Joyson Safety Systems 3D prints airbag housing component using composite material

Joyson Safety Systems, a global leader in mobility safety components for the automotive market and others, has leveraged 3D printing to produce a part for an airbag. The company’s Core Innovations team started a project to explore the additive manufacturing field and discover its potential for the production of an airbag housing container.

The performance of the DAB housing part is extremely essential, due to the fact that it’s a safety component in the vehicle. The Joyson Safety Systems’ Core innovations team explains: “After running some market analysis in order to find out the most suitable material and process that could deliver the required performance, we came across the CRP Technology’s Windform TOP-LINE family of composite material and, specifically, the Windform SP. Windform SP brought our attention to the fact that it’s a material produced from polyamide PA grades and reinforced with Carbon fiber as a powder form material, and it has almost the required and even better performance for our application.”

Thanks to the collaboration with CRP Technology and to the use of its Laser Sintering manufacturing process and Windform SP Carbon composite material, it was possible to produce a functional prototype and to test it in a complete airbag module within a short period.

The test has led to very good results as the material exhibits an excellent mechanical performance in terms of high strength and impact resistance as well a good thermal stability between a low and high range of temperatures (RT; 23°C, -35°C & 85°C).

The most innovative aspect about Joyson Safety Systems project and application is the fact that this is the first functional prototype of a DAB housing to be produced with SLS process using a composite material, Windform SP, which exhibits an excellent mechanical performance in terms of high strength and impact resistance as well a good thermal stability – Joyson Safety Systems’ Core innovations team