OVER-MOLDED STRUCTURAL THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE HYBRID COVER FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) BATTERY ENCLOSURE SOLUTIONS

In recent years, with growing demand in the automotive industry for lightweight, high performance material solutions have led to increased interest in consideration of hybrid solutions combining thermoplastics and continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastics (CFRTP) composites for integrated structural components. These one-shot thermoplastic composite hybrid injection over-molded solutions offer viable alternatives to traditional multi-piece metallic systems, particularly those in electric vehicles. This paper presents advancements in thermoplastic composite hybrid manufacturing, with a focus on a novel one-shot injection over-molding process used to produce a 1.3 m x 1.8 m electric vehicle (EV) battery cover. This fully automated process makes use of two unheated CFRTP composite laminate or organosheet inserts, which are over-molded with a flame-retardant structural long fiber thermoplastic (LFT) material or resin to produce a sandwich hybrid component with minimal warpage. Achieved in less than 90 seconds cycle time, the process is optimized for high-volume production. The resulting battery cover offers improved fire safety during thermal runaway events, enhanced part integration, and outstanding thermal insulation. Additionally, the process can reduce component cost by up to 28% when considering the entire battery enclosure system. This large part manufacturing approach has been successfully demonstrated–highlighting the potential for thermoplastic composite hybrids to revolutionize EV battery enclosures design.