No Compromise Material Solutions for Next Generation Vehicle Body in Whites

Today's automotive reality is about meeting competing requirements.

We need to integrate lightweight material, but we can’t compromise safety, performance or comfort in the process. We need to speed product development, but we must do so with a focus on solutions that improve flexibility in terms of processing and manufacturing time.

These are the challenges Henkel’s global team of engineers and product development specialists keep in the forefront of their minds each day.

We’ve pulled together our latest technical presentations to give you a first-hand look into the results we’re achieving - here’s a sneak peek:

Optimizing Structural Designs

Using FEA and CAD, we’re identifying optimal structural solutions for integration in the advanced design phase of development – the point where the least cost is invested and the most time is saved.

In a suggested rocker re-design, for example, we identified approximately 0.9 kg of weight savings by replacing four heavier crash cans with structural foam solutions - while ensuring side impact and frontal crash requirements were met through CAD validation.      

Optimizing Structural Design

Structural adhesives are an established and efficient solution for joining multi-materials, meeting a variety of needs, including structure stiffness, improved crashworthiness and corrosion resistance.

Perhaps lesser known is their ability to improve manufacturing flexibility, processing capabilities and material consolidation in the body shop.

Through advanced modeling and design, Henkel’s TEROSON® EP 5150 was developed as a single formulation that meets uncured and cured properties for both steel and aluminum bonding, including:

• Increased humidity resistance to enable application of the adhesive in one location and shipment to another location prior to cure.
• Wash off resistance to ensure no contamination in the cleaner and coating baths during pretreatment
• Ability to achieve 100% cohesive failure across substrates – which is often particularly difficult to meet on cold rolled steel and hot dipped galvanized steel.

And that’s just the start. Explore more about our ‘No Compromise’ approach to material solution design and development – including the latest on structural tapes and patches, next generation structural adhesives and structural foam inserts.