Rob Loszewski
Press Release
Published: July 21, 2015 2:00 p.m. ET
Space-age material offers significant weight- and cost-savings over aluminum
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Jul 21, 2015 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Continental Structural Plastics (CSP), the global leader in lightweight composite solutions, announced today that its TCA Ultra Lite material is now in production on the 2016 Chevrolet Corvette. The use of TCA Ultra Lite, a Class A body panel material, results in a 20 lb (9 kg) weight savings on the Stingray Coupe model. This is the first production use of CSP’s Ultra Lite advanced composite.
“Through a joint continuous improvement effort, Chevrolet and CSP have significantly reduced the density of the Corvette body panels – from 1.9 specific gravity for the 2013 model year, to 1.6 specific gravity for the 2014 model year to 1.2 for the 2016 model year,” said Christopher Basela, Lead Engineer for Corvette Body Composites.
The mass savings afforded by TCA Ultra Lite is accomplished through the use of a CSP-patented technology that uses treated glass bubbles to replace some of the Calcium Carbonate filler, resulting in a lighter density material. On the C7, a total of 21 body panel assemblies, including doors, decklids, quarter panels and fenders, are molded from TCA Ultra Lite.
“In materials engineering, shaving a single pound per car is a significant accomplishment, so saving 20 pounds per car is monumental,” said Tadge Juechter, Corvette Chief Engineer. “This is a great example of how Chevrolet is continually looking for innovations that improve performance on Corvette, and could benefit possible future applications.”
When combined with CSP’s patented vacuum and bonding manufacturing processes, TCA Ultra Lite offers a premium Class A finish with paint and gloss qualities comparable to metals, including aluminum. The material is able to withstand the E-coat process, and passes all OEM paint tests. It also offers reduced costs at all volumes – and for production volumes under 150,000, tooling costs for composites can be as much as 50 to 70 percent less than those for stamping steel or aluminum.
“We have been working closely with GM to launch this patented, weight-saving technology on the iconic Corvette, achieving this conversion with no changes in material thickness or tooling while maintaining the superior surface finish required for this premium vehicle,” said CSP Chairman and CEO Frank Macher. “With this successful launch, we can say TCA Ultra Lite is proven to offer several advantages over aluminum, and is truly the next generation of lightweighting technology for the automotive industry.”
About Continental Structural Plastics
For more than 40 years, Continental Structural Plastics (CSP) has provided leading-edge technologies in light-weight materials and composite components for the automotive, heavy truck, HVAC and construction industries. Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, CSP holds more than 50 patents covering materials development and manufacturing processes in composite materials formulation, engineering design and manufacturing technologies. For more information, visit www.cspplastics.com.
