Weight Reduction of Automotive Parts by Use of Polypropylene

Specific automotive parts in which polypropylene has been successfully used to reduce weight are presented to illustrate how the proper selection of polypropylene based materials was made and the parts were designed to meet a range of typical automotive structural requirements.

Based on these successful use histories, projections are made for future polypropylene applications which offer additional potential weight saving opportunities.

Simplified screening techniques used for quickly identifying possible weight savings and the use of sophisticated computerized design techniques for finalizing new polypropylene part designs with high confidence levels are discussed and illustrated.