Performance of Long Glass Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Automotive Part by Surface Finishing/Compression Molding Process 2001-01-0442

The Valyi surface finishing/compression molding process (SFC) has successfully been used to produce large structural panels with Class A finishing films under low pressure using short glass/carbon fiber reinforced materials and engineering materials. The material used in the SFC process must meet certain performance requirements in order to fully exploit the capability of the process. This paper reports the mechanical properties and rheological properties of short and long glass and carbon fiber reinforced materials. The fiber distribution in the parts produced by SFC have been compared to that from conventional injection molding. The long fiber reinforced PP resins show enhanced stiffness and impact strength. The methods of improving appearance due to long fiber read through have been investigated in this paper.