HMMWV question

[cranetruck]

With this talk about antennas and stuff, I'm wondering what parts of the Humvee are made of fiberglass/plastic if any.
Are the fenders fiberglass?
Just curious.
Thanks.

 

[mangus580]

Hood is....

 

[emmado22]

hood is fiberglass, everything else is AL.

 

[Jimmy]

HMMWV

Hi Guys,
I signed up here awhile back but have not had the time to play. I saw this post and thought I would give it a try. Everyone is correct on the aluminum body but one interesting detail about the fiberglass hood is that it is actually a composite fiberglass that is the same type used on corvettes, it is very user friendly and workable, if you wanted it to, and I wouldn't do it to mine, you could make it a slick as a piece of glass.
Glad to be on board,
Jimmy

 

[dilvoy]

The Helmet Hard tops, they look like station wagon tops with a higher roof line, are made of a fiberglass type material but like the hoods, are not fiberglass. The tops can be made with different mixtures. One mixture makes the top resist radio frequency waves. They even have an armored version.

 

[rdixiemiller]

The material is called SMC, Sheet Molding Compound. It is a resin impregnated fiberglass or carbon fiber reinforced material that comes on rolls. A "charge pattern" is cut, and placed inside a mold in a large press. The press closes down, on a HMMV hood it would probably take a 750 ton press or so. The press dies are heated to 240 degrees or so to cure the resin. About 3/4 of the way through the process, the press opens up about 1/4" or so and a shot of IMC, In Mold Coating, is injected into the die and the die closes back up. The IMC spreads over the entire hood and gives it a smoother finish than normal fiberglass.
This process is used to make personal watercraft hulls and decks (Jet Ski's), Bonnets for semi trucks, and Corvette parts.
I spent 9 years at Yamaha Manufacturing in Ga. I watched many a hull come out of the press in the plastics area.