Pioneer in automotive electronics, interior parts and seating, Johnson Controls has produced a new rear seat system using aluminum and steel as base materials.
The lightweight, multi-material, modular rear seat utilizes the company’s latest adhesive technology.
The adhesive technology allows engineers to design rear seat systems with required safety features and also decrease the weight by 34%.
Johnson Controls Automotive Experience’s Vice President of Technology Management, Andreas Eppinger, stated that the new seat system is suitable for electric and hybrid vehicles in which some technical parts increase their weight.
Traditional methods cannot weld aluminum and steel together due to their material characteristics. While developing the new seat frame technology for rear seat backframes, Johnson Controls engineers also developed an adhesive bonding technology, which is a suitable substitute to welding.
Johnson Controls engineers used aluminum for lower and upper cross members and steel for the reinforcing cross beam and side members of the seat, resulting in a 30% reduction in weight. They also decreased the steel back panel thickness from 0.6 to 0.4 mm, reducing the seat weight further by 4%.
Johnson Controls’ new adhesive technology uses glue that can join thin and different materials, including natural fibers, plastics, metals and other materials. It is compatible with other bonding methods such as welding, clinching and riveting.
Source: http://www.johnsoncontrols.com