Development of an Automotive SMC Door

This is the result of a joint program between Automobiles Peugeot and Owens-Corning Fiberglas with the objective to design, analyze, and prototype an SMC door for a Peugeot 305, achieving a substantial weight saving and performing the same functions as the production steel door. It is expected that automotive engineers will derive additional benefits from designing in glass composites, as aerodynamic styling becomes a factor in fuel efficiency. The design flexibility of molded components, and the modest tooling cost of compression molds (compared to progressive metal stamping tooling) will allow the designer to achieve smooth aerodynamic shapes with reduced tooling or assembly penalty. An energy analysis shows the savings of using SMC compared to steel and aluminum.