Plastic extrusion replaces steel component

Cooper Standard ISG’s custom plastic extrusion capabilities can benefit customers in a variety of applications.

For a heavy-duty automotive project, a manufacturer sought to improve upon a part that featured a steel stamping attached to a rubber flap.

Our engineers redesigned the part, allowing it to be produced by co-extruding two separate plastic materials. The dual-durometer plastic extrusion provided the mix of properties required to effectively replace both the rubber and steel.
 

The Result
 

By using a plastic extrusion, the customer was able to benefit from a reduction in material costs and part weight. In addition, the need for a separate process to assemble these components was eliminated.

Die cutting was used to produce the part’s complex geometry and tight tolerance features. For the final assembly, the co-extruded component was connected to another die-cut extrusion using plastic rivets.

A carefully designed work cell maximized efficiency while providing cues to ensure quality control.

Despite the complexity of the part, the redesign achieved significant cost savings.