Manufactured for the first time in full polyamide, the front side of the new Passat and Sharan of Volkswagen is totally devoid of metal reinforcements and currently implemented on three platforms. First integrated into Golf VII, the front panel made of BASF Ultramid® polyamide is now used by the Volkswagen Group in its new Passat and Sharan models.
The first front panel in the world totally devoid of metal reinforcements comes from Be transferred between several platforms. Initially integrated with Golf VII, the front panel made of BASF Ultramid® polyamide is now used by the Volkswagen Group in its new Passat and Sharan models. Indeed, since 2013 a 100% plastic part made of Ultramid® B3WG8 has replaced the old hybrid piece in polypropylene / steel thanks to the all-in-one simulation service of BASF.
Compared to previous models, BASF's polyamide 6 provides considerable savings and savings in terms of assembly time and costs. The polyamide 6 grade available worldwide is manufactured at certified production sites with process-oriented quality management. BASF thus meets the demands made by car manufacturers in terms of profitability, reliability of supply and flexibility. The new Passat was voted "Car of the Year" 2015 in Europe, notably thanks to its innovations in safety, design And general quality. Weighing almost 2.6 kg, the front side of the Passat is the largest polyamide part of the vehicle. The Ultramid® B3WG8 used is 40% fiberglass reinforced to provide excellent fatigue resistance combined with unmatched rigidity.
As a result, the plastic part has the required dynamic stiffness in defined areas while meeting the automotive manufacturer's specifications for crash behavior and vibration behavior for the front-end assembly. Design of the Passat made it possible to reinterpret the proportions of the vehicle by blowing an extra touch of dynamism, among others: lowered body, extended wheelbase and wider wheels. Thinner than the old metallic version, the plastic front panel rides on this wave of innovation by optimally exploiting the limited mounting space. Simulation with Ultrasim®: specific data on the materialThe various loading situations, some of which involve extreme stresses, have been calculated for Golf VII with the BASF Ultrasim® simulation tool.
The transfer of the results of these calculations to the front of the Passat and the Sharan has not been a problem since Ultrasim® can easily integrate into the overall computing environment of the vehicle at the car manufacturer. Specific data on the material, in particular those determining in the event of a crash, are available for the plastic. They provide an accurate description of the effects of temperature, humidity and load rate.