Mass ABS Development For High Quality Thin-Walled Interior Door Panels For The 1998 VW GOLF 1999-01-0853
The trend in the automotive industry to establish higher quality, comfort and safety levels, while at the same time reducing cost and weight, is pushing production techniques, materials and the development cycle to become as efficient as possible. The automotive supplier has to choose from a broad range of fabrication technologies and material alternatives to achieve the highest performance level at the lowest possible cost.
This paper outlines the process followed by a multi-functional team to design and develop the interior door panels for the VW Golf, in ABS resin for large scale production. The team effort, headed by the Tier 1 (Sommer Allibert Industrie), with extensive interaction with the OEM, and the support of the material supplier and tool-maker, led to a thin-walled part with integrated mountings, high quality appearance and excellent dimensional stability.
The use of high heat ABS resin in the interior door panel carrier resulted in significant cost and weight reductions and excellent performance relating to Carbon-emissions in a society which is becoming increasingly conscious of comfort and safety aspects.
Citation: Reunis, A., Hogg, A., Naughton, P., Dau, T. et al., "Mass ABS Development For High Quality Thin-Walled Interior Door Panels For The 1998 VW GOLF," SAE Technical Paper 1999-01-0853, 1999, https://doi.org/10.4271/1999-01-0853. Download Citation
Author(s):
Albert Reunis, Andrew Hogg, Pádraig Naughton, Thomas Dau, Norbert Schoppmann, Rudi Nickel, Andreas Markhardt
Affiliated:
The Dow Chemical Company, Sommer Allibert Industrie, Volkwagen AG
Pages: 7
Event:
International Congress & Exposition
ISSN:
0148-7191
e-ISSN:
2688-3627
Also in:
Plastic Components, Processes, and Technology-SP-1410
Related Topics:
Door panels
Suppliers
Mountings
Production
Resins
Comfort
Fabrication
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