From mechanical parts to automotive interiors to external applications, performance plastics are driving safer, more durable, lightweight, fuel-efficient designs in today's cars. Across power train, interior and exterior systems, high-performance polymers deliver weight savings, corrosion resistance and design flexibility.
Applications
- Mud flaps
- Thermal and sound insulation
- Sheathing and jacketing
- Component housings
- Switches and sockets
- Connectors
- Bearings and bushings
- Gaskets, washers, spacers
- Fluid lines
- Wiring harnesses
- Power train components
- Internal transmission parts including transmission gears
- Bed liners
- Wheel well liners
- Trunk liners
- Car covers and protection panels
- Moisture barriers
- Truck trailer skirts
- Electric vehicle charging stations
Advantages May Include
- Lightweight for increased fuel efficiency
- Recyclable
- Corrosion, abrasion and fatigue resistant
- Wide range of stiffness, tensile strength and creep resistant
- Surface finish and appearance
- Low wear
- Low moisture absorption
- Thermoformability
- Weatherability
- High lubricity, self-lubrication, low coefficient of friction
- Low warpage
- Solid color, eliminating painting
Materials
- Acetal (POM)
- Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS)
- Acrylic (PMMA)
- Long Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics (LFRT)
- Nylon (PA)
- Polyamideimide (PAI)
- Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)
- Polybutylene (PBT)
- Polycarbonate (PC)
- Polyethylene (PE)
- Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
- Polypropylene (PP)
- Polyurethane (PUR)
- Polyetherimide (PEI)
- Polyphenylene Oxide (PPO)
- Polyphenylsulfone (PPS)
Sustainability Advantages of Performance Plastics
Using plastics instead of alternative materials makes vehicles lighter so they require less fuel — saving:
89 Million
gallons of gasoline and diesel over the lifetime of vehicles in North America produced in one year.
Source: automotiveplastics.com
A lightweight front-end support bolster on 70,666 cars produced in a year reduced energy use equivalent to saving:
770,000
gallons of gasoline over the life of those vehicles.
Source: automotiveplastics.com
5-7%
A U.S. Department of Energy study found that reducing a vehicle's weight by 10 percent with plastic components could increase its fuel economy by 5-7%.
Source: americanchemistry.com
3-5%
For every 220-pound decrease in vehicle weight, carbon emissions drop 3-5%, depending on total vehicle size and powertrain type.
Source: blog.ucsusa.org
Replacing cast iron and traditional steel with lightweight polymer composites can reduce the weight of a vehicle's body and chassis — and using these materials in one quarter of the U.S. fleet could deliver major fuel savings by 2030:
Up to 50%
Body & chassis weight reduction
5 Billion
Gallons of fuel saved annually by 2030
Source: energy.gov / blog.ucsusa.org
2017 Ultralight Automotive Door — Multi-Material Design
40%
Mass reduction per door
+
1.5
Metric tons CO₂-eq saved per door
+
21 GJ
Less primary energy per door
A door built from aluminum, plastic, glass fiber-reinforced composite and other polymers cut lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and primary energy demand. | Source: blog.ucsusa.org
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the performance plastics association
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