive plastic materials are developing in the direction of composite materials and plastic alloys with higher strength, better impact, and ultra-high flow. There is still a long way to go for the promotion of plastic cars in the future. It is not only a safety issue, but also issues such as aging and recycling. This needs to be further improved in technology.
Post time: Aug-05-2021