Filed under: Emerging Technologies, MPG, Ford
Engineers at Ford have taken inspiration from Nestle’s Aero chocolate bar to produce lightweight MuCell (aka microcellular plastic foam) plastic parts by injecting them with gas bubbles during the manufacturing process. The injection of gas creates a honeycomb structure with a cross-section that closely resembles that of the tasty sweet and, more important, the bubbles mean that less plastic is required. Ford says that the MuCell plastic – thanks to its reduced weight – improves fuel economy and emissions without compromising durability.
MuCell technology expert Carsten Starke had this to say of the bubbly plastic:
The first time I saw this plastic under the microscope I thought to myself it looks like an Aero chocolate bar! The bubbles in the chocolate change the taste, but in our plastics they save weight and making cars lighter reduces emissions and fuel consumption significantly.
The 2012 Focus is Ford’s first model that will benefit from the weight-saving MuCell plastic. Eventually, every vehicle in the Blue Oval’s lineup will get a taste of the chocolate-inspired technology.
[Source: Ford]
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Ford’s chocolate-inspired MuCell plastic uses bubbles to reduce weight originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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