Case Study: The Revolution of Door Panels with Injection Molding in the Automotive Industry

Industry: Automotive

Product: Interior door panels for a medium-sized sport utility vehicle (SUV). 

Initial Challenge: A vehicle manufacturer faced challenges in the production of interior door panels for its new SUV model. The panels, traditionally manufactured with multiple components made of different materials (including pressed wood, fabric, synthetic leather, and low-density plastic), presented the following limitations: 

High Manufacturing and Assembly Costs: The need to manufacture and join various components resulted in a complex process with high labor costs and an extended production cycle time. 

High Weight: The combination of different materials contributed to the vehicle's total weight, negatively impacting fuel efficiency. 

Logistical Complexity: Managing multiple suppliers and coordinating the delivery of various components created logistical complexity and potential production bottlenecks. 

Variations in Quality and Finish: Joining different materials could lead to variations in the finish and perceived quality, as well as potential durability and noise issues. 

Difficulty in Recycling: The multi-material composition made recycling the door panels at the end of their life cycle a complex and expensive process. 

Implemented Solution: The vehicle manufacturer, seeking innovation and efficiency, decided to explore the possibility of manufacturing the interior door panels using high-scale plastic injection molding technology. A project was developed to integrate most of the panel's functionalities into a single injected part.

CRW Slovakia, with its expertise in thermoplastic injection molding and mold construction, played a crucial role in this project, contributing with: 

Design Optimization for Injectability: The engineering team actively collaborated in the panel design phase, offering valuable insights on optimizing the part's geometry to ensure efficient and high-quality injection molding. Our experience in material flow simulations helped predict and mitigate potential filling and deformation issues.

High-Precision Mold Manufacturing: Utilizing its advanced capabilities in mold construction, CRW Slovakia was responsible for manufacturing complex molds with multiple slides and optimized cooling systems, essential for the production of the integrated single part. The precision of the molds was fundamental to ensuring the desired dimensional tolerances and surface finish. 

Material Selection and Processing: With knowledge of various thermoplastic compounds, we participated in the selection of the glass fiber reinforced polypropylene (PP) with specific additives that met the manufacturer's performance and cost requirements. In addition, our experience in injection parameters ensured efficient processing and the achievement of parts with the desired mechanical properties. 

Quality Testing and Validation: We also contributed to the quality testing phase, conducting rigorous dimensional and visual inspections on the injected parts to ensure compliance with the manufacturer's specifications. 

Achieved Results: The implementation of the high-scale plastic injection molded door panel solution generated significant results for the vehicle manufacturer: 

Cost Reduction: Integrating multiple components into a single injected part resulted in an approximate 25% reduction in manufacturing and assembly costs per door panel. CRW Slovakia's expertise in design and molding process optimization contributed to economic efficiency. 

Weight Reduction: Replacing the multiple materials with a single reinforced PP compound led to an approximately 15% reduction in the weight of each door panel, aided by the efficient selection of materials and design for injection. 

Logistics Simplification: Reducing the number of suppliers and components significantly simplified supply chain management and production logistics, facilitated by CRW Slovakia's ability to provide comprehensive design and manufacturing solutions. 

Improved Quality and Finish: The high-precision injection molding process, ensured by the quality of CRW Slovakia's molds and optimized injection parameters, resulted in more consistent quality and finish across all panels. 

Increased Recyclability: The use of a predominantly homogeneous material (reinforced PP) significantly facilitated the recycling of door panels at the end of their life cycle, an increasingly important aspect for the automotive industry. 

Cycle Time Optimization: The production of a single injected part, despite the complexity of the manufactured mold, demonstrated a more efficient overall production cycle time. 

Conclusion: This case study demonstrates the value of collaboration between vehicle manufacturers and specialized injection molding suppliers in the pursuit of innovation and efficiency in the automotive industry. CRW Slovakia's expertise in part design, high-precision mold construction, and thermoplastic processing was fundamental to the success of this project, resulting in significant benefits in terms of cost, weight, logistics, quality, recyclability, and production efficiency. Our comprehensive offering of integrated plastic injection molding solutions makes us an important strategic partner for the automotive industry, both in Slovakia and internationally.