All hail SMC

Sheet molding compound (SMC) is no stranger to the composites industry, with a long and illustrious history in everything from cars and trucks to recreational vehicles and industrial structures. The last few years, however, have seen a renaissance for this workhorse material as it is embraced anew.

New high-strength SMCs with specific gravity (SG) hovering around 1.0 now have their sights set on aluminum in automotive body panels and other structures, and carbon fiber and epoxy are now also in the material mix from some suppliers. 

CW contributor Peggy Malnati walks you through the state of the SMC art with a two-part series that explores SMC’s capabilities and how the material is being used today:

• SMC: Old dog, new tricks: Looks at the fibers, chemistries, fillers and resin matrices that define today’s SMCs, and what they can do.
• SMC: Old dog, more tricks: Reviews the use of polyurethane in SMC, new work on sizing chemistry, loc-VOC resin formulations and low- or no-styrene options.