The aim in modern car design is to incorporate fast design change, weight reduction, reduced manufacturing steps, greater reliability and easier recycling. Smithers Rapra was a key member of PEGASUS, a European sixth framework program project to assist the European automotive sector achieve this. One of the outputs from PEGASUS was an Integrated Design and Engineering Environment, a knowledge based system, that addressed the issues of car design already listed. The other outputs were new materials and processing techniques. Many of these developments came together in the final demonstration piece for the projectThis was a rear panel for the Daimler Smart ForTwo car and incorporated two different nano-materials. The panel was intrinsically coloured with a nano-pigment based on a smectite clay modified with organic dyes.This had the advantages of reduced pigment requirement and improved quality mouldings over conventional pigments. The rear light cluster included a conducting polymer based on CNT's that could replace some of the metal required, reducing weight and allowing the conductive pathways to be moulded in.
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