Composite engine shroud quiets the ride in Ford Explorer

A composite dual-wall-dash engine shroud is reducing powertrain noise, vibration and harshness inside the vehicle cabin of the 2020 Ford Explorer SUV.

Continental Structural Plastics Inc., the Teijin-owned composites supplier based in Auburn Hills, Mich., is manufacturing the part at its 190,000-square-foot facility in Conneaut, Ohio.

The Conneaut plant employs 260 people and is celebrating its 50th year in operation. The facility makes structural composite parts for automotive and commercial customers.

The company said the industry-first composite shroud has several advantages over the all-steel components used in other vehicles, including moldability and design flexibility for under-the-hood packaging applications.

The 12-pound, four-piece sheet molding compound composite part provides an improved sound barrier and is lighter weight than a similar stamped steel part, the company said.

"Composites are a great choice for a number of under-the-hood applications because of these properties and the design flexibility they provide," Bryan Ludwig, CSP's business development director, said in a statement. "Because our glass-fiber composite is a thermoset, it actually offers better thermal properties than a metal and can be molded thin enough to fit in the tight spaces found in the engine compartment."

CSP developed the SMC composite engine shroud with Ford Motor Co. at the automaker's driving dynamics lab in Dearborn, Mich., where it does NVH testing for various settings.

The 2020 Explorer — introduced earlier this year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit — is manufactured at Ford's Chicago assembly plant.

"We are continuously looking for ways to help our customers meet design and engineering challenges by using our composite materials," CSP CEO Steve Rooney said in a statement. "Because of the superior dampening qualities offered by a composite, Ford was able to achieve a level of cabin quietness that will enhance the driving experience for Explorer and [Lincoln] Aviator owners."