Plastic Parts in Automotive Industry

With the development of automotive industry, plastic parts have become important part of automobiles. In developed countries, the amount of plastic parts used in automobiles has even become an important indicator of the level of automotive design and manufacturing. We can't list all the plastic parts on the car. Just list a few important automotive plastic parts. Maybe you don't know they are plastic parts.

The bumper shell should be the most grievous automobile plastic parts. Many consumers mistakenly think that it is the body of the bumper. The main function of the bumper casing is cushioning and energy absorption. Due to the complicated working environment and large volume, it is generally made of polypropylene (PP) with good quality and good corrosion resistance.

The main function of the intake grille is to cool the engine and comb the airflow of the front. Although the grille of many models is chrome-plated and looks metallic, in fact they are all plastic parts. Grille styling is one of the most recognizable designs on the car. A wide variety of grilles have a high plasticity requirement for the material, and plastic is naturally the best choice.

Instead of the wood and leather, the dashboard of a car is almost made of plastic. There are only divisions of softness and hardness. The soft one is foam-formed polyurethane (PU), while the hard one is injection-molded polypropylene (PP). The former is light in weight, sound-absorbing and safe, and the latter is inexpensive. Therefore, the interior of the high-end models will use the former.

The car seat that has the most contact with our body is actually made of plastic. The filler in the car seat is foamed plastic. The main raw material is polyurethane (PU). The heat insulation, cushioning, sound absorption and formability of these materials are very good, which is very helpful for the seat comfort.

The lampshade of the automobile lamp requires good plasticity, good transparency and high hardness, so as to ensure that the long-term use does not affect the brightness of the lamp and protect the lamp. Therefore, a good performance optical plastic, polycarbonate (PC), is generally used. Polycarbonate is high in strength, UV resistant, tough and translucent, making it the perfect choice for lamp covers.

Through the above introduction, I believe that everyone has a clearer understanding of the plastic parts on the car, they are not only the product of cutting corners, but also greatly improve the overall performance of the vehicle, such as lightweight, sound insulation, comfort, durability etc. With the advancement of automobile manufacturing technology, more and more plastic parts will appear on the car.