BASF wins vehicle lightweighting award

A thermoplastic seat pan structure developed by chemical supplier BASF Corporation has won the first Altair Enlighten Award, honoring vehicle lightweighting efforts across the automotive industry.

Currently in production on the Opel Astra OPC, this seat pan is the said to be the world’s first production part made from a thermoplastic laminate with continuous fiber reinforcement and is described as 45 per cent lighter than its predecessor. It uses two Ultramid Polyamide resins with glass reinforcement, injection molding and overmolding to produce a seat pan that weighs 0.8 kilograms compared to 1.5 kilograms for the predecessor part.

The award was presented to BASF at the 2013 Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Management Briefing Seminars, held on August 5 in Traverse City, Mich.

The first runner up was shared by ArcelorMittal for its hot stamped door ring application (by Honda, ArcelorMittal and MAGNA – Cosma International), and Plasan for its carbon fibre roof (by Chrysler FIAT, Plasan Carbon Composites).