Developing the SMC Roof and Liftgate Assembly for the 1993 Saturn Station Wagon

The Saturn-Rockwell team has successfully developed sheet molding composite (SMC) roof and liftgate assemblies for the 1993 Saturn Station Wagon, representing the first Class A sheet molding composite (SMC) exterior body panel application for Saturn, and the first use of waterborne paint on an SMC body panel. The Saturn-Rockwell development team went from concept release to validation build (production) in just 24 months, reducing development time by 12 months. This was accomplished by Saturn's early and extensive use of finite element analysis (FEA) and by utilizing resin transfer molding (RTM) for the prototype phase.