Automotive plastic bumper covers/shells

[speedyguy]

I Live in Fresno California and I am looking for a company that can produce a new front and rear bumper cover. Any assistance re: what kind of company or a link to a company who can help me out with this endeavor.

Thank you
TY

 

[chaving]

There are many Automotive moulders who produce car bumper skins, however each one is model specific.

If you are looking for a new design you need to think very big as the tooling costs are huge.

If you are looking at a single skin, or low quantities then make them from fibre glass.

If you need more help then send some more details.

Cheers

 

[speedyguy]

I figured that was going to be the answer. I was thinking of using a plastic welder to modify my current bumper. I am not sure how well plastic welds will hold up and if I can use them to change the whole shape of the unit. It is a rubbery somewhat soft cover over a fiberglass base attached to the usual shocks that are part of the frame/ Bolted to. I am talking specifically about a Pontiac Bonneville, and funny enough now they have come out with a new with no "grooves" but with a new nose. I may have to go with fiberglass, but I don’t want to have to. My current income and vehicle worth out weighs the cost of a new plastic cover. I will pull the unit off and see about getting the actual code off the back of the bumper so you know exactly what kind of plastic I am talking about. I am hoping the welder idea is a good option, I think that would look the best.

thanks for any help.
P.S. I was thinking of getting into plastic welding, any tips?

 

[chaving]

Yes thermo-plastic does weld, but it is dificult to obtain a weld strength that is the same as the original moulded part strength. However good results can be found.

Plastic welding is the same as other welding in that you need to use a filler of the same material, many plastic repair shops will have a pile of ruined old parts that they can use for a filler. If you only need a small amount of filler shave some stips of the back of your part, if you need a lot go to your breakers yard.

Do not use a flame with your welding as this will cause oxidation and poor weld strength, try using a soldering iron or get the proper equipment which would be a hot air plastic welder.

Hope this helps

Chaving

 

[speedyguy]

chaving,

Thanks for the advice I plan on getting the proper Equipment (hot air plastic welder) and will experiment with some wrecked bumpers.

TY

 

[speedyguy]

http://www.urethanesupply.com/5500HT_info.htm

This is a great site for getting information for your layperson interested in messing with automotive plastics. Might find it interesting.

 

I just want to latch on to speedguys question on car bumpers. First of all, thanks to speedguy for the link to the excelent site about automotive plastics. It is very informative, but I still have some questions...
I live in Europe, the Netherlands to be precise, and I have some questions about plastic car bumpers too. Over here we drive cars you guys probably have never heard of, in this case the Renault 5 GT Turbo. There are quite a few enthousiastic owners of this small sporty car here in Europe, mostly joined in clubs. And as you might well know, the problem with sporty and specifically lowered cars is frequent damage to the front bumper (often due to the ludicrous amount of speedbumps we have here) and the costs that flow from that. Most people learn to live with the cracks and others try to fix their bumper themselves, mainly because of the very low availability of good second hand items and the high cost of a new replacement.
Now I was thinking of having a small number (say 10-20) of remoulds made to sell to members of my club, thereby helping them achieve a good looking car and boosting my own financial situation of course
So my questions are:
1. is there any chance I could offer the remoulds at a reasonable price, or are the costs of making a mould (can I make the mould myself?) too big for such a small series?
2. what material is most suited for such an application, considering the price (Polycarb, HDPE, PP, ABS, fiberglass?), and what sort of mould would that recuire?

 

[RotoUSA]

probably

http://www.rotousa.com

might be helpful

 

Firsly may I apologise for my lack of ignorance on this subject but I am trying to see if it is possible to produce polycarbonate panels for a specific car in Europe. I have spoken to a producer who advises me that I need moulds and thah the polycarbonate comes out see through and can then be painted afterwards with plastic paint but that is as far as I have got.

On reviewing the web I haven't found much information regarding the production of polycarbonate goods, especially limited production, and was wondering is this something that I could start myself.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

[PrentP]

Speedyguy,

Do I take it that you want someone to mold new bumpers for you?

Forget the mold costs, which chaving has already said will be huge, the molding machine cost (say a 700 tonne, or bigger, injection molding machine) will be even more enormous. The only way in which these costs can be justified is if you are going to produce 100s or 1000s of these components - anything less is simply uneconomic.

If you only want a few of them use fibre glass. Regards,

Peter P

 

[chaving]

Hi SlowGuy,

I hope I can help you with some pointers.

The Moulding machine is actually not a big issue as there are plenty of moulders with capacity that would be more than happy to nake the parts for you.

Machine design will depend on part size and Injection pressure. (surface area)

The tooling is a problem, but only if you are looking at low volume production. High volume 20 - 50 K per month is quite good. Below this figure you will have t look at cheeper alternatives like cast or concrete tooling.

Material - There are many many different grades of PC, the clear grades are usually saved for clear jobs and wuld not be painted, you can either mould your part in pre-matched c0lour or paint it. To my knowlege in the Automotive sector, rigid body panels are usually moulded from a blen of PC and ABS.

Painting - Plastic parts are either painted with an Acrylic 2 pack system (same as the cars) or the more environmental friendly is the water born system, this legislation may be inforce now to only allow this one in certain areas.

Hope this helps you n your way.

Chaving

 

[xaviervp]

Hi im trying to do something in the same line as Speedguy but with the Center console for trucks, cars, vans etc.
Currently auto maker use plastic, my question is:

Can these be used as a plug for a fiberglass mold.
I want to use one as a basic design and modify it to add improvements and features then make new ones out of fiberglass.I worked in a boat factory for some time and I learned how to make some molds so I thought Fiberglass could be a good option.

Thanks
Xavier

 

[alkigt]

I am an artist and I can design just about anything. Currently I am considering
creating a new bumber for my car based on the Kompressor AMG SL one.
What I need to know is what kind of mold I will need and what material to use in
it.? I fingure I'll make a mold out of say wood (oak) then layer a non compressable
film over it of say 4mm thickness then pour a clay type material over it. I'd then
remove the clay from the oak (plus film) backing and then I would have a female and
male mold with a 4mm clearance between them. What I can't figure out is what
material do i use to fill that 4mm gap that will be equal in strength and appearance
to what the automakers use. No, I don't want to use fiberglass -- it breaks! The
material has to be somewhat flexable and able to take a 5mph hit.

 

[chaving]

If you are going to go to the extents of making a male form out of wood you should consider vacuum forming your skin out of pp/epdm, but as always you will be looking at production volumes to pay off the cost of the mould. Just as a hint injection moulded bumpers are normally 2 to 2,5 mm thick.

If you are going to go this route you can produce the form from plaster or fiber glass.

 

[speedyguy]

I’m back again.

I am still looking for custom molders of plastic and fiberglass. These parts are not large and are interior parts. I have a store selling many options and a custom molder would gain alot of projects if I could find a good one.

Speedyguy

 

[speedyguy]

I found a few shops that do Fiberglass or carbon fiber. It took a few months but they are out there.. Just to give people an idea of costs a full hood mold made for carbon fiber is around 2600.00. You can cheaper but if you want a pro then expect to pay this much. Bumpers are a bit cheaper but this gives other people looking in with the same problems and idea of costs

Thanks for all your help.

Ty

 

[chaving]

Hi Speedguy,

Please send me your e-mail, I have some pictures of components that we are producing for the motorcycle racing guys, fairings and tail pieces ect... It is all quite low volume but the pricing seems to be OK and the quality is very good.

chaving@yahoo.com