MuCell works way into Mercedes Benz E-Class

Siegen, Germany – Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI), a global supplier of automotive interior systems, electronics and batteries, and one of the most advanced users of the MuCell Microcellular Foam Process, has successfully employed the MuCell Process in conjunction with other advanced technologies to produce the door panel carrier for the Mercedes Benz E-Class, and win the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE-Central Europe Section) Automotive Interiors Award. The award was presented to Johnson Controls on June 15.

Dr. Hartmut Traut, European director for Trexel commented, “Johnson Controls’ innovation strategy was to utilize the MuCell process to enable other technologies. The company’s ability to use the MuCell process to take advantage of many advanced design rules proves that higher-quality products have cost and weight saving potentials.”

The MuCell Process not only allowed for significant weight-savings through a thinner wall design for the door panel, but provided improved dimensional stability while reducing cycle times. JCI also took advantage of the low injection pressures inherent with the MuCell Process to inject foamed material behind a PP thin film, all in one injection step for the production of the integrated map pocket, thereby eliminating a second processing step along with the resulting waste and trimming specifications.

JCI was able to take advantage of several key MuCell design rules which allow:

thinner wall construction through lower resin viscosity
rib-to-wall ratios of 1:1, thereby reinforcing thinner wall construction without creating sink marks
elimination of the need to apply pack-and-hold pressure with a high clamp-tonnage requirement, thereby creating a friendlier environment for inmold decorating.

With the elimination of the pack-and-hold phase, the MuCell process enables a major productivity improvement related to the use of the tandem molding system, which itself represents an expensive capital investment.

The net effect of this innovation is not only a very attractive door panel, but an environmentally friendly design and process. From its own studies, Trexel estimates that the reduction of CO₂ emissions associated with the use of the MuCell Process in the manufacturing of components using advanced MuCell design principles is greater than 25%, while the ongoing weight savings from lighter-weight components contributes directly to lower fuel consumption. —Clare Goldsberry