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Front End Carrier
Thought from the front
The prominent position of the FEC as the load-bearing structure of the vehicle front poses a particular challenge in terms of quality and dimensional accuracy. Likewise, its behavior and performance in the event of a crash must be absolutely guaranteed.
Carriers are also at the forefront of structural lightweighting: the technology allows us to design this important vehicle component from scratch.
Goodbye gaps
Until now, Front End Carriers have been made up of several components. The new generation is made from just one piece - thanks to lightweight structural design. Deformations and manufacturing tolerances are therefore hardly a factor. In addition, the components are manufactured to fit precisely and thus achieve a particularly high degree of tightness. This is of particular interest in terms of air resistance and cooling.
This is made possible by the plastic material base. An additional advantage is that with this one-piece solution we achieve a much more precise geometry. Corrosion also hardly plays a role thanks to our high-performance plastic.
Everything already inside
Of course, all the advantages of Structural Lightweight technology, such as lower weight and cost-effective production, also apply to Front End Carriers. This component in particular also benefits from functional integration and pre-assembly of other components. This applies, for example, to lights, sensors, active grille shutters (AGS) and more.
Some highlights of our Front End Carrier
- Lightweight, application-specific material with proven mechanical performance and material card for crash simulation.
- "One-shot design" enables significant cost and weight savings as well as a reduction in installation space
- Less weight
- Lower overall height
- Optimized use of installation space thanks to maximum design freedom
- Extended range due to low weight: up to 30% lighter per square meter compared to steel and aluminum
- Robust design, excellent long-term stability and corrosion resistance
- Excellent sealing performance thanks to one-shot and one-piece design. Continuous sealing surface without interruptions.
- Functional integration or assembly of sealing and purchased parts as a cost-effective solution.
Advantages and competencies of Röchling Automotive
Röchling supplies complete systems
- Design, development, and production from a single source, tailored to our customers' requirements
- Structural simulation available in-house
- Simulation capacities for processing are under development at our company
- Validation from material to product level
- Over 20 years in the development and series production of high-performance plastics
- Many years of experience in end-of-line testing (leak and quality control)
- Global presence for prototyping and series production
Design freedom
- Wall thickness between 1.8 and > 5 millimeters matched to the application
- Optimized packing dimensions
- Best sealing properties
- Hybrid design with local reinforcement by metal or continuous fibers possible
Function integration
- Active Grille Shutter (AGS)
- Mounting points
- Sensors
- Additional fire resistant materials
- Management of fluid lines, cables, etc.
Material overview
- Injection molding PP-GF & PA6-GF
- Compression molding PP-GF & PA6-GF
- Tape integration for local reinforcements
- Plastic-metal hybrid
- Further processing
- Various press sizes and manufacturing methods available
Cost reduction
- Stack mold concepts for injection molding
- Multi-cavity mold for D-LFT and SMC compression molds, depending on part footprint
- In-house developed materials for compounding thermoplastic injection molding and compression molding
