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Hutchinson helps reduce vehicle weight with composites

07 Dec '20

2 min read

Pic: Hutchinson

Hutchinson is helping in reduction of weight of vehicles by use of composites and through control of the product’s design. Attention paid to design enables parts already made in composite material to be optimised even further, the company says. Vehicle weight reduction is essential to comply with new environmental standards which demand low emissions.

“Hutchinson constantly innovates through innovative materials custom-developed for its customers. One such material is composite, which offers numerous benefits to make vehicles lighter and thus reduce CO2 emissions,” the company says.

Composite is a combination of several materials - a carbon or glass fibre reinforcement, a thermosetting or thermoplastic resin, etc. By combining each material’s performances in a targeted way, greater strength is obtained and a customised material with a very low density is created. Composite therefore offers a very good alternative to conventional materials such as steel or aluminium, and a significant reduction in the weight of equipment for cars, planes, etc.

Vehicle weight reduction is essential to comply with new environmental standards which are increasingly demanding in terms of CO2 emissions. Composite is an ideal material to meet this challenge because it can reduce the weight of a part by up to 70 per cent. Hutchinson manages to reduce this weight significantly not just through the material but also through control of the product’s design. Attention paid to design enables parts already made in composite material to be optimised even further.

Through its multi-market expertise, Hutchinson can enable its aviation and car industry customers to benefit from the technological advances and specific process advantages of each market. The car industry is a concrete example of the company’s capacity to produce composite parts in large volumes and aviation provides relevant details concerning design rules.

Numerous optimisations can be made by capitalising on the synergies of the various markets, making zero CO2 emissions vehicles in the future possible. Composite is therefore an ideal material for building sustainable mobility, the company says.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SV)