I. Background and Challenges of NEV Lightweighting

1.1 Importance of NEV Lightweighting

1.2 Limitations of Traditional Materials

• Steel: Although high-strength steel has good structural load-bearing capacity, it has high density and limited weight reduction effect;
• Aluminum alloy: While offering significant lightweighting benefits, it involves complex processing, high costs, and inferior local energy absorption performance compared to composites;
• Thermosetting composites: Excellent in performance but with long molding cycles, low processing flexibility, difficulty in repair, and low recycling rates.

II. Material Characteristics and Advantages of CFRT Prepreg Unidirectional Tapes

2.1 Continuous Fiber Reinforcement

2.2 Advantages of Thermoplastic Resin Matrix

• Rapid molding: Can be molded when heated to the softening temperature, shortening the production cycle;
• Repairability: Defects or damages can be locally repaired by heating, reducing the scrap rate;
• Recyclability: Waste materials or scrapped components can be reused through thermoplastic recombination or chemical recycling, realizing green manufacturing;
• Adaptability to complex structures: One-step molding of complex geometric structures, reducing the number of parts and improving assembly efficiency.

2.3 Mechanical Performance Advantages

• High specific strength and specific stiffness: Suitable for bearing high loads of structural components;
• Excellent fatigue resistance: Continuous fibers effectively resist fatigue from cyclic loads;
• Good impact absorption capacity: Suitable for door anti-collision beams and chassis protection structures;
• Thermal stability and corrosion resistance: Ensuring long-term use of vehicles under different climatic conditions.

III. CFRT Manufacturing Technologies and Process Flows

3.1 Automated Tape Laying Technology

• Multi-axis robotic tape laying: Controlling fiber direction, tension, and laying speed;
• Flexible process control: Fiber density and thickness in different areas can be flexibly adjusted;
• Online defect detection: Visual identification of bubbles, wrinkles, and deviations, enabling automatic defect correction.

3.2 Thermoforming and Vacuum-Assisted Molding

• Thermoforming: Heating the laid CFRT to the resin softening temperature and curing it under pressure in a mold to form high-density, high-strength structural components;
• Vacuum-assisted molding: Removing air and bubbles by vacuuming to ensure full bonding between fibers and resin, improving mechanical properties;
• Zoned heating and local curing: Optimizing heating and pressure for areas of different thicknesses to reduce warpage and stress concentration.

3.3 Digital Design and Simulation Optimization

• CAD/CAM modeling: Precisely establishing fiber layup models for body frames, chassis rails, and seat frames;
• Finite Element Analysis (FEA): Simulating impact, bending, vibration, and fatigue loads to optimize fiber direction and thickness distribution;
• Topology optimization and lightweight design: Achieving a balance between minimal structural weight and maximum stiffness;
• Digital twin technology: Real-time monitoring of tape laying and molding parameters during production to improve consistency and quality reliability.

3.4 Intelligent Quality Control

• Sensor monitoring: Real-time collection of temperature, pressure, and tension data;
• Machine vision inspection: Automatic identification of fiber deviation, bubbles, and wrinkles;
• Closed-loop feedback control: Real-time adjustment of tape laying and molding processes based on data to ensure each structural component meets design requirements.

IV. Application Cases of CFRT in NEVs

4.1 Door Anti-Collision Beams

• Adopting CFRT continuous fibers laid transversely to enhance collision energy absorption capacity;
• Thermoforming process ensuring high-density fiber structure and improving impact resistance;
• Achieving approximately 20% overall lightweighting of doors while meeting safety regulatory requirements.

4.2 Chassis Rails and Support Structures

• CFRT laid longitudinally to provide high bending stiffness;
• Composite with foam core to improve energy absorption and vibration damping performance;
• Reducing overall structural weight by 15–20%, enhancing driving range and power response.

4.3 Seat Frames and Support Structures

• One-step molding of complex geometric structures using automated tape laying and thermoforming;
• Optimized laying of continuous fibers to improve fatigue life;
• Achieving both lightweighting and high strength, enhancing ride comfort and safety.

4.4 Integration of Interior and Functional Components

• CFRT combined with fabrics or foam to achieve sound insulation, vibration damping, and lightweighting;
• Integrated structures reducing the number of parts, lowering assembly difficulty and production costs.

V. Performance Optimization and Design Strategies

5.1 Fiber Direction Optimization

5.2 Layer Number and Thickness Control

5.3 Multi-Material Composite

5.4 Thermoplastic Resin Selection

VI. Economic and Environmental Benefits

6.1 Economic Benefits

• Reducing overall vehicle weight, improving driving range and power efficiency;
• Automated tape laying and thermoforming improving production efficiency and reducing labor costs;
• Material recycling and local repair reducing waste loss and production costs.

6.2 Environmental Benefits

• Lightweighting reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions;
• Thermoplastic recycling technology realizing green manufacturing;
• Highly aligned with the low-carbon development strategy of NEVs.

VII. Technical Challenges and Solutions

7.1 Molding Complexity

• Large-size and complex geometric structures prone to warpage and bubbles;
• Achieving high-precision molding through zoned heating, vacuum assistance, and digital control.

7.2 Material Costs and Equipment Investment

• High costs of high-performance continuous fibers and thermoplastic resins;
• Reducing overall costs through optimized layup design, automated production, and recycling.

7.3 Standardization and Certification

• Need to establish design, testing, and production standards for CFRT in the automotive industry;
• Ensuring material reliability through collision testing and fatigue life verification.

VIII. Future Development Trends

1. Highly integrated structural design: CFRT combined with metals, foam, fabrics, and other materials to achieve lightweight, multi-functional integration;
2. Intelligent manufacturing and digital twins: Integrating automated tape laying, thermoforming, and online monitoring with AI for process optimization;
3. Green manufacturing and circular economy: Improving material utilization and reducing carbon emissions through thermoplastic recycling technology;
4. Cross-industry technology sharing: Interchange of composite material technologies with aerospace, rail transit, and other fields to achieve collaborative innovation of materials and processes;
5. Development of new thermoplastic resins: Enhancing high-temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, and fatigue resistance to expand the application scope of CFRT in NEVs.

IX. Conclusion

• Balancing lightweighting and high strength: Combining continuous fibers with thermoplastic resins to achieve lightweighting of bodies, chassis, and seat frames;
• Integrated manufacturing of complex structures: Automated tape laying and thermoforming enabling mass production of precision structural components;
• Multi-functional integration: Combining with foam, metals, and fabrics to achieve energy absorption, collision resistance, sound insulation, and heat insulation;
• Green manufacturing and recycling: Thermoplastic matrix recyclability reducing waste and carbon emissions;
• Technological innovation and industrial upgrading: Promoting intelligent manufacturing, digital design, and cross-industry collaborative development.