If it rolls, floats or flies, light weight is always good. Manufacturers of planes, trains, automobiles, trucks and tractors are hungry for new materials that improve efficiency and reduce weight.
Engineers have many options for joining plastic parts to plastic parts or metal parts to metal parts. However when joining plastic parts to metal parts, options are few.
Lightweighting is the number one topic in the automotive industry today, as OEMs scramble to lower emissions and improve fuel economy.
Typical plastic to metal joining applications include:
- Polypropylene to aluminum for vehicle panel application.
- Polycarbonate to aluminum for battery housing application requiring heat and humidity resistance, resistance to drastic temperature changes, high peel strength and high impact strength.
- Attaching flexible plastic LED strips to coated aluminum frames in light fixtures.
You can read the full news article written by Austin Weber, Senior Editor for Assembly Magazine here – http://www.assemblymag.com/articles/92408-new-techniques-for-joining-plastic-to-metal