Farjand
Member • Jan 27, 2012
Kenaf Plant In Door Bolsters 'Escapes' Ford's Weight, Results In Fuel Saving!
Ford is making efforts to introduce #-Link-Snipped-# in their vehicles. These changes will soon be reflected in #-Link-Snipped-# when the auto major will make door bolsters from a plant. Recently, the car manufacturer experimented with 'Kenaf plant' for replacing oil resins in door bolsters. The move is expected to eliminate 300,000 pounds of oil based resin annually from America.
#-Link-Snipped-#
Kenaf plant used in Door Bolster reduces their weight by around 25%.
Kenaf, with which the company is busy nowadays, is a tropical plant and closely related to cotton. The door bolsters when made from Kenaf are touted to reduce their weight by 25%. The auto giant plans to use Kenaf with polypropylene in a 50-50 proportion to do the trick. The plant is already famous for its fiber as a replacement for wood used in paper industry. Its use in cosmetics is also well known.
The decision to use recyclable products by the company is not only limited to replacing oil resins. Rather, it has already employed other Eco-friendly techniques in Escape. For example, the carpets used in car are #-Link-Snipped-#. The use of soy foams in seat and head restraint will also be accompanying all new Ford Escape. However, if you will consider any individual modification, then it might not turn out to be a feasible weight reduction solution. Collectively, the modifications drastically reduce weight of the vehicle resulting in fuel saving.
It appears that Ford will not limit itself to the number of environmentally viable changes it has adopted. More such solutions are expected to be on their way. The American auto giant will be launching this comfort vehicle this spring. Only then we can appreciate the material engineering employed by #-Link-Snipped-#!
#-Link-Snipped-#
Kenaf plant used in Door Bolster reduces their weight by around 25%.
Kenaf, with which the company is busy nowadays, is a tropical plant and closely related to cotton. The door bolsters when made from Kenaf are touted to reduce their weight by 25%. The auto giant plans to use Kenaf with polypropylene in a 50-50 proportion to do the trick. The plant is already famous for its fiber as a replacement for wood used in paper industry. Its use in cosmetics is also well known.
The decision to use recyclable products by the company is not only limited to replacing oil resins. Rather, it has already employed other Eco-friendly techniques in Escape. For example, the carpets used in car are #-Link-Snipped-#. The use of soy foams in seat and head restraint will also be accompanying all new Ford Escape. However, if you will consider any individual modification, then it might not turn out to be a feasible weight reduction solution. Collectively, the modifications drastically reduce weight of the vehicle resulting in fuel saving.
It appears that Ford will not limit itself to the number of environmentally viable changes it has adopted. More such solutions are expected to be on their way. The American auto giant will be launching this comfort vehicle this spring. Only then we can appreciate the material engineering employed by #-Link-Snipped-#!