Optimizing Total Cost of Molded Underhood Parts using High Performance Engineering Polymers (HPEP)

To meet the increasing demands to enhance performance while reducing weight and cost automotive engineers continue to find innovative ways to use thermoplastic materials. Plastic provides substantial cost savings over other materials, primarily due to design and fabrication advantages. This paper explains a number of design techniques to optimize the total cost of molded parts for under-hood applications. It provides comparison of cost vs. performance and chemical resistance for engine fluids of several engineering polymers. Also, it explains ways of shortening the product development cycle by using different simulation software.