Gordon Murray Design Teams up with Formaplex for Lighter Seat Frames

Gordon Murray Design, a British design and engineering company is teaming up with Formaplex to work on seat frames that could be lighter by 30 per cent. Called ‘Manufacturability of Advanced Passenger Seats (MAPS)’, the goal of the research project which will last for a year is to reduce the weight of automotive seats by a significant margin.

The program is party funded by the Innovate UK framework and will focus not only on the end product but also on making production methods more economic. The aim of the project is to deliver new seats that are considerably lighter than conventional metallic seats as well as production process innovations that will reduce the time needed to manufacture the seats when compared to existing composite seat manufacturing methods. These techniques and materials should also be able to achieve European homologation standards whilst being affordable for both low and high volume vehicles.

The role of Gordon Murray Design within the MAPS project be to share the company’s expertise in advanced composite panels based on recycled carbon fiber to reduce the weight of the seats and using its original iStream technology to attain high volume, low cost benefits. It is expected that the team will be able to develop a seat frame that is 30 percent lighter than the incumbent steel frame.

Commenting on the project, Professor Gordon Murray, chairman, Gordon Murray Design said the company was pleased to have an active role in the research initiative, as it would lead to further development of the revolutionary iStream manufacturing technology.

He concluded, “The MAPS partnership brings together recognized industry professionals in order to address the exciting challenges associated with the development of new materials and processes necessary to ensure that new innovations can be implemented in a cost-effective and robust manner, appropriate for mass production”.