Sheet molding compound (SMC), is a dry manufacturing unsaturated polyester glass steel products molding compound. It first appeared in Europe in the early 1960 s, and the United States and Japan successively developed this process around 1965. SMC in the world market has begun to take shape in the late 1960 s, and has been growing rapidly at an annual growth rate of 20% to 25% since then, and is widely used in transportation vehicles, construction, electronics/electrical and other industries.
SMC (Sheet Molding Compound)
SMC composite is the abbreviation of Sheet molding compound, that is, sheet molding compound. The main raw materials are GF (special yarn), UP (unsaturated resin), low shrinkage additives, MD (filler) and various additives. It first appeared in Europe in the early 1960 s. Around 1965, the United States and Japan successively developed this craft. In the late 1980 s, China introduced foreign advanced SMC production lines and production processes.

Application status in automobile industry
Since 1953, the world's first FRP car-GM Corvette manufacturing success, FRP/composite materials that has become a force in the automotive industry. The traditional hand lay-up molding process is only suitable for small displacement production and cannot meet the needs of the continuous development of the automobile industry. Since the 1970 s, due to the successful development of SMC materials and the application of mechanized molding technology and in-mold coating technology, the annual growth rate of FRP/composite materials in automobile applications has reached 25%, forming a period of rapid development of automobile FRP products. By the early 1990 s, with the increasing calls for environmental protection, lightweight and energy saving, thermoplastic composites represented by GMT (glass fiber mat reinforced thermoplastic composites) and LFT (long fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites) have been developed rapidly, mainly for the manufacture of automotive structural parts, with an annual growth rate of 10-15%, setting off a period of rapid development. As the frontier of new materials, composite materials gradually replace metal products and other traditional materials in auto parts, and achieve more economical and safer results.

FRP/composite auto parts can be divided into: body parts, structural parts, functional parts and other related parts.
1. Body parts, including body shell, roof hardtop, sunroof, door, radiator grille, headlight reflector, front and rear bumpers, etc., as well as interior parts. This is the main direction of FRP/composite materials in automotive applications, mainly to meet the needs of streamlined body design and appearance high quality requirements, the current development and application potential is still huge. Mainly glass fiber reinforced thermosetting plastics, typical molding processes are: SMC/BMC, RTM and hand paste/spray.

2. Structural parts: including front bracket, bumper frame, seat frame, floor, etc., the purpose is to improve the design freedom, versatility and integrity of the parts. Mainly use SMC, GMT, LFT and other materials.
3. Functional parts: Its main feature is that it requires high temperature resistance and oil corrosion resistance, mainly the engine and its peripheral parts. Such as: engine valve cover, intake manifold, oil pan, air filter cover, gear chamber cover, air deflector, intake pipe guard, fan blade, fan air deflector, heater cover, water tank parts, water outlet Housing, water pump turbine, engine sound insulation board, etc. The main process materials are: SMC/BMC, RTM, GMT and glass fiber reinforced nylon.
4. Other related components: such as CNG gas cylinders, sanitary facilities components for buses and saloon cars, motorcycle components, highway anti-glare panels and anti-collision columns, highway isolation piers, commodity inspection roof cabinets, etc.

Application status of automobile industry in developed countries such as Europe and America

The United States is the world's largest producer and consumer of FRP/composite materials. The United States uses a large number of FRP/composite materials in automobiles, which has achieved remarkable results in lightweight automobiles. In the United States, 65% of American cars use SMC as the front face and radiator grille plate. More than 95% of automobile headlight reflectors have adopted BMC as the main material. The application of composite materials in automobiles covers almost all automobile manufacturers in the United States, such as General Motors, Ford Motor, Daimler Chrysler (DC), and heavy vehicle factories such as Mack and Aero-star.
Application examples:
1. GM EV1 full FRP body electric vehicle, including SMC roof, SMC engine cover, SMC rear compartment cover, SMC door, RRIM front fender, RRIM front and rear panels, RRIM rear corner panels and rear wheel liners, SRIM full aerodynamic front panel, glass fiber reinforced PUR instrument panel, RTM chassis.
2. Ford Calaxy front end bracket (GMT), Focus/C-MAX front window lower trim panel (SMC), Thunderbird front end panel, engine cover, front fender, rear compartment cover, rear seat cover (SMC), Cadillac XLR door panel, rear compartment cover, fender, front panel (SMC), Lincoln Continental engine cover, fender, rear compartment cover (SMC), etc.
3. Chrysler Crossfire rear deflector, windshield cover/a-pillar (SMC);Maybach rear compartment cover (SMC); engine cover and rear compartment cover (SMC) of Alfa Romeo Spider and Smart Roadster, etc.
Application in Europe
In Europe, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and other countries earlier adopted FRP/composite automotive parts. At present, FRP/composite materials have been widely used in cars, buses and trucks of European automobile factories such as Medseth-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Peugeot-Citroen, Volvo, Fiat, Lotus, Mann, etc. The annual consumption of automotive composite materials accounts for about 25% of the annual output of composite materials. Among them, about 35% of SMC and more than 80% of GMT and LFT are used in the manufacture of automotive parts.
Application examples:
1. Medesse-Benz sedan: CL coupe rear compartment cover (SMC), sports Coupe rear tailgate (SMC, as shown in Figure 1);SLR sunroof, soundproof cover, ventilated side panel, rear spoiler (SMC);S series rear bumper bracket (GMT/LFT);E series lamp reflector (BMC), etc.

