Interest in front-end modules has increased lately partly due to the focus on vehicle safety issues and the need to comply with guidelines from the European Union for pedestrian safety. In addition to pop-up bonnets to reduce the risk of pedestrian head injuries by 40%, plastics manufacturers have introduced a number of energy-absorbing ideas. Are we facing a bumper market for plastics? Matthew Beecham reports.
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Leading from the front
Front-end modules typically encompass the bumper, headlights, radiator and various others parts. The benefits to the automaker from sourcing complete front-end modules are clear: they can help cut the number of operations on the assembly line, reduce vehicle weight, cut tooling costs and improve working capital. The most important potential benefit of modular construction is standardisation, allowing suppliers to offer standard solutions to different manufacturers and hence bring costs down.
More specifically, by shifting programme management responsibilities to the supply base allows the automaker to decrease their interfaces with different suppliers. “In general, automakers can benefit from reduction of development process,” said Norihisa Sasano, manager, cooling systems and components engineering department, Denso Corp “Also, with fewer assembly parts, product lines can be simplified. In addition, automakers can expect supplier’s efforts to reduce cost and add new values by integrating parts.” For the supplier, the added responsibility for design and development brings new opportunities. Sasano added: “Front-end module suppliers will have a larger responsibility than just supplying individual parts, but it also means a greater chance to increase sales and create new values for products.”
Front-end modules have been sourced by European automakers for some time. Although this market is showing some signs of maturing, the North America, Chinese, Korean and even Japanese automakers are now taking a keen interest in outsourcing these modules.
Claude Marchadour, marketing director, front-end modules, Faurecia, said: “Overall, we view the European market for front-end modules as having reached maturity, driven primarily by volumes or further expansion at OEMs who have already implemented this product. Other OEMs could be interested in applying front-end modules in the years to come as they develop new platforms and vehicle architectures. More importantly than the volume itself, we see an increasing transfer of responsibilities from the OEMs towards the front-end module suppliers. This is perhaps the biggest trend in this market.”
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By GlobalDataFaurecia recently began supplying the front-end module for the 2007 model year Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring, marking the company’s first ever front-end module for the North American market. Series production for this vehicle started in December 2006. Marchadour added: “The US market represents, with Korea, one of the strongest growth areas for front-end modules worldwide.
In the US, growth is primarily fuelled by European, Japanese and Korean transplants but the Big Three, and Chrysler in particular, have also an interest for front-end modules. Chrysler has launched in late 2006 their new Sebring-Avenger platform equipped with a front-end module developed and supplied by Faurecia through its Michigan engineering and manufacturing facilities. We expect more Chrysler vehicles to apply front-end modules in the future.”
Joachim Amrhein, head of sales and marketing, HBPO, said: “In Europe, we do not see tremendous growth over the next five years because the OEMs have certain strategies regarding how they assemble their cars. But, of course, we try to get the additional business which means it is a very competitive market.” In referring to the NAFTA region, Amrhein added: “We have seen major growth in North America over the last three years and we expect major growth over the next five years.”
Heading into new frontiers
The interest in front-end modules has increased over the last ten years partly due to the focus on vehicle safety issues and the need to comply with guidelines from the European Union for pedestrian safety. From 1 October 2005, a new set of laws swung into force across the European Union countries aimed at protecting pedestrians and cyclists involved in a collision with a vehicle (European Directive 2004/102/EC).
There is a gradual phase-in compliance for all vehicle registrations (80% from 1 July 2010, 90% in 2011, and 100% in 2012). The first phase considers ‘leg’ and ‘adult head’ impact and measures injury criteria. In response to the first phase, some automakers have added plastic energy absorbers to their vehicle’s front bumpers. The second phase will progressively come into force starting in 2010. This will introduce criteria concerning ‘upper leg’ (hip impact) and ‘child head’ impact and will see more stringent ‘leg’ impact criteria.
There are basically two ways to comply with the EU directive. The first involves the use of passive safety solutions in order to reduce accident severity. These solutions may be purely passive, related to the design and shape of the front of the car and involving the stiffness of the bumper, its energy absorption capacities, and the space between the hood and mechanical components. The second approach involves active safety solutions such as the ignition of external airbags on the front of the windscreen or automatic bonnet opening.
Plastic fantastic
Well before this initial phase was introduced, plastics suppliers have been busy developing their own plastic/metal hybrid solutions for front-end modules. For example, Bayer MaterialScience’s engineers have a number of pedestrian safety solutions and new design concepts for bumpers based on energy-absorbing polyurethane foam and polycarbonate-based injection-molded thermoplastics.
“Most limb injuries occur due to a direct blow from the bumper and the leading edge of the hood,” said Marty Boykin, manager, product information development for Bayer MaterialScience. “A bumper beam with an integrated airbag or an injection-molded bumper filled with variable density foam facilitates energy displacement and absorption while meeting crash test ratings for most vehicle types.”
For some time, the Lanxess group has also been involved in developing hybrid technologies for some of the major automakers. “Plastic has a very good energy absorption capability,” said Ulrich Dajek, specialist in hybrid technology at Lenxess. “Together with a tightly connected sheet metal profile it can also absorb high energy impacts in a controlled manner. In our experience, a pure plastic structure can also be sufficient if only a human person clashes with the front side of a car. So we think about hood structures, motor covers, fender adapters, and headlamp adapters.”
Plastic manufacturers reckon that by the time the second phase of the pedestrian protection regulations swing into force (2010) that the use of plastic parts will be common place. Both phases require automakers to create more crash-absorbing crush space on vehicle front-ends between the bonnet and the radiator.
GE Plastics has also been busy developing hybrid technologies for automakers. “Over the past 3 – 5 years, we have developed a number of solutions for the front-end, including advances to the front-end carrier and bumper,” said Robert Nelson, Global Market Director, GE Plastics Automotive. “These innovations already meet the first phase of the EU regulations on pedestrian protection. We have also developed other body panel technology that meets the more stringent second phase EU regulations relating to head impact criteria. So we take a holistic look at developing technologies that meet these criteria as legislation starts to get implemented not just around Europe and around the globe. Our holistic approach involves looking at all those individual components that go into the front-end in order to help the OEMs deliver solutions.”
GE Plastics is also well prepared to meet Phase 2 EU regulations on pedestrian protection. Nelson added: “We believe that our polycarbonate technology gives car designers more styling freedom thereby liberating packaging space while still meeting the EU requirements that they need for that portion of the vehicle. We see those requirements as a huge opportunity for growth for GE plastics.”
Nelson reckons that we should expect to see more use of plastic only parts to meet the EU rules, such as for bonnets and fenders. “I think it is going to be driven by a combination of fuel economy and pedestrian protection requirements,” he added. Furthermore, GE Plastics has joined forces with Hyundai to develop and build a demonstration crossover utility vehicle (CUV). The vehicle, code-named HED 4, was showcased at the 2007 Geneva motor show. The front-end is known as HED 4’s Elastic Front™ safety system, which encompasses the whole front-end of the vehicle. The partners claim that this front-end is “arguably the world’s first global pedestrian solution on a CUV.” Three energy-absorbing structures are integrated underneath the front-end of the HED 4.
The partners say that this system takes advantage of several advanced materials that offer inherent energy-absorbing properties. The HED 4’s body panels have been designed to work in concert with energy-absorbing systems on the underside of these panels to manage and dissipate the force of a pedestrian/CUV collision, says GE Plastics. The Elastic Front has been engineered to meet EEVC WG17 Phase 2 Euro NCAP, and JNCA pedestrian impact requirements and is currently undergoing testing for final validation.
