Kaysun Blog

On April 12-14, 2022, the Anaheim Convention Center (Anaheim, California) will play host to the 13,000 attendees and 1,400 exhibitors of Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) West 2022.

By 2024 the need for automotive plastics, parts, and innovations will push the value of the automotive plastics market to a projected $50 billion.¹

As for the proliferation in the use of plastic, electric car sales and improvements undoubtedly contribute but they are not the sole cause. Traditional automobile manufacturers have also largely adopted a plastics-first mindset when it comes to certain design, engineering, and production best practices. 

OEMs across industries and disciplines continue to leverage the benefits of metal-to-plastic conversion. Faster manufacturing cycles and higher volumes — without compromising tight tolerances or durability — make plastic parts attractive alternatives.

Several industrial sectors are converting metal components to plastic to gain efficiencies in cost, weight, performance, aesthetics, and durability. While these are compelling reasons to consider plastic versus metal, the process isn’t necessarily right for all industrial applications.

A comprehensive feasibility analysis can help you determine if your project is suitable for metal-to-plastic conversion by evaluating it from three fundamental perspectives: design, manufacturability, and return on investment.

Federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards coupled with heightened consumer sensitivities to the environmental impact of using fossil fuels are tightening fuel consumption requirements for the auto industry.

When engineering-grade resins were introduced in the 1950s, some auto manufacturers were unfamiliar with the benefits of metal-to-plastic conversion, i.e. how to design plastics into products, and how to manufacture with plastics. Today this practice, also known as “lightweighting,” is becoming increasingly popular with automakers as they race to comply with a federal mandate calling for automobiles to average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

Design teams are always trying to come up with something better—better shapes and designs, better performance, better materials, and most importantly, a better cost. If there's a way to give their product an edge over the competition, the design team will do everything they can to incorporate it into their process and product.  

For OEMs that use metal as their primary material, it’s likely they’re very happy with the parts they’re producing. There are a number of key benefits to using metal components, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?

In 2012, President Obama finalized standards to increase fuel efficiency in cars and light-duty trucks to nearly 55 mpg by model year 2025, with the aim of saving Americans more than $1.7 trillion at the gas pump and reducing U.S. oil consumption by 12 billion barrels.

While there are several ways to meet this mandate, reducing the car’s weight is one of the best – and easiest – ways to improve fuel economy without impacting other design and safety factors. That's why many automakers are rethinking production and using custom injection molded plastic components instead of metal assemblies.