The Society of Plastics Engineers Automotive Division has selected finalists for its 2014 Automotive Innovation Awards Competition. Category winners and the grand winner will be announced during the Innovation Awards & Gala Nov. 11 in Livonia, Mich.
Nominated parts must be on vehicles that are in production during the 2015 calendar year. The award goes to the automaker.
The finalists are:
Aftermarket
• General Motors Co. for the self-mounted, transparent, frameless wind deflector on the 2016 Corvette Stingray convertible. Polytec FOHA Inc. supplies the system, which is made with Sabic's Lexan polycarbonate sheet. Pace Machine Tool Inc. supplies the tooling.
• GM for the interior floormat on the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, which has a second-row interlocking feature for larger carpet coverage and is injection molded for a better 3-D fit. Thermoflex Corp. supplies the part and tooling, using thermoplastic elastomer material from Star Thermoplastic Alloys & Rubbers Inc.
Body Exterior
• Ford Motor Co. for the emblem front camera deployment mechanism on the 2016 Lincoln MKX. Huf North America supplies the system, with materials from Lanxess AG, DuPont Co. and BASF SE. The tooling comes from Yantai Huf Tools Co. Ltd. and Laundenbach Formtechnik GmbH & Co. KG.
• Ford for the push-to-release exterior fastener on the 2015 Mustang. The two-piece, injection molded fastener is supplied by ITW Deltar Fasteners, the nylon 6/6 material from Ascend Performance Materials LLC, and the tooling from A&P Tool Inc. and M&M Tool and Mold LLC.
• GM for the charge port bezel on the 2016 Chevrolet Volt, which is injection molded using a mold-in-color material to give the appearance of chrome. ITW Deltar supplies the part and tooling, using MetaLX Hostaform acetal from Celanese Corp.
Body Interior
• Kia Motors for the crash pad garnish on the KX3 (China). The two-shot molded part supplied by Hyundai Mobis and Dong Kook Industries Co. Ltd. includes low-cost, 3-D patterns the nomination claims can't be performed with traditional decorative processes. Samsung SDI supplies the metallic mold-in-color ABS resin, and Woosung Precision Co. Ltd. supplies the tooling.
• Ford for the compact driver's side bin on the 2015 Edge. The fully dampened, spring-aided drawer-style bin uses no screws, mechanical fasteners, welding or heat staking. Yanfeng USA Automotive Trim Systems Inc. supplies the system, which is injection molded with materials from Celanese Corp., Advanced Composites Inc., Ineos Group Ltd. and Trinseo. Circle 5 Tool & Mold Inc. is the toolmaker.
• Ford for the rear seat folding head restraint on the 2015 F-150. Windsor Machine Group and Hawk Plastics Ltd. supply the injection molded part, using polypropylene copolymer material from ExxonMobil Chemical Co. and tooling from IRC Engineering.
• Ford for the active glove box system, hand-wrapped for the 2016 Lincoln MKX. International Automotive Components Group supplies the part, using materials from Advanced Composites Inc., Mitsubishi IDK & IDC and CGT. Tooling was supplied by B&B Tooling Inc.
• Ford for the seat back-mounted tablet holder on the 2016 Taurus. The system is supplied by Lumens High Performance Lighting and Lear Corp., with materials from BASF and DuPont.
Chassis/Hardware