Do You Have An FRP Work We Can Help With?

Products: Fiberglass truck bodies
Customer: Hino
Cooperation time: Since 2006
Demand quantity: 4000 sets per year
Main products: Fiberglass hoods, Fiberglass bumpers

1. Hino problems and DOFRP solutions

1.1 Development project assistance

Hino is developing a new model for their heavy duty truck. In the early stage of the development, it is related to the assembly and adaptation of many metal plate and parts. We fully cooperate with customers to complete the drawing. In the beginning, there is a low investment in the heavy duty truck. From the customer’s point of view, our technical team assists Hino with the development. Before the new truck development model is finalized, we adopt simple fiberglass molds with low cost and high precision. And the cost of sample molds is 50% lower than that of mass production molds. In addition, we help to solve the problem of modifying the fiberglass body shape several times.

1.2 Quality fiberglass bodies

DOFRP service tenet is regarding the quality of our life. Until now, there is zero complaint and zero compensation. We always provide fiberglass products with the satisfying quality. In general, we strictly control the truck bodies manufacturing process and train every staff to work according to the instruction. Besides, we make the professional assembly and check fixture to confirm the high quality.

Some fiberglass products have complex design and a high precision requirement. In this case, we use the three dimensional spot check to make sure and give customers reassuring body kits. So far, we have been supplying Hino with the fiberglass truck bodies turnkey solution for twelve years. And the customer never complains about our fiberglass bodies, certainly never asks for compensation. As a leading FRP manufacturer in China, they have a high evaluation of DOFRP. Thus, we have motivation and confidence, and we will keep going on the stable development of high quality fiberglass.

At present, DOFRP can provide not only fiberglass bodies but also fiberglass radome, FRP panels, fiberglass tubes, etc. In addition, we can produce carbon fiber reinforced plastic products, such as carbon fiber tubes.

1.3 DOFRP award

At the Hino’s Annual Supplier Conference, we won the award of ” Excellent Supplier Collaboration “.

2. FRP advantages as car bodies

Fiberglass reinforced plastic has strong flexibility and is easy to form. Fiberglass products can be jointed with each other, and they can also splice with other material parts. As a result, FRP has long been favored by domestic and foreign car bodies manufacturers and scientific research institutions. As we all know, there are many Ford Model cars for you to choose from. You may know about 1932 Ford and 1934 Ford. Between 1932 and 1934, Ford produced three Ford models, Model B, Model 18 & Model 40. And Ford 3 window coupe in 1932 adopt fiberglass car bodies. After that, some kit car, hot rods and street rod bodies begin to use fiberglass body panels. Why are they choose the FRP as the body only material?

Compared with the steel plate, if the strength is certain, the light weight rate of FRP can reach above 36.7. Such as the car which has a mass of 1360 kilograms, if its weight decreases 10 percent, it can save 8 percent energy. Also, the fiberglass material has enough hardness and toughness. This may remove part of the impact force, or produce a rebound when there is a slight collision. The Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ever did a safety experiment on Fiat150 glass fiber reinforced plastic cab. When they applied a load to the top cover, and the load is 50 larger than the steel cab, the column will not be significantly deformed. Another, the 40kg pendulum fall from the height of 2 meters and hits the cab, its coaming will not be deformed. But steel products are subject to significant deformation. Finally, the FRP has excellent scratch resistance, corrosion resistance, and anti-aging ability. It makes the car easily handle problems even under different weather conditions.

3. FRP application in the auto body

Since the first fiberglass use in the auto body, it has been a fashion and trend. No matter kit car, hot rods or street rod, they prefer the fiberglass body only. With the development of automobile industry and automobile technology, fiberglass car bodies are used more and more widely. After decades of development, the quality of fiberglass bodies has improved considerably. Also, fiberglass car bodies manufacturers in China has formed a certain scale of production technology and capacity. In the meantime, car manufacturers in the world have enhanced the recognition degree of the fiberglass body. There are three main categories of the FRP application in auto body. They are fiberglass body parts, structural parts, and functional parts.

3.1 Fiberglass body parts

They include car body panels, fiberglass toppers, sunroofs, fiberglass car doors, radiator grilles, running boards, front and rear bumpers, car interior parts, etc. And this is the main application of FRP in car bodies. It mainly meets the needs of the car body streamline design, beautiful appearance and high quality. Now, the potential for development and application is still huge. The main material is the glass fiber reinforced thermosetting plastic. And typical molding processes include SMC(Sheet Molding Compound), BMC(Bulk Molding Compound), RTM(Release to Manufacture), hand lay-up, the spraying process, etc.

3.2 Structural parts

Fiberglass structural parts include the front bracket, bumper frame, seat frame, floor, and so on. The aim of using these fiberglass structural parts is to increase the design flexibility, versatility, and integrity. And fiberglass car bodies manufacturers always use high strength SMC, GMT, and LFRT as raw material.

Our fiberglass truck bodies won the praise of Hino.

3.3 Functional parts

The main properties of functional parts are resistant to high temperature and oil corrosion. And they mainly include the engine and engine peripheral parts. For example, engine valve cover, air intake manifold, air filter cover, gear chamber cover, scoop, air inlet shield, fan blade, heater cover, water tank, outlet casing, pump turbine, etc. In addition, the main process materials include SMC, BMC, RTM, GMT, glass fiber reinforced nylon, and so on. Other related fiberglass body parts include CNG cylinder, health facility components in cars or RVs, motor parts, and so on.

3.4 Fiberglass car models

In 1953, General Motors in the United States manufactured the first full size fiberglass body kits. Since them, Italy and France have also purchased automobile bodies from fiberglass car bodies manufacturers. In 1958, China began to develop FRP auto shells and its components. The fiberglass reinforced plastic is especially suitable for the thin wall parts which have a complex shape and needs large area integral molding. Since you only need fewer molds to make FRP bodies, you can save a lot of investment. For example, the General Motors decreased the 100 steel parts of a general van to 16 fiberglass parts, and it greatly reduces the cost.