Medesse-Benz Coupe model SMC rear door

2. Rear spoiler (SMC) of BMW 3 series Touring and X5, BMW Z4 hardtop (SMC), BMW series rear bumper bracket (GMT/LFT), BMW 5 series lamp reflector (BMC), etc.
VW Touareq/Polo GT1/Lupo GT1/FS1 Rear Spoiler (SMC), VW Golf R32 Engine Cover (SMC), Audi A2 Split Compartment (SMC), Audi A4 Collapsible Rear Compartment Lid (SMC), VW Golf A4 Light Reflector (BMC), Golf Full Composite Body Electric Car.

Full FRP body electric vehicle

4. Peugeot 607 spare tire box (LFT), Peugeot 405 bumper bracket (LFT), Peugeot 807 rear tailgate and fender (SMC); And Citroen series Berlngo roof template (SMC),Xantian front end bracket (LFT),AX tail floor assembly (GMT),C80 rear tailgate (SMC), etc.
5. Volvo XC70, XC90, V70 rear tailgate (SMC/BMC) and Renault Espace rear liftgate, side doors, side guards and roof (SMC) and Mosaic front end structure frame assembly (LFT), lamp reflector (BMC).
6. SMC-based composite materials are widely used in new heavy-duty truck models such as Medseth-Benz Actros/Actros Megaspace, MAN TG-A and F2000, Volvo FH/FM series, Renault Magnum/Premium/Midlum, Premium H130, Scania and Iveco Stralis.
Application in Asia
Japan is still recognized as a major economic power today, but the pace and progress of the use of FRP/composite materials lags behind a lot, mainly because Japan's metallurgical industry is developed and steel is of high quality and low price. It was not until the mid-1980s that Japan officially began to research and develop FRP automotive parts and transferred to large-scale production, most of which used SMC technology, and showed an upward trend year by year. The South Korea automobile industry basically takes the road of the development of Japanese automobile materials.
 
Application Status of Automobile Industry in China
In the middle and late 1980 s, with the major transformation of the national automobile development policy and the introduction of foreign advanced automobile technology and capital, the application of automobile composite materials made a breakthrough with the vigorous development of China's automobile industry, gradually changed the original single operation mode of traditional hand paste process, and integrated SMC, RTM, injection and other process technologies through technology introduction, digestion and absorption, forming a certain scale production technology and capacity, the quality of parts has been greatly improved, and the recognition of automotive composite materials by automobile main engine factories has been greatly enhanced. The large-scale application of automobile composite materials in China began with the introduction of models, but also in some self-developed models have been applied, especially in recent years has made great progress.

Car application: China's car production is still dominated by imported models, mainly divided into the United States, Europe and Japan and South Korea. There are also some independent brands, such as Hongqi, Geely, BYD, Chery, Great Wall, etc. The composite parts of imported models are basically designed by the original factory, and some of them are matched with localized production, but a considerable part of them still need KD parts to be imported. The use of composite materials for components on domestic brand cars will also become more and more extensive.
Application examples:
1. Beijing Benz 300C fuel tank auxiliary heat insulation board (vinyl ester SMC);
2. The hardtop, engine cover, fender (hand-pasted FRP), front and rear bumpers, battery bracket (SMC), etc. of BAIC's second-generation military vehicle-Warrior series (Figure 5);
3. Zhengzhou Nissan Ruiqi (SUV) roof trim assembly and middle partition window (SMC);
4. Dongfeng Citroen Peugeot 307 Front End Bracket (LFT);
5. Bottom deflector (SMC) of SAIC Roewe;
6. Sunroof panel (SMC) and rear backrest frame assembly (GMT) of Shanghai GM Buick Hyatt and Grand Hyatt;
7. Shanghai Volkswagen Passat B5 Bottom Protective Plate (GMT); Nanqi Mingjue (MG) Roof (SMC);
8. Chery designs and uses SMC to manufacture doors in the development of new models.

