Component for absorbing energy and method for producing component

Abstract

The invention relates to a component for absorbing the energy of an impact applied to a component (19), the component (19) being plastically deformable by the impact and optionally being able to break at least to some extent, the component (19) comprising a sheet profile (1) as a main component and a foamed secondary component (17), wherein the foamed secondary part (17) is connected to the sheet profile (1) and has a density greater than 0.2 g / cm3. The invention also relates to a composite unit (21) consisting of such a component (17) and to a method for producing such a component (17).

Description

[0001] manual

[0002] The invention relates to a component for absorbing energy from an impact applied to the component, the component comprising a sheet metal profile and a foamed secondary component.

[0003] Components for absorbing energy from an impact to which the component has been subjected via deformation are used, for example, in automobile construction. Such components may be, for example, bumpers, mounting components arranged between transverse bumper members of the vehicle and the A-pillars, B-pillars or C-pillars of the bumper or body, and mounting components arranged in the rocker region.

[0004] Structures for absorbing energy, also called impact absorbers, are made, for example, from molded foams based on polypropylene or polyurethane. A characteristic feature of the materials of these systems is their low elastic modulus for static pressure loads or dynamic impact loads, resulting in large deformation distances.

[0005] In addition to such crash absorbers made of polymer foam, crash absorbers made of metal structures or polymer structures are also known. Their design usually involves ribs or honeycomb structures. However, a disadvantage of these crash absorbers is that, when subjected to forces caused, for example, by an impact, they usually experience sudden failure rather than suppressing uniform deformation.

[0006] The sheet profiles commonly used for A-, B- or C-pillars of vehicles also have the disadvantage that when subjected to forces the force level drops suddenly, wherein these sheet profiles usually bend.

[0007] In order to optimize the force / displacement curve, it is known from EP-A 2 404 788 to provide a component for absorbing energy, which component comprises a material having a density of at most 0.2 g / cm 3 Core made of polymer foam.

[0008] Another component for absorbing energy is disclosed in WO-A 2017 / 137480, which comprises a primary structure and a secondary structure. The primary structure is made of metal or continuous fiber reinforced polymer material, and the secondary structure is made of unreinforced polymer material or polymer material reinforced with short fibers or long fibers.

[0009] If the impact absorber is to absorb a large amount of energy, the sheet profile must have a design that allows the desired energy to be absorbed and does not fail completely before the desired energy is absorbed. This may result in a complex design of the sheet profile or in an undesirable thickness of the sheet material used for the sheet profile.

[0010] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a component for absorbing the energy of an impact applied to a component which has a less complex design and / or has a lower weight than known impact absorbers for absorbing the same amount of energy.

[0011] This object is achieved by a component for absorbing the energy of an impact applied to a component, wherein the component can be plastically deformed by the impact and optionally can undergo at least a certain degree of destruction, the component comprising a sheet profile as a main component and a foamed secondary component, wherein the foamed secondary component is connected to the sheet profile and has a relative humidity of more than 0.2 g / cm 3 density.

[0012] By connecting the foamed secondary component to the sheet profile, the energy absorption type of the foam and the energy absorption type of the sheet profile are combined. In general, if a metal is used as material for the sheet profile, the sheet profile absorbs the energy by controlled bending of the profile. If a polymer is used as material for the sheet profile, the energy is absorbed by controlled destruction of the material, for example by tearing or breaking of the fibers used to reinforce the polymer, or by tearing or breaking of the compound if the polymer is not reinforced or long or short fibers are used for reinforcement.

[0013] Foamed secondary parts usually absorb energy by elastic deformation. However, this only allows relatively small amounts of energy to be absorbed by the foam.

[0014] In the component according to the invention, the energy absorption type of the sheet profile and the foamed secondary part is combined. By this combination, a less complex sheet profile can be designed and / or a sheet material with a smaller thickness can be used compared to a sheet profile with the same absorption characteristics but not combined with the foamed secondary part.

