Mazda introduced world’s one of the first technologies to recycle the used bumper plastic for reusing in new vehicle bumpers. Mazda has always been actively participating in the process of recycling automobile parts made of plastic. Initially they focused mainly on recycling the bumpers, and then created a ‘bumper-to-bumper recycling technology’ for these bigger plastic parts. This technology was made to recycle damaged bumpers as well as the end-of-life vehicle bumpers which are to be used as the raw material for the new bumpers.
The aim of such technology was to prevent wastage in the first place and then recycle the used bumpers from the dead vehicles. The process involved converting these parts into raw plastic resin that would become usable again for the new vehicle bumpers.
As per the Tempe area Mazda dealerships experts, Mazda has executed this technology through establishing a well-researched efficient system that would go on collecting and processing the end-of-life bumpers from the related companies. They agreed in terms of the improvements in the bumper scrapping technology that would produce an increasing number of end-of-life vehicles having easy-to-recycle designs.
Finally, Mazda was successful in reducing the recycling costs and in recycling the materials for bumpers by lowering the cost in comparison of using new materials.
Process of paint removal
Mazda created a system of collecting and recycling the damaged bumpers taking up a responsible step to resolve environmental issues. They felt the need to use the resources in a more efficient manner. They stared the movement first by removing the paint from the damaged bumpers that cause deterioration in the mechanical properties. They then continued to use those recycled material in order to reinforce the bumper plastic.
Development of the paint removal process
the conventional paint removal ratio for the recycled materials is 98.50 percent, with a residual ratio of 1.50 percent. But Mazda improved the paint removal ratio by conducting a detailed examination of the crushed bumper pellets that can determine the ratio of the paint removal according to the conventional process. They found that only a 14 percent of those pallets were still having residual paint while 86 percent were free.
With this result the engineers from Mazda could detect and hence remove the bumper pellets with a residual paint of 10mm2 achieving a high of recycled material with the targeted ratio of paint removal.
The Mechanism Behind the Selection
The vehicle recycling system covered the process of crushing down the bumper pellets that are made to be used in the process of stripping down the paint. These crushed pellets were further collected in a hopper and were passed through the help of a shooter. As and when these pellets get off from the shooter, a light would shine on them reflected from multiple angles. Any paint that remained as fragments would reflect the light back with more intensity than the normal black colored bumper material. In the process, the charged-coupled device sensors would catch and detect those reflected light and a jet of air would be lashed to remove the unwanted pellets immediately. One can know more about the process from the Tempe Mazda dealer.
Summing Up
At this hour of environmental pollution, Mazda has shown the way how an automobile maker can contribute positively on environmental issues. We all hope that other stalwarts in the same industry would do something similar or advanced to address this issue with sincerity.