Second Generation Military Vehicle Warrior Series
Application in passenger cars: FRP/composite materials are used in large and luxury passenger cars in China, including almost all models of all passenger car manufacturers such as Xiamen/Suzhou Jinlong, Xiwo, Ankai, Zhengzhou Yutong, Dandong Huanghai, Futian Ou V, etc. The application components involved include front and rear enclosures, front and rear bumpers, fenders, wheel guards, aprons (side enclosures), rearview mirrors, instrument panels, warehouse door panels, etc. Due to the large number, large and small amount of such passenger car parts, they are generally formed by hand paste/injection or RTM process.
In small and medium-sized passenger cars, FRP/composite materials are also widely used. Such as SMC front bumper, hand paste/RTM hard top, BMC headlight reflector of Nanjing Iveco S series cars, SMC luxury mask, electric door assembly, triangle window assembly, rear luggage compartment door assembly and FRP rear wall assembly of Turin V series cars, etc. In recent years, the application of FRP/composite materials in the field of minibus has increased, and there is a trend that SMC and RTM processes gradually replace the traditional hand lay-up process.
Application of trucks: With the introduction, digestion, absorption and independent innovation of truck technology, FRP/composite materials have made breakthrough applications in trucks, especially in medium and heavy trucks. The application of composite materials mainly SMC and RTM is particularly active, involving cab top cover, front turnover cover plate, front wall mask, bumper, fender, side wall guard plate, foot pedal, wheel cover and its decorative plate, door lower decorative plate, front wall decorative cover, air deflector, air deflector, air deflector, side skirt plate, glove box and engine internal parts, etc.

Application Examples of Automotive Composite Materials in Auman ETX Heavy Truck
Application Prospect of Automotive Composites in China
According to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in January 2024, China's automobile production and sales reached 2.41 million and 2.439 million respectively, an increase of 51.2 and 47.9 respectively. FAW, Dongfeng, Changan, BYD, Geely and other major Chinese auto group sales continued to maintain a high growth rate. The "good start" of the auto market has made a good start for the development of the auto industry throughout the year.

The car of the future will not be much different from the car of today in many ways. In today's society, people's perspective has gradually turned to the relationship between man and nature, environment and energy issues have become the key to the survival and development of every country in the world. With the continuous improvement of people's awareness of environmental protection and the successive introduction of environmental regulations in various countries, green cars have become an inevitable trend in the development of automobiles in the future. As the mainstream of the future development of automotive materials, composite materials will play a very important role in it. Building materials, molding processing, design, inspection of the integration of the material system, the formation of the alliance and the group organization system, which will make full use of all aspects of resources (technical resources, material resources), closely linked to the advantages of all aspects, in order to promote the further development of composite materials industry.
The development of the automobile industry is changing with each passing day, the research of composite materials is also a thousand li a day, a variety of new models, new materials continue to emerge. It can be predicted that in the near future, higher performance composite materials will be used in a wider range of applications in the automotive field.

Taizhou Huacheng Mould Co., Ltd., founded in 1994, is located in Tiantai County Industrial Park, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, with nearly 30 years of mold making history. It is the honorary chairman unit of the 10th Council of Shanghai Mould Technology Association and the director unit of China Composite Material Industry Association. The company covers an area of more than 20000 square meters, the existing professional and technical personnel more than 70 people. In the early days of its establishment, the company mainly manufactured all kinds of plastic molds. Since 2003, it has been transforming to focus on the research and development and manufacturing of SMC, BMC, GMT, LFT-D, HP-RTM, PCM and other composite molds. It is a professional supplier of composite mold solutions.

Huacheng company in composite material mold, including aerospace, high-speed rail subway, automobile, electrical and electrician, building materials, sporting goods, overall bathroom, water treatment series and other fields. And in the aerospace complex mold structure and vacuum mold structure has unique experience, with the European customers strong cooperation development, mold technology has reached the international level. The formation of many varieties, good quality, cost-effective professional mold manufacturers. About 50% of the company's molds are exported to Europe, America and Southeast Asian countries and regions. It has won the national high-tech enterprise, Zhejiang innovation enterprise, Taizhou high-tech enterprise and Tiantai 50 excellent enterprise. It is the leading enterprise in the regional mold industry.

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