Sheet Molding Composite

May 1, 2015

Jennifer Shuttleworth

Pictured: untreated glass spheres (left) and treated glass spheres (right).

Tough Class A (TCA) Ultra Lite from Continental Structural Plastics (CSP) is a 1.2 specific gravity (SPg) sheet molding composite formulation that provides engineers the ability to design with a lower specific-gravity material without sacrificing mechanical properties, surface qualities, and adhesion requirements. According to CSP, depending on the body component being developed, design studies have shown that TCA Ultra Lite offers a weight savings of up to 21% over the company’s mid-density TCA Lite (1.6 SPg), and 35% over its industry-proven standard TCA material (1.9 SPg). Ultra Lite technology uses treated glass bubbles to replace some of the CaCO₃, allowing the resin to adhere to the matrix and increase the interfacial strength between the bubble and the resin. Approved by major automotive OEMs, this material is programmed for a production vehicle beginning in January 2015, claims CSP.