Leoni Bordnetz-Systeme and Bayer MaterialScience have cooperated in the development of a new automotive crashpad production process which enables cable harnesses to be integrated to simplify assembly.

Crashpads are usually fitted in areas that pose the greatest danger in accidents, such as side impact protection in doors, direct impact areas for the head and in the front impact area of the passenger compartment. Cable harnesses are often routed along areas protected with crashpads, providing the impetus to mould the life-saving padding directly around the cable sets.

Integrating the cable harness has a negligible effect on the effectiveness of the crashpads. “Using quasi-static pressure tests at a range of temperatures, we were able to prove that integrating the cable harness does not impair the foam padding’s ability to absorb energy effectively,” says Klaus W Huland, PU energy absorption systems specialist at Bayer MaterialScience.

The integrated crashpads are manufactured using the BaySafe rigid foam system from Bayer MaterialScience.

By integrating cable set and crashpad better utilisation of space can be achieved and assembly can be speeded up.

www.bayermaterialscience.com

www.leoni.com