GM's composite truck bed has plenty of carrying capacity for top SPE award

Livonia, Mich. — The plastics industry fanfare for General Motors Co.'s CarbonPro box isn't over yet. The Detroit automaker was recognized as a winner for the composite pickup box in two categories during the 49th annual Automotive Innovation Awards Gala, held Nov. 6 by the automotive division of the Society of Plastics Engineers.

GM won in the body exterior category and was also named this year's Grand Award winner for what is considered the automotive industry's first pickup box made of thermoplastic and carbon fiber composites. The CarbonPro box is available as an option on GMC Sierra light-duty pickup trucks. The carbon fiber box saves 62 pounds, provides best-in-class impact resistance and durability, and eliminates the need for a bedliner. The box is fully recyclable, with some scrap materials reused on the vehicle.

Continental Structural Plastics Inc. is the supplier and processor, with materials supplied by its parent company Teijin Ltd. The toolmakers are Paragon D&E, Model Die & Mold Inc., Altron Automation Inc. and Legacy Industries LLC.

SPE also announced eight other category winners, in addition to this year's Vehicle Team Engineering award, Hall of Fame award and Lifetime Achievement Award winners.

GM won the Vehicle Engineering Team Award for the composites-intensive 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. Nine part nominations in this year's Automotive Innovation Awards competition were for components on the new Corvette, with two of the nominations recognized as category finalists and one recognized as a category winner.

The VETA award recognizes technical achievement of entire teams — from designers and engineers to material suppliers and toolmakers — whose work has led to "significant integration of polymeric materials on a notable vehicle," the society said.

SPE honored Ford Motor Co. with the Hall of Fame award for what it says is the first plastic-metal hybrid front-end structure on the 1999 Ford Focus. The structure is made of 30 percent glass-filled nylon resin with a steel insert. This enables a 40 percent weight savings, 30 percent cost reduction, higher function integrated with fewer process steps and higher load capacity compared with a 100 percent steel structure.

As previously reported by Plastics News, Michael Whitens, the now-retired former global director of vehicle and enterprise sciences at Ford's Research and Innovation Center, was recognized as the society's 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

Other category winners are as follows:

Ford for the sunglass bin on the 2020 Explorer SUV. The automaker relied on additive manufacturing to produce a single tooling insert that replaced two conventionally machined lifters to make an injection molded sunglass stowage bin. This allows for a deeper bin design that meets customer requirements, while reducing cycle time, molding scrap and tooling maintenance as well as improving dimensional stability of the finished part. The supplier and processor is Methode Electronics Inc., with long glass fiber-filled polypropylene from Celanese Corp. and tooling from RGM Tooling Consultants Inc.

Jaguar Land Rover Ltd. for multiple 3D printed components on the 2020 Jaguar XE SV Project 8 supercar. The automaker leaned on HP Inc.'s Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing process to produce 19 nylon parts on the high-performance car, which has a limited production run of 300 vehicles. Prototype and production parts are both produced on the same printer platform, which eliminates significant tooling investment — estimated at $123,000 — as well as storage and maintenance costs. All 19 parts can be printed at one time in the same kit, with multiple kits able to be produced at the same time.

Ford for the integrated button carrier modular strategy on the 2020 Explorer, Aviator and Corsair SUVs. A new design was developed to reduce overhead console complexity that integrated mechanical, lighting, electrical and safety functions into a single modular button carrier. The molded-in-color part is made of polycarbonate and ABS. The process reduces the part count from 70 to 17 parts per vehicle and achieves a $7 cost savings per vehicle and a $1.42 million program savings for tooling and testing, according to Ford. The supplier and processor is Methode Electronics. Materials are from the Materials Group. Tooling is from RGM Tooling Consultants.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV for the rear differential module front bracket on the Jeep Cherokee SUV. The injection molded glass fiber-reinforced nylon part replaces a critical diecast and machined aluminum bracket. The composite part is 30 percent lighter. Boge Rubber & Plastics USA LLC is the supplier and processor. BASF Corp. supplies the material.

Ford for what is considered the first 100 percent post-consumer recycled polypropylene-based carbon canister housing on the 2019 Mustang sportscar. The automaker used PP backing from post-consumer recycled carpet. By replacing virgin PP, Ford reduced cost by 25 percent without compromising part processing or performance, the automaker said. Delphi Technologies plc is the supplier, and MGS Mfg. Group Inc. is the injection molder. The materials are from Wellman Advanced Materials LLC.

Hyundai Motor Co. for the use of glass wool-reinforced composites on the 2017 Elantra sedan. The automaker used glass wool — a combination of crushed glass and sand produced from reclaimed and post-industrial recycled building insulation — in place of talc, whiskers and fiberglass to improve the scratch resistance and dimensional stability of injection molded PP interior trim panels. Filler content was reduced by 5 percent, resulting in lighter, less costly parts, the automaker said. The supplier and toolmaker is Seoyon E-Hwa Co. Ltd. Materials are from Daeha Corp.

Ford for the transmission gear shroud on the 2017 F-150 pickup truck. A thermoplastic polyester elastomer (TPC-ET) from Dupont is used to injection mold the covers, replacing steel with rubber seals. The new design reduces cost by 22 percent, weight by 65 percent and improves noise, vibration and harshness, the automaker said. Stackpole International is the supplier. MacLean-Fogg Co. and Engineered Plastic Components Inc. are the processors, with tooling from Gibson Engineering Co. Inc.

General Motors for what it says is the automotive industry's first curved, multihollow pultruded carbon fiber bumper beam on the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. Shape Corp. manufactures the curved, rear part using a unique radius-pultrusion process developed by Thomas GmbH & Co. Technik + Innovation KG. The material is a polyurethane acrylate resin reinforced with carbon fiber.