A new plastics part that is instrumental in meeting pedestrian protection when they collide with motor vehicles of the future has been developed. The new part, called Lower Bumper Stiffener (LBS) weighs about one kilogram, is one meter long and is installed behind the front bumper so as to diminish the risk of serious knee injury in the event of a collision with a pedestrian. The LBS is made of Ultramid* B3WG6 CR, the glass fiber reinforced polyamide 6 developed by BASF for crash applications.

Statutory regulations have been an integral part of the type-approval certification in Europe since October 1, 2005 (Directive 2003/102/EC), and consumer protection organizations such as EuroNCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) also conduct pedestrian protection analyses of new vehicles. Moreover, the stipulations made in the rating tests of underwriters (the Research Council for Automobile Repairs – RCAR, the German Insurance Association – GDV) also have to be met. In the quest to fulfill all of these conditions, the entire design concept of the front end of the vehicle is put to the test. At the same time, automobile manufacturers voice the classic demands for optimal space utilization, ease of assembly, sufficient sturdiness upon contact with obstructions, the lowest possible weight, a small number of parts as well as low costs that are acceptable to customers. This wide array of requirements has to be met by using innovative parts made of this thermoplastic engineering polymer (Ultramid glass reinforced grade specially developed by BASF).