Why are car bumpers made of plastic?

Whether it's Mercedes-Benz BMW Audi or Changan Geely BYD, knock on the bumper with your hand. Hey, the bumper used to be metal, but now it's plastic. Are car companies cutting corners and saving costs again? Or is it a car to reduce weight? Is it safe to make the bumper plastic?

What materials were used in the early car bumpers?

Early bumpers were mainly made of metal materials.

In fact, the front and rear bumpers of early cars were mainly made of metal, usually made of steel plates, riveted or welded to the longitudinal beam of the frame.

Fiat first replaced the metal bumper with plastic.

However, for various reasons, automobile manufacturers finally found a better substitute-plastic bumper.

It is the first time that Fiat has used plastic bumpers. Since then, this money-saving plan has been quickly followed by major car companies.

Why do cars now use plastic bumpers?

1, low manufacturing cost and convenient design and production.

Plastic bumpers can save manufacturing costs, because plastic as a raw material is much cheaper than metal, has lower requirements for industrial level and is easier to produce.

Therefore, after the manufacturing cost is controlled, the final product price delivered to consumers will be relatively low.

Of course, in addition to plastic bumpers, some top sports cars also use a lot of carbon fiber materials. In fact, the purpose is very simple, mainly to build a lightweight body, so as to improve the acceleration and braking effect of the vehicle.

2. The plastic bumper absorbs energy, which can reduce the injury to pedestrians caused by external collision.

As a fast-moving means of transportation, safety is particularly important when pursuing speed. Because of the material, plastic bumper is more elastic than metal and has better impact absorption ability, so it can reduce the damage caused by external collision to pedestrians.

Nowadays, the design of cars has begun to consider the preciousness of human life. It is better to damage and repair cars than to hurt the lives of pedestrians.

Therefore, the front and rear anti-collision beams and the door anti-collision beams protect the people inside the car, and the plastic bumpers and some foam installed at the front and rear can absorb the impact force and reduce the damage to the outside world.

3. Small bumps can rebound automatically, which is convenient to repair.

If there is a slight collision or scratch, the plastic bumper has good elasticity and certain impact resistance, that is, if there is a small bump, the plastic bumper can rebound automatically and repair itself.

Even if the paint falls off, it's better than sinking in. After all, painting is much cheaper than sheet metal repair.

Small scratches, small scratches or deformation can be directly repaired by painting, and small scratches can even be repaired without maintenance, which has no other effect except affecting aesthetics.

Big accident, big accident, it is more convenient to directly replace the bumper and spray paint.

4. Plastic materials have better corrosion resistance and rust resistance.

Because the bumper is more likely to be rubbed and bumped before and after the car runs and fluctuates, it contacts with water marks and other substances on the ground more frequently, the metal part is scratched and the primer is missed, and it is easy to rust and corrode due to moisture over time, and corrosion resistance and rust prevention are the advantages of plastic parts.

Is the plastic bumper safe?

Many friends think that the bumper will play an important role in resisting impact, so it is directly related to vehicle safety. In fact, this understanding is wrong.

The thickness and material of the bumper do not directly determine the safety of the car.

In fact, the rigidity of the car is not borne by the bumper, but mainly depends on the design of the body frame, that is to say, the thickness and material of the bumper can not directly determine the safety of the car.

Bumpers are vulnerable to big collisions.

So in general, different bumpers may be different in small bumps, but they are often fragile in large collisions.

The collision test video of American IIHS is also recognized as the most authoritative collision test institution. When the vehicle hit the front face at a speed of about 64km/h and 25% hit the obstacle, the bumper was smashed.

Summary:

The design and application of front and rear bumpers should focus on protecting the safety of people inside the car and reducing the damage caused by external collision, which is more humanized. Coupled with the factors I summarized above, the front and rear bumpers of the car gradually changed from metal to plastic over time.