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Ford looks to save weight with bubble-infused plastics
Just like every other automaker, Ford is looking into making its cars lighter, and thus more eco-friendly. Thanks to a bubble-infused plastic introduced at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology [MIT] called MuCell, Ford says it can step further toward its goal of lightening all its cars by anywhere from 200 to 750 pounds.
MuCell is made by pumping tiny bubbles of nitrogen or carbon into standard injection-molded plastics. Though the bubbly plastic is slightly weaker than the standard stuff, Ford says the difference will be negligible, since its plastic parts are engineered to be 50 to 100 percent stronger than they should ever need to be.
Though the idea is still in development, Ford says it wants to be running MuCell plastics in all its cars by 2020. Though the technology has been around since 1995, it hasn't made sense for automakers to start buying in until now. With a new focus on green technology in the automotive industry, the move suddenly makes a lot of sense, and Ford will start using the plastic in items like engine covers beginning in the next few years.
Just like every other automaker, Ford is looking into making its cars lighter, and thus more eco-friendly. Thanks to a bubble-infused plastic introduced at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology [MIT] called MuCell, Ford says it can step further toward its goal of lightening all its cars by anywhere from 200 to 750 pounds.
MuCell is made by pumping tiny bubbles of nitrogen or carbon into standard injection-molded plastics. Though the bubbly plastic is slightly weaker than the standard stuff, Ford says the difference will be negligible, since its plastic parts are engineered to be 50 to 100 percent stronger than they should ever need to be.
Though the idea is still in development, Ford says it wants to be running MuCell plastics in all its cars by 2020. Though the technology has been around since 1995, it hasn't made sense for automakers to start buying in until now. With a new focus on green technology in the automotive industry, the move suddenly makes a lot of sense, and Ford will start using the plastic in items like engine covers beginning in the next few years.
