S. Sopher, J. Parker
JSP,
United States
Keywords: expanded polypropylene (EPP), foam, automotive, lightweight
Summary:
Historically, shape molded particle foams like Expanded Polypropylene (EPP) have had difficulty achieving tight dimensional tolerances compared to solid (injection molded) plastics. This has proved challenging when incorporating EPP into a wider variety of automotive applications. JSP has developed multiple grades of EPP that achieve tolerances once considered difficult to attain. These grades expand the potential for automotive applications by combining the established benefits of EPP with improved dimensional precision. This tighter control enables advances in part design and performance, including reduced wall thicknesses, improved surface appearance, reduced weight, lower cost, parts consolidation, and more efficient molding through an improved processing window resulting in faster cycle times and reduced utility consumption. At the vehicle level, these improvements contribute to lighter overall part weights for reduced carbon footprint, as well as increased cargo space by taking advantage of EPP parts with thinner cross-sections. Using current production equipment, testing was conducted on physical parts through real-time molding trials with measurements and analysis to confirm the improvements in tolerance and performance described above. Incorporating these findings early in the design phase of a given application will allow automotive engineers to leverage the benefits described fully, ensuring optimal part integration and system-level performance, while meeting corporate sustainability requirements.