In recent years, needle punched non-woven fabrics have been widely used in the automotive industry. Nowadays, more than 40 kinds of automobile parts are made of non-woven fabrics, such as trunk lining, carpet and fuel filter. The performance of non-woven fabric can achieve good performance and safety of auto parts, reduce the weight of the car, improve the comfort of the car and highlight the beauty of the car. Advanced technology can greatly improve the effect of heat insulation, combustion supporting, waterproof, resistance to extreme temperature and wear resistance.
The use of needle punched non-woven fabrics in automobiles is expanding continuously, because the installation of non-woven parts is easier than that of traditional parts when assembling automobiles. It can be customized according to the function applied, such as thermoforming, embossing, coating and printing, which can be used in the production process. All in all, they can make cars safer, more attractive, more durable, more cost-effective and more sustainable. The multi-function and many advantages of non-woven fabrics are widely recognized by aircraft, trains, ships, spacecraft and satellites.
The automotive industry is one of the largest industrial high performance materials application markets in the world, with a market potential of more than 2 billion euros. Frank heislitz, chief technical officer of Freudenberg performance materials, said, "overall, the market is growing by more than 7% annually. That's faster than global car production. "
He said the replacement of traditional materials with innovative high-performance materials was a major factor in growth. The trend of electric vehicles can be supported by solutions of these lightweight and high-performance materials.
Data provided by Edana show that needle punched non-woven fabric is 15% - 30% lighter than traditional materials, and 15% - 30% can reduce the car weight by more than 2 kg. From a new car to the end of life, cars using non-woven fabrics can save 55 kg of carbon dioxide emissions during this period. As a result, 13 million vehicles are registered in the European Union every year. Considering that 13 million vehicles can save 800000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions if they all use non-woven fabrics. It's like a quarter of a million cars off the road.
Marc Andre druin of texel said that he seems that customers are looking for lightweight materials. Some materials used to use 800 grams to 1200 grams per square meter in the past, but now 300 grams per square meter can achieve the same effect. As a manufacturer of needle punched nonwovens, texel is facing many difficulties and is ready to meet new challenges.
"We all have needled materials that are lighter in weight and more powerful in performance, especially in the scrim layer of the roof lining." He stressed that, with the exception of previous car parts such as the roof and trunk lining, texel and lydall have teamed up to develop heat insulation materials for automotive turbocharging areas. "We've even seen a demand for high-temperature materials, and it's the manufacturers' hope that all parts of the car can be protected."