Given the need to decrease vehicle weight while maintaining structural strength, automotive engineers are increasingly integrating plastics and composites into their products. Composites offer many advantages over steel and aluminum, including superior mechanical performance, low weight, corrosion resistance, and flexibility of part design.
With so many plastics and composites available, design possibilities are nearly endless. Thermoplastics, such as polypropylene, polyethylene and polyamide, offer fantastic corrosion and chemical resistance. With the addition of carbon-, glass- or natural-fiber reinforcement, thermoplastics offer tensile strength comparable to steel, while weighing up to 75 percent less. These materials can also be molded into complex shapes. Automakers are using these materials to create myriad parts, such as covers, styling components, bezels and shrouds.