Teijin Limited announced that its Sereebo carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) has been selected by General Motors (GM) for use in select pickup box applications. This is the world's first use of CFRTP for structural parts in a high-volume production vehicle.
CFRTP for Structural Parts
Sereebo will be used to manufacture the optional CarbonPro pickup box jointly developed by Teijin and GM for the GMC Sierra Denali 1500 and GMC Sierra AT4 1500. Specifically, the pickup box's inner headboard, side and floor panels will be made with Sereebo. Following production startup in early June, GMC Sierra CarbonPro Editions for both vehicles will begin appearing at select GMC dealerships in the U.S. this summer. The CarbonPro panels will be produced at Continental Structural Plastics' Huntington, Indiana, manufacturing facility.
Extended Design Flexibility and Freedom
Sereebo used for CarbonPro contains randomly-orientated, isotropic carbon fiber in a polyamide matrix resin. Manufactured using with the world's first mass-production technology for CFRTP, the molding time for Sereebo is approximately one minute, which is significantly shorter than the molding time for conventional carbon fiber reinforced thermoset plastics (CFRP). Compared to steel, CarbonPro is 40 percent lighter, offers 10 times greater impact resistance, is more corrosion-resistant, and is even more readily recyclable. Finally, because of its material characteristics, Sereebo offers extended design flexibility and freedom, which allowed GM engineers to mold in many of the unique features of the CarbonPro box.
Source: http://www.teijin.co.jp/