Tsikot.ph PHUV Prototype

[architect]

While Duraplast appears to be another viable option, I would prefer using bamboo laminates (assuming all things being equal) for the simple fact bamboo is indigenous to the Philippines. Unless of course if the raw materials used for producing Duraplast are also indigenous, then by all means, we should consider both.

[architect]

Interesting story re use of bamboo laminate.

http://starbulletin.com/96/04/03/business/story1.html

[orly_andico]

I would think bamboo fibers can be used in place of cotton scraps in Duraplast.

Those bamboo laminates being mentioned in the article look like they're manufactured ala carbon fiber -- by laying layer upon layer. The way Duraplast is described in the manufacture of the Trabant, it's just molded and pressed.

[hein]

I think the most REALISTIC way to look at the PhUV is that.. it is a jeepney. Although without jeepney sheet metal. I saw a bunch of jeepneys in a showroom along EDSA near Balintawak last Holy Week. They had price billboards on them, 200K each. Of course with a surplus engine.

That's what I have been saying since my first post. The PhUV will not be a breakthrough product. It will be an enhanced version of the previous AUV's made in the Philippines. With a lot of flat panels and generic off-the-shelf parts and an ISUZU engine.

I NEVER said that we shouldn't build this car. I just said not to expect too much from the first PhUV product. As Architect said above, we do have to work with the limitations of current available technology.

[romski123]

According to the articles I've read about the PhUV, 2 models will be launched. One from MVPMAP and one from FMC. Both will sport a chinese engine.

As for the Philippine Jeepney, I've read that very soon they will have a facelift as funds are being released by the government for their rehabilitation. DBP will be financing a re-engine and re-body program.

I just hope that with all these developments, the Philippine auto industry gets the boost it badly needs!

Cheers!

[varga]

from www.greencarcongress.com/
Mitsubishi Motors Develops Green Plastic: Bamboo-Fiber Reinforced Plant-Based Resin

[SIZE=2]17 February 2006[/SIZE]

Bamboo-fiber prototype
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, with cooperation from the Aichi Industrial Technology Institute has developed an automotive interior material which uses a plant-based resin, polybutylene succinate (PBS), combined with bamboo fiber.

Parts made from the material will be used in the interior of a new-concept minicar, to be launched in Japan in fiscal 2007. Mitsubishi Motors has dubbed its independently developed plant-based resin technology, including this PBS-bamboo fiber resin, “Green Plastics.”
Mitsubishi Motors plans to substitute plant-based resins and quick-growing plant fibers for materials such as petroleum-based resins and wood hardboards used in car interiors. The use of these renewable plant-based resources, in principle, will add no CO2 to the atmosphere. Mitsubishi Motors began developing the materials in conjunction with the Aichi Industrial Technology Institute in 2004.

PBS, the main component of the material, is a plant-based resin composed mainly of succinic acid and 1,4-butanediol. The succinic acid for the material will be created through the fermentation of sugar extracted from sugar cane or corn.

The new material combines bamboo fiber with PBS in order to increase its rigidity. Bamboo grows to its full height in just a few years, compared with the tens of years required for traditional timber, and as such may be called a potentially sustainable resource. Bamboo is available and can be grown in a wide variety of areas including Japan, China, and Southeast Asia.

According to Mitsubishi’s tests, this PBS/bamboo-fiber prototype achieves an estimated 50% cut in lifecycle CO2 emissions over polypropylene, a widely used petroleum-based plastic. VOC (volatile organic compounds) levels are also reduced drastically over processed wood hardboards (roughly 85% in testing).

Other automakers, such as Mazda with its Ibuki concept, are also working with plant-based plastics for parts.

[varga]

from www.greencarcongress.com/


DaimlerChrysler: How Does a Global Corporation Tackle Sustainability?


DaimlerChrysler’s High-Fiber Diet. The amount of renewable raw materials used in DaimlerChrysler vehicles increases every year. The primary benefit, according to the DfE analysis, is the saving in energy needed—and thus greenhouse gases produced—to make a given part.

Many renewable parts projects have a social aspect as well. For example, the POEMA (Poverty and Environment in Amazonia) project in Brazil employs former subsistence farmers to produce Mercedes-Benz seat cushions out of normally discarded coconut fiber. Honda and Volkswagen have also approached POEMA for parts, and the POEMAtec factory now makes its prototype dies from resins that are sustainably harvested from the rainforest.

[SIZE=1]Workers in Brazil sort coconut husks to be used in seat cushion material for DaimlerChrysler products, as part of the POEMA (Poverty and Environment in Amazonia) program.[/SIZE]
DCX has reported that coconut fiber-based parts it uses cost about 5% less than the parts they have replaced. No great surprise there—coconut fibers have been used to make auto interior parts since the 1930s, and were phased out as petroleum-based products became cheaper.

On the island of Leyte in the Philippines, the Abaca Project has been producing natural abaca fibers to replace the use of fiberglass and plastic in A-Class models since 2004. Daimler Chrysler also helps to support the Abaca Processing Center at Leyte University to verify that the abaca fibers are being harvested sustainably. The charcoal filter that absorbs fuel evaporative emissions in the 2007 Mercedes S-Class is made from olive pits that have been processed into coke.

[varga]

excerpt from Special Report: Cars Made of Plants?
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fuelec...1/article.html

But Do They Perform?
Are automakers sacrificing anything to use biobased materials? As it turns out, biobased car parts typically work better than the parts they replace. For instance, Honda's engineering team found that the wood fiber-reinforced floor provided better dimensional stability than the other, more traditional materials being considered.

Likewise, Goodyear has found that its corn-infused tires have lower rolling resistance than traditional tires, so they provide better fuel economy. And DaimlerChrysler notes that plant fibers' ability to absorb large amounts of humidity makes them perfect for use in seat cushions, where they can increase occupant comfort.

According to BMW, it's possible to manufacture biobased composites that are as much as 40-percent lighter than equivalent injection-molded plastic parts. That's because natural fibers have high-tensile strength, durability and rigidity, plus they're easy to process and lighter in weight than glass fibers, all of which makes them excellent for reinforcing composites.

Using plant fibers in composites provides additional advantages in terms of product design flexibility, noise absorption, insulation, impact-resistance and even a reduced tendency for parts to splinter in a crash. Plus, weight reduction translates directly into better gas mileage.

[architect]

The use of indigenous plant materials such as coconuts and bamboo in the manufacture of car components (panels, flooring, seats, etc.) certainly is an attractive option since it is in line with the project's objectives. In addition, the use of natural material promotes environmental concern.

However, we need to know if there are any existing manufacturer producing such products at this time and if they are doing it at a cost-effective level relative to comparable products. Obviously it would not be economically feasible to set-up a manufacturing concern just to supply the PhUV project unless it can also cater to the market at large or the capital requirements for setting-up such is minimal.

*Varga,
Perhap you might have info re any local manufacturer who is already producing either bamboo or coconut-based components suitable for automotive application.

OT: Are you really that interested in the project as to be posting at 2 in the morning or did you just happen to have insomnia?

[varga]

hi architect

thanks for the post

i actually just arrived from batangas around the time of my posting. i'm still up, and 45 minutes away from an appointment. and, yes, i am quite a non-sleeper (i'm too old to be sleeping 6-8 hrs a day)

interest-wise . . . with realistic caution and a healthy dose of philosophical prudence, plus a sprinkling of faith.

i have been told of an engineer who's working plastics & abaca in albay (where else). i'll see what can learn about it . who knows if some car-crazy guy (or woman) from Tawi-Tawi has already built the ideal Filipino car prototype. geniuses usually work alone.

regards to all