Automotive seating is about more than comfort. They also have to stand up to impacts in case of an emergency, hold an increasing amount of electronics, house side airbags and also be able to make quickly in mass production lines.
The seat back and frame for seating in the 2024 Toyota Motor Co. Tacoma managed to handle all that plus premiere the first known use of resin shock mounts. The project won Toyota the Grand Award and top prize in the process/assembly/enabling technologies category at the 2024 Society of Plastics Engineers' Automotive Innovation Awards.
Adient is the seating supplier for the Tacoma, U.S. Farathane injection molds the frame using BASF's Ultramid nylon 6 and tooling from Delta Technologies Inc.
The resin frame is a first for Toyota and integrates 10 components. Overall the project eliminates the need for 10-20 additional parts, reduces the mass and cost and is adaptable for future projects. The Tacoma also won the body interior category for its rear storage panels.
Other category winners named at the Nov. 13 awards were:
• Bluebus in the aftermarket and specialty vehicle category for an electric bus battery pack housing.
• General Motors' Chevrolet Equinox EV in body exterior for a flush exterior door handle sleeve.
• Ford Motor Co.'s Ford E-Transit in the chassis/hardware division for half shaft rear axle diaphragm boots.
• Ford's Mustang, Explorer, Escape, Ranger, Bronco and Maverick won the materials category for an exhaust gas recirculation system that replaced stainless steel with thermoplastic.
• Ford's Mustang Mach E took the award for powertrain for a plastic cooling hub that improves EV coolant system efficiency.
• GM's Cadillac Celestiq took the top prize in safety for a busbar cable support bracket.
• Rivian took home the sustainability award for its exterior cladding with a living hinge.