What do you know about SMC composites?

SMC composite material (SMC) is a semi-finished sheet molding plastic (sheet) produced by SMC unit, which is covered with plastic film, resin paste (containing resin, curing agent, thickening agent, filler and some auxiliary materials) impregnated with staple fiber (about 25mm in length) or staple fiber felt, and used in dry molding process.

Compared with steel auto parts, molding plastic SMC auto parts have many advantages, such as:

(1) Short production cycle, easy to model, good investment benefit;

(2) Light weight, fuel saving, less pollution;

(3) design freedom;

(4) the integrity of the parts is good, and the number of parts is small;

(5) Good durability and heat insulation, etc.

SMC also has disadvantages such as:

(1) can not be recycled, pollute the environment;

(2) Although the performance price is relatively good, one-off investment (such as SMC unit, press and die) is often higher than the corresponding steel parts.

SMC automotive products are divided into four categories:

(1) functional parts, with clear functions, such as oil pan corrosion resistance, heat insulation board high temperature resistance;

(2) The outer plate of the car shell is divided into two types: plumb outer plate (such as side plate and door) and horizontal outer plate (such as roof and engine hood). The car shell requires to reach the surface precision of Class A. At present, the outer plate of the car and light truck is worth 30 billion dollars in the world, but the proportion of SMC outer plate is very small (except the United States). However, SMC shell (especially engine hood) develops rapidly;

(3) The structural parts, impact strength and overall structure are excellent, the design is free, to ensure that the driver and passengers are safe after the crash, such as Formula One (n) racing car, car space structure; (4) The semi-structural parts have good mechanical strength, versatility and integrity, such as radiator bracket and beam, which play the role of supporting the instrument panel), and for example, there are only two smc composite brackets for the lower radiator in the front circumference of Taurus and MercurySable cars (the original steel bracket has 22 parts), which greatly reduces the mass and cost by 14%.