[0015] When an impact is applied to a component, the sheet profile as the primary component absorbs the major part of the energy. Due to the energy absorption, the sheet profile deforms in a controlled manner. By means of the foamed secondary component, the amount of energy that can be absorbed by the primary component can be increased, since the foamed component ensures a correct deformation by supporting it. Thus, a component comprising a sheet profile and a foamed secondary component can absorb a greater amount of energy than a sheet component without a foamed secondary component.

[0016] The material from which the sheet profile is made may be any suitable material which can deform or break in a controlled manner when an impact is applied to the component.Preferably, the sheet profile is made from metal or a polymer.

[0017] If the sheet profile is made of metal, any metal that deforms elastically or plastically upon impact may be used, preferably steel, aluminum or an aluminum-containing alloy.

[0018] If the sheet profile is made of a polymer, it is preferred that the sheet profile is made of polyamide (PA), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polystyrene (PS) or polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE). Regardless of the type of polymer used for the sheet profile, the polymer can be reinforced or unreinforced, preferably a reinforced polymer.

[0019] In order to strengthen the polymer, preferably use fiber. Suitable fiber for strengthening the polymer can be, for example, short fiber, long fiber, continuous fiber or a mixture of at least two of these fibers. The fiber can be, for example, carbon fiber, glass fiber, aramid fiber or mineral fiber. If continuous fiber is used for strengthening, the fiber can be, for example, used as woven fabric, knitted fabric or in the form of roving. In addition, the continuous fiber can be arranged in parallel or in layers, wherein the fibers of each layer are arranged in parallel and the fibers of two adjacent layers surround any angle in the range of 10 ° to 90 °.

[0020] The polymer may contain further additives for setting the properties. Such additives are, for example, dyes, plasticizers, stabilizers such as UV stabilizers, flame retardants and any other additives known to the skilled person.

[0021] The foamed secondary component can be made of polymer foam or metal foam. If the foamed secondary component is made of polymer foam, the polymer foam used to produce the component can be made of a material that allows the production of a metal foam having a thickness of at least 0.25 g / cm 3 The polymer foam may be any suitable polymer having a density of 1000 Å to 2000 Å. Preferably, the polymer foam is a polyamide foam, for example a polyamide foam based on polyamide 6, polyamide 6 / 6.36, polyamide 12, polyamide 610, polyamide 6 / 66, polyamide 6.12 or a copolyamide.

[0022] Preferably, the polyamide is a polyamide as described, for example, in WO-A 2020 / 016102 or a copolyamide as described, for example, in WO-A 2021 / 052881.

[0023] Thus, the polyamide may be, for example, a polyamide prepared by polymerization of:

[0024] (i) 15 to 84% by weight of at least one lactam,

[0025] (ii) 16 to 85 weight percent of a monomer mixture comprising

[0026] (ii1) at least one C 32 -C 40 Dimer acid and

[0027] (ii2) at least one C4-C 12 diamine,

[0028] The monomer mixture contains 45 to 55 mol% of component (ii1) and 55 to 45 wt% of component (ii2) based on the total amount of the monomer mixture, and the sum of components (i) and (ii) is 100 wt%.

[0029] If the polyamide is a copolyamide, the polyamide may be, for example, a polymer mixture comprising:

[0030] (A) 5 to 75% by weight of at least one copolyamide prepared by polymerization,

[0031] (A1) 15 to 84% by weight of at least one lactam,

[0032] (A2) 16 to 85 wt % of a monomer mixture comprising

[0033] (M1) at least one C 32 -C 40 Dimer acid and

[0034] (M2) at least one C4-C 12 diamine,

[0035] wherein the sum of components A1 and A2 is 100 wt %, and

[0036] (B) 25 to 95% by weight of at least one polyamide different from the copolyamide (A).

[0037] The polyamide (B) may be selected from the group consisting of polycaprolactam (PA6), polybutylene adipamide (PA4.6), polyhexamethylene adipamide (PA6.6), polyhexamethylene sebacamide (PA6.10), polyhexamethylene dodecanamide (PA6.12), poly-11-aminoundecylamide (PA11), polylaurolactam (PA12), polymethylene adipamide (PAMXD 6), polypentamethylene sebacamide (PA510), 6T / Z (Z = lactam), 6T / 6I / XY, 6T / XT (X = linear or branched C4-C 18 diamine), XT (X = C4-C 18diamine), PA PACM 12 (PACM = p-diaminodicyclohexylmethane), PA MACM 12 (MACM = 3,3-dimethyl-p-diaminodicyclohexylmethane), PA MPMD 6 (MPMD = 2-methylpentamethylenediamine), PA MPMDT, PA MPMD 12, polyhexamethylene isophthalamide (PA 6I), polyhexamethylene isophthalamide co-hexamethylene terephthalamide (PA 6I / 6T), PA 6-3-T (a mixture of terephthalic acid polyamide and 2,2,4-trimethylhexamethylenediamine and 2,4,4-trimethylhexamethylenediamine), polybutylene sebacamide (PA4.10), polydecane sebacamide (PA 10.10), polypentamethylene sebacamide (PA 5.6), PA 6 / 66 and PA 66 / 6, PA 6Y (Y = C4-C 18 -diacids) and their transamidation products.

[0038] If the polymer foam is used to produce the foamed secondary component, the polymer of the polymer foam may contain additives such as reinforcing additives, dyes, plasticizers, stabilizers (e.g. UV stabilizers) and / or flame retardants to achieve the desired density and to set the properties of the polymer foam. If the polymer used for the polymer foam contains reinforcing additives, these may be, for example, short fibers or powdered additives such as talc. If short fibers are used, the fibers may be, for example, carbon fibers, glass fibers, aramid fibers or mineral fibers.

[0039] In order to achieve the desired properties of the component, in particular with regard to energy absorption, the foamed secondary component has a thickness of at least 0.25 g / cm 3 Preferably, the foamed secondary component has a density of 0.25 g / cm 3 and 0.45g / cm 3 The density is in the range between 0.3 g / cm 3 Up to 0.4g / cm 3 The density is in the range between .

[0040] The foamed secondary part can be made of open-cell foam or closed-cell foam. Furthermore, the foamed secondary part can also be made of a combination of open-cell foam and closed-cell foam and contain open and closed cells. Furthermore, in particular if the foamed secondary part is made of polymer foam, the foam can be a particle foam or a continuous foam, preferably a particle foam.

[0041] Depending on the desired energy absorption properties, the foamed secondary component may at least partially contact only one side of the sheet profile or may at least partially contact both sides of the sheet profile. If the foamed secondary component at least partially contacts both sides of the sheet profile, it is further preferred that the foamed secondary component contacts directly opposite sides of the sheet profile.

[0042] In order to set the energy absorption characteristics, it is also possible to use sheet parts with at least two sections with different geometries (e.g. different cross-sectional areas or different shapes) or with different wall thicknesses. In particular, if a sheet part with a tubular shape is used, it is preferred to vary the wall thickness. In addition to using one sheet part with at least two sections, it is also possible to use at least two sheet parts, each with a specific geometry. By varying the wall thickness, it is possible, for example, to set the energy absorption characteristics so that they vary along a part forming a gradient material that is softer at one end and harder at the other end.

[0043] The component can be used as a single component, or as an alternative, at least two of the components are connected and form a composite unit. If at least two components are connected to form a composite unit, the sheet profile of each of the components can have the same shape, or components with sheet profiles of different shapes can be used. If the sheet profiles have different shapes, at least two of the components can have sheet profiles of the same size but different shapes. Alternatively or in addition, it is also possible that the components have different sizes and the sheet profile of each of the components has different lengths. In the latter case, the cross-sectional geometry of the sheet profiles in components of different lengths can be the same.

[0044] The at least two components may be connected in parallel and / or in series. In this context, if not defined differently for a specific embodiment, "in parallel" means that the components are connected in a manner such that the longest central axes of the connected components are arranged in parallel, and "in series" means that the longest axes of the two connected components are arranged in series.

[0045] By connecting at least two components, the energy absorption properties of the composite unit can be optimized by using differently shaped sheet material profiles of the different components.

[0046] Particularly if extruded profiles are used as sheet profiles, it is