A Holistic Approach to Next-Generation Polymer Composite Pickup Bed Development and Prototyping 2024-01-2432

As we move toward electrification in future mobility, weight and cost reduction continue to be priorities in vehicle development. This has led to continued interest in advanced molding processes and holistic design to enable polymer materials for demanding structural applications such as pickup truck beds. In addition to performance, it is necessary to continue to improve styling, functionality, quality, and sustainability to exceed customer expectations in a competitive market. To support development of a lightweight truck bed design, a cross-functional team objectively explored the latest materials and manufacturing technologies relevant to this application. In Phase 1 of this work, the team considered a variety of alternatives for each functional area of the bed, including thermoplastic and thermoset materials with a range of processing technologies. Several initial design concepts and respective material cards were generated to capture the broadest set of materials and technologies, and preliminary simulations were run, showing that the concepts were feasible to optimize both cost and weight while meeting performance criteria. For Phase 2, the team selected the most promising design concept to move forward with detailed design and simulation, supported by novel material-level testing. Prototype tooling was fabricated, and several variations of lightweight fiber-reinforced composite parts were molded. Part testing achieved equivalent or improved results in mechanical performance relative to the incumbent design, and the team also gained insights into opportunities for optimization in the next steps, scaling up to demonstrate production capability. The successful correlation of physical testing to simulation results can further support the development of validation tools for future polymer composite designs and additional components. This work demonstrates that by taking a holistic approach to polymer composite structure development, performance targets can be met with innovative design and material selection, while cost and weight are balanced and optimized across the system.