Electric Sports Car Uses Structural Adhesives - Assembly

A Scandinavian-built battery-powered sports car uses ITW Plexus structural adhesives to bond 24 individual components of the car body.

The Electric RaceAbout (E-RA) car was created by Finland-based Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences to showcase the next generation of battery-driven sports cars. The E-RA represents the latest in cutting-edge design, style and technology, and is intended to provide insight into what motoring in the future will look like. The car uses the latest in electric power train and battery technology, is extremely lightweight, has no emissions, and features very low energy consumption. In addition, the car’s futuristic body styling comes in marked contrast to many electric cars on the market.

E-RA Chief Engineer Harri Santamala said, “Using Plexus structural adhesives has allowed us to bond the components quick and easily, while offering excellent gap-filing properties and retaining a strong bond. We added a prepreg layup to the joint; therefore, a heat-resistant adhesive was required. The characteristics of MA425 and MA830 were perfect to meet our requirements.”

MA425 provides a long open time, as well as excellent fatigue endurance, toughness, and impact resistance. MA830 demonstrates high tensile and shear strengths, along with a gap-filling capability of 12 mm. Both adhesives have excellent working time and were formulated to meet the client’s optimum fixture times.