In a world filled with next-generation materials, is there still room for the threaded insert?
Even in non-electrified vehicles, weight has grown as safety protocols demand more safety systems. According to NADA, the average weight of a new vehicle sold in the US in 2022 was 4,329 pounds – 1,000 pounds heavier than a generation before in 1980 and 175 pounds heavier than just three years earlier1 thanks to factors like increased demand in SUVs, electric vehicles and modern safety equipment.
Meanwhile, this all flies in the face of emission standards that keep pushing for higher fuel economy numbers. So what’s the remedy? Plastics, next generation composites and technologies like additive manufacturing that drive weight down.
That said, those come with their own issues as fasteners rarely play well working directly with plastics and composites. Well, that is, unless you utilize them with threaded inserts.
What types of next-generation materials are automotive designers working with?
Today, automotive designers are experimenting with all kinds of materials from more traditional thermoplastics and fiberglass to more exotic applications such as carbon fiber and graphene. Even with these newer materials, use of threaded inserts is ubiquitous.
Thermoplastics such as polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), Acrylon Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Polycarbonate (PC), and others are plastic materials are currently utilized in several types of automotive applications today. You will find thermoplastics from polypropylene battery cases and fluid reservoirs to polyamide engine covers to ABS dashboards and interior trims. These thermoplastics are typically paired with all types of threaded inserts, from press-in to self-tapping to mold-in, depending on their usage in cars.
Carbon fiber is a lightweight material that is used due to its strength and stiffness in suspension components, roof panels, driveshafts and other components. Traditionally used in high-end and performance cars due to its ubiquitous use in race cars, it has found its way into other more pedestrian cars as a weight saving device.
While carbon fiber is relatively strong, it is also brittle, making the use of threaded inserts absolutely essential. Carbon fiber has a tendency to delaminate and crack under mechanical stresses like tightening bolts. This tendency is one of the main reasons to deploy threaded inserts. Inserts such as molded-in, press-fit, self-tapping, and bonded inserts are typically used in conjunction with carbon fiber.
Looking further into the future automotive materials, Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice. Graphene is up to 200x stronger than steel, more electrically conductive than copper, and lighter than both making it an ideal next generation material for next generation curved screens and more for your car. Even further into the future, work has even begun in the agricultural heavy machinery world with bio-based composite body panels derived from vegetable oils2.
Would threaded inserts still exist in such a world?
While the creativity of the engineers to create these materials will never cease to amaze, one thing remains clear – the role of fasteners in that world. These next generation materials will still need the backup of threaded inserts to mate with traditional steels and aluminums that make up the structural frames.
In addition, inserts would help with load distribution and vibration resistance over a larger surface to prevent material cracking and deformation. These benefits would help with even the strongest next-generation material like graphene, carbon fiber and even bio-based materials.
Where does CFI fit in?
For over 30 years, Components for Industry has been a worldwide provider in industrial components such as brass inserts for a wide number of industries like Automotive, Aerospace, Appliance and Heavy Industrial. If you want more information about CFI, our industrial components or our custom design process, contact us at 847-918-0333 or sales@componentsforindustry.com
- NADA. American Cars Are Developing a Serious Weight Problem (Bloomberg). Obtained From: https://www.nada.org/nada/nada-headlines/american-cars-are-developing-serious-weight-problem-bloomberg ↩︎
- Materials Today. Renewable polymeric materials from vegetable oils: a perspective. Obtained From: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369702113002940#bib0140 ↩︎
