Altair and Centre for Automotive Research, a global technology company focused on providing data intelligence solutions, announced the seventh Altair Enlighten Award in the United States. The award is divided into four categories: complete vehicle, parts, enabling technology and “lightweighting in the future”.
"The award-winning products demonstrate the important role that innovation and engineering disciplines play in reducing vehicle weight and reducing carbon emissions," said Richard Yen, vice president of the Strategic Solutions Group of the Altair Automotive Business Unit.
Carla Bailo, president and CEO of the Automotive Research Center, said that he was pleased to receive so many entries this year. Achieving the success of lightweight vehicles is crucial. In the future, electric vehicles and driverless cars will develop rapidly. They have a huge market demand for lightweight technologies. "
Vehicle-small batch production category
Ferrari's Portofino model, the total weight of the car has been reduced by 80KG, and it is 35% stronger than the Ferrari California T model.
Portofino is suitable for everyday driving. With a retractable hardtop system, it takes only 14 seconds to transform from a coupe to a convertible.
Portofino uses new components with innovative design, which significantly reduces weight through extensive use of structural optimization, innovative aluminum technology and advanced production technology.
"Ferrari is very pleased that the Portofino model has been awarded the Altair Inspiration Award for the entire vehicle category," said Ferrari Chief Technology Officer Michael Leiters.
Vehicles-mass production categories
Fiat's fourth-generation Jeep Wrangler is 92 kg lighter than its predecessor. It uses advanced lightweight aluminum technology, sheet molding (SMC), and high-strength steel to achieve a lightweight body system.
The fourth-generation Jeep Wrangler has strategically adopted advanced lightweight materials to improve car comfort, safety, and convenience, and to minimize manufacturing impact.
"We are proud of the team's efforts on the fourth-generation Jeep Wrangler model," said Rob Wichman, interim head of product development for Fiat North America. "We are also very grateful to Altair for the recognition of our automotive engineering results."
Module category
ZF's new knee airbags win the module category. This knee airbag uses a fabric shell instead of a metal shell to achieve a 30% weight reduction. At present, the entire set of knee airbag modules weighs less than 700 grams, which not only reduces weight, but also reduces installation space on the dashboard.
This knee airbag uses a fabric shell instead of a metal shell to achieve a 30% weight reduction.
Knee airbags are deployed between the instrument panel and the tibia up to the knees. It ensures that the lower extremity bones contribute to restraint the body. It protects the knee and can be customized according to customer's special requirements to help customers meet global automotive-related safety tests and standards.
Teijin / Continent Structural Plastics Co., Ltd. provided the first carbon fiber cargo compartment, CarbonPro, for GM Sierra pickup trucks, which won the second place in this category. It replaced the steel inner panel and floor with carbon fiber composites, achieving a weight loss of 62 pounds and better resistance Scratch and corrosion resistance.
Enable category
Material Sciences' MSC smart steel won the highest honor in the "Enable" category. The MSC smart steel is the first spot-welded low-density composite laminate to be applied to the body.
MSC smart steel is a new type of multilayer steel plate that can directly replace body parts stamped by low carbon steel. The smart steel consists of three laminates, the outer layer is steel, and the middle layer is a low-density conductive polymer core, which allows MSC smart steel to be stamped and spot welded, which can be said to be the industry's first.
The new Arnitel thermoplastic copolyester (TPC) supercharge duct developed by DSM Engineering Plastics, Cikautxo Group, General Motors, and Henn GmbH & Co KG replaces its original thermoset rubber solution for 2019 Cadillac XT4 engines in.
This TPC supercharged air duct significantly reduces the weight, cost, and design complexity of the universal CSS 2.0-liter turbo engine turbocharging system.
Future lightweight categories
The winner of the "Lightweight Future" category is the feasibility study ULTRALEICHTBAUSITZ. The study was co-hosted by Alba Tools & Engineering, Automotive Management Consulting, and CSI Entwicklungstechnik.
ULTRALEICHTBAUSITZ is committed to rethinking the design of car seats from scratch, and then uses advanced molding technology to make a prototype of a comfortable, highly adaptable, yet lightweight car seat that weighs about 10 kg.
Carla Bailo, President and CEO of Centre for Automotive Research, said that he was pleased to receive so many entries this year. "Entries showcase their unique solutions and use innovative materials, combined with design and simulation technology to respond to light The challenge of quantification. This is crucial to the success of lightweight vehicles. In the future, electric vehicles and driverless vehicles will develop rapidly. They have a huge market demand for lightweight technologies. "