You will find the figures mentioned in this article in the German issue of
ATZ 03I2007 beginning on page 202.
Kunststoffe im Automobilbau –
Technische Lösungen und Trends
Plastics in Automotive
Engineering
Technical Solutions and Trends
Author:
Rudolf Stauber
2 ATZ 03I2007 Volume 109
1 Introduction
Plastics and composite materials are used
for all areas of the vehicle [1]; compared to
metal materials, they often allow for a
more cost-effective design of components.
They furthermore facilitate the realization
of component geometries that would not
be feasible with metal materials or only at
a very high effort. Moreover, plastics spe-
cifically support a high-quality look and
feel of the vehicle interior.
Rising requirements for modern auto-
motive engineering demand the strategic
Thermoplastic and thermosetting plas-
tics, elastomers, textile materials and fi-
bre-reinforced plastics are standard
materials in modern automotive engi-
neering. This category of materials offers
sustainable support in automotive light-
weight construction, active and passive
vehicle safety as well as the design of
high-quality components matching visu-
al and haptic requirements. This article
describes current developments in plas-
tics technologies applied to the exterior
and interior of BMW vehicles. Further-
more, new composite designs involving
plastics and nano-technological ap-
proaches in connection with plastics are
presented.
further development as well as the applica-
tion of modern plastics and the respective
processing technologies. Among these re-
quirements are, for example, light-weight
construction, improvement of the vehicle’s
economic efficiency and best-possible com-
pliance with laws and regulations (emis-
sion and consumption limits, end-of-life
vehicle directive) [2].
This article describes plastics applications
in modern automotive engineering for the
purpose of meeting various requirements
and offers an overview on trends for the fu-
ture application of new polymer materials.

2 Applications for the Exterior
Plastic covers for the exterior have been
known in large-scale production since the
mid-1980s. While initially, bumper covers
were made from plastics due to aerody-
namic and visual reasons [3], thermoplastic
and thermosetting materials were soon al-
so applied to mounted parts such as side
panels, lids and doors [4].
Figure 1 shows the BMW Z1 from the
year 1988 as an example for the application
of plastic materials. Back then, plastic engi-
neering mainly comprised component de-
sign by means of resin transfer moulding
(RTM), a process saturating a preshaped
semi-finished glass-fibre part with resin.
In later large-scale application, a focus
was on trying to implement further cost
potentials and process optimisations in
production. For example, the first BMW ve-
hicle in large-scale production to sport side
panels from thermoplastic plastics was the
BMW 6 Series. The following goals were
paramount:
– ideal technological component design
– reduced weight of more than 4 kg of the
vehicle’s front end compared to steel
– low sensitivity in case of minor damages.
These side panels were made from a PA–
PPO blend by means of injection casting
and mounted to the car body following ca-
thodic dip painting (KTL process). Figure 2
shows the thermoplastic side panel of the
BMW 6 Series [5].
Another process optimisation in the ap-
plication of plastic components for the ex-
terior was achieved in 2006 when a new
and refined thermoplastic plastic was used
in component manufacturing for the BMW
3 Series Coupe and Convertible. This is
achieved by means of a mineral-filled PA-
ABS blend, which is mounted to the vehicle
in the so-called on-line paint process prior
to the KTL process and which passes
through all further paint steps together
with other materials, Figure 3. The main ad-
vantages of this process are:
– low heat expansion and moisture ab-
sorption of the material
– low production and process costs
– use of existing structures in produc-
tion.
Newer system solutions for Duroplasts ap-
plied to the vehicle exterior include the de-
sign of horizontal lids (rear lids), the roof
area as well as the underbody. A current ap-
plication of carbon-fibre reinforced plastics
is the roof design of the BMW M6, Figure 4
[6]. Compared to the – theoretically feasible
– alternative made from steel, an overall
weight reduction of six kilograms has been
Plastics
reached. The solution’s reduced weight has
led to a lowering of the vehicle’s centre of
gravity, thus improving the vehicle’s agility.
The material SMC (sheet moulding com-
pound) is highly suitable for the design of
plastic rear lids as its natural stability is
higher than that of thermoplastic materi-
als. For the BMW 6 Series, the rear lid is
currently made from SMC and is integrated
in the production process through the on-
line process. This component design offers
the following benefits:
– high thermal stability
– ideal crash characteristics
– aerodynamic and technological free-
dom in component design
– integration of antenna technology with-
in a double-walled composite case.
Figure 5 shows a cut surface of the BMW 6
Series’ SMC rear lid.
The underbody cover is increasingly im-
portant for ideal aerodynamic vehicle design.
This technology noticeably improves the ve-
hicle’s cw value while at the same time
achieving a weight reduction of 40 % com-
pared to PVC, which has traditionally been
used as protection against corrosion [7].
3 Applications for the Interior
The main goals of applying plastic compo-
nents to the interior are as follows:
– best-possible visual and haptic charac-
teristics
– high-quality look
– contribution to the vehicle’s passive
safety.
Current developments mainly focus on sur-
face materials for instrument panels and
composite materials for cover parts.
Depending on the geometry and further
requirements, the following technologies
are applied to the surface design of instru-
ment panels [8]:
– foam sheeting and compact sheeting
– moulded skins in spray, slush and cast-
ing technology.
A current application of slush technology
is the so-called in-mould coating (IMC) [8].
Figure 6 shows the instrument panel of the
BMW X5. For this plastic surface, a few μm
thick polyurethane paint coat is inserted in
the slush tool as a first step. Subsequently,
the actual moulded skin from thermoplas-
tic PVC is produced by means of powder
slush technology. The process has the fol-
lowing advantages:
– high economic efficiency
– wide scope of colour design
– strategic use of surface feel and grain
design.
COV E R S T OR Y
When producing trim parts (such as door
trim panels incl. support structures), the fo-
cus is on visual characteristics as well as on
low weight. In terms of components, plastics
combined with natural fibres have proved
to be ideally suited [9]. This is for example
demonstrated by the door trim panel sup-
port of the current BMW 3 Series. This ap-
plication uses flax, cotton or sisal and meets
the following characteristics [10]:
– high natural stability
– good crash characteristics
– no emissions in the interior
– high freedom in component design.
4 Composite Design
Composite design is applied to vehicles for
the purpose of combining the outstanding
positive characteristics of different materi-
als in order to achieve an optimum for the
entire component.
Figure 7 shows the front-end design of
the BMW 1 Series. This component com-
bines the typical characteristics of steel
(high resistance and stiffness) with the po-
tential of plastic materials concerning cost-
effective forming and high functional inte-
gration. For the component shown, steel
supports inserted in the tool are injection-
moulded with a polyamide containing
35 % glass-fibre.
Figure 8 shows the result of an overall as-
sessment [11]. Compared to a conceivable
component design from several joined met-
al components in steel and aluminium, the
hybrid solution leads to a considerable op-
timisation of the energy balance through-
out the entire lifecycle.
A highly topical application of a plastic
composite technology is the insertion of
plastic structural foam elements into the
car body structure [12]. This technology
helps to strategically implement vehicle-
specific reinforcements to the body struc-
ture. Figure 9 shows how this technology
works. The structural elements are inserted
into the hollow sections during the body-
in-white process. During the paint process,
epoxy foams are activated, expanded and
hardened by means of heat treatment.
5 Plastics and Nano Technology
Combining plastics with nano-technolo-
gies concertedly expands the scope of char-
acteristics for plastics and textile materials.
Nano-technology is often associated with
the super-hydrophobic characteristics of
exotic plants. This lotus effect can now be
ATZ 03I2007 Volume 109 3