The use of carbon fiber composite materials in auto parts has a long history. From racing cars to ordinary passenger cars, carbon fiber composite materials are increasingly involved in automobiles. However, due to the expensive material cost of carbon fiber and the increasingly fierce price competition in the automobile market, carbon fiber composite materials have not yet been widely used in family cars, which have the largest market share. According to reports, the current mass-produced carbon fiber auto parts are mainly concentrated in the following aspects.
Carbon fiber rearview mirror shell and license plate frame:
The use of carbon fiber composite materials in external auto parts such as rearview mirror shells and license plate frames does not have a prominent lightweight significance, but is more able to meet customers' consumer psychological demands for advanced composite materials. The price of such products ranges from hundreds to thousands of yuan, which will not significantly increase the overall price of the car, but can give the car a better user experience and sense of fashion, and bring more added value to the marketing and branding of the car.
Carbon fiber seat frame:
The use of carbon fiber composite materials in the car seat frame can well meet the dual pursuit of lightweight and safety of car seats. Relevant national laws and regulations have specific requirements for various aspects of the dynamic strength of automobile seats. The carbon fiber composite seat frame has the advantages of impact resistance, corrosion resistance, high strength, fatigue resistance, etc. It can not only fully meet the requirements of complex working conditions, but also has a higher safety factor. According to reports, the configuration of such components in high-end passenger or commercial vehicles is increasingly tending to aviation grade. For example, the retractable folding table frame that matches the seat will also be made of carbon fiber composite materials.
Carbon fiber energy absorption box:
The automobile energy absorption box designed as a thin-walled component will wrinkle and deform due to collision. While the energy absorption box deforms, it also absorbs the energy generated by the vehicle collision, thereby greatly reducing the impact damage to the body and effectively improving the safety of the car. In order to ensure that a certain stiffness requirement is met, traditional energy absorption boxes generally use metal materials such as aluminum alloy or low carbon steel. Compared with low carbon steel and aluminum alloy, carbon fiber composite materials have a higher energy absorption ratio while reducing their own weight, and perform better in deformation stability and energy absorption effect. Due to the high cost of carbon fiber composite materials, the structural design of carbon fiber automobile energy absorption boxes should be as simple as possible. On the one hand, it can reduce the waste of raw materials, and on the other hand, it is also conducive to mass production, thereby reducing the overall application cost.
Carbon fiber battery box:
Carbon fiber battery boxes are mainly used in new energy electric vehicles. Such vehicles require a large number of battery packs to provide power sources, but if the vehicle's own structure is too heavy, it will accelerate energy consumption and reduce the vehicle's endurance. Therefore, the lightweight significance of using carbon fiber composite materials in electric vehicles is more obvious. Taking a carbon fiber electric vehicle power battery box as an example, the weight of the finished product is about 40% less than the original design of the metal box, which has a direct impact on reducing energy consumption and extending the endurance of electric vehicles. Moreover, carbon fiber composite materials have small creep, good water resistance, corrosion resistance and aging resistance, and can maintain good performance in large temperature differences and harsh and humid working environments, providing effective protection for battery packs.