Electric vehicles have captured the world’s imagination. At Trinseo, they’ve captured our imagination as well. To us, the same principles of innovation, science, engineering, and design that define the external aesthetics of an electric vehicle, also apply to the internal components. We’ve been hard at work reimagining how to house the most critical and expensive component of an EV, the battery, while also enhancing performance, protection, productivity, and profitability. The key, an innovative use of the proven D-LFT process, a technology where thermoplastic resin is directly compounded with glass fibers for enhanced mechanical properties, and then compression molded into a custom part shape. The benefits of the D-LFT process include short cycle times that are ideal for high volume manufacturing, part toughness due to the integration of long reinforcing fibers, along with structural flexibility and design freedom for complex part geometries using thermoplastics.
Moving away from heavy metal casings to high performance trays and covers made from thermoplastics, changes the game for EV OEM’s without compromising performance or protection. Using high performance thermoplastic means increased design flexibility for innovative functional integration that can add value, and production efficiency across a number of areas.
To learn more, watch our video below. And if you would like to talk about how we may be able to help you reach your lightweighting, performance and recycling goals, contact us.
