Teijin develops multi-material, lightweight automotive side door module

Teijin Ltd. (Chiyoda-ku, Japan) announced that its automotive composites specialty groups have developed a multi-material composite automotive door concept that maintains required crash specifications while reducing overall weight by 35 percent when compared to a conventional steel door.

The module is made from carbon fiber sheet molded compound (SMC), glass fiber SMC and unidirectional glass fiber-reinforced plastics (GFRP) to offer both high strength and low weight. Additional benefits are said to include equal cost of an aluminum door module, as well as the ability to achieve deeper draws and more design freedom than is possible with metal. The solution also withstands the heat level of the conventional E-coat automotive painting process.

Teijin plans to continue enhancing the quality of its side door module capabilities by applying various high-performance materials and technologies available within the Teijin Group. The goal is to launch a commercial door module by 2025 and become known as a global supplier of multi-material automotive components, targeting sales worth approximately $2 billion by 2030.

According to Teijin, the module has been developed in response to the automotive industry, especially in Europe, increasingly adopting tough, lightweight, eco-friendly modules for automotive components like resin-based tailgates, hoods and roofs, to reduce CO₂ emissions and further the range of electric vehicles. Previously developed multi-material side door modules for high-volume vehicles, Teijin says, have posed challenges for designers because of the required shock absorption fatigue resistance requirements.

A prototype of the side door module, developed jointly by Teijin Composites Innovation Center (TCIC) and Continental Structural Plastics Holdings Corp. (CSP, Auburn Hills, Mich., U.S.), will be on display in the Teijin Group booth (Hall 6, G28 and J28) at JEC World 2019.