Composite Catches Metal
A proprietory long-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics technology used to make composite running boards for two Ford trucks cuts the number of individual elements from 43 to just one, and lops more than 13 kg (30 lb) off total weight. After weighing several different technologies, Decoma International, Inc. (Concord, ON) felt confident enough in a 40% glass-filled PP version made using technology developed by Composite Products, Inc. (CPI; Winona, MN) to present it to Ford as a running replacement for TPO-covered metal running boards used on the company's flagship trucks, the F-250 and F-350.
In addition to consolidating parts (made possible by the integration of previously separate brackets with associated screws, nuts, and washers) and cutting weight (around 7.3 kg vs. 13.6 kg), the new running boards out-performed the metal version in terms of deflection.
CPI licenses its continuous long-fiber technology, offering companies turnkey production systems. Chopped glass, carbon, or fiber filaments are compounded into logs of PP or nylon in varying percentages, and the still-warm material is then injection, compression, or transfer molded.
CPI will make 130,000 sets this year, the majority going towards Ford's crew-cab moldels. "We don't have any reason to believe this isn't going to be the standard moving forward," says Scott Ledebuhr, VP Sales & Marketing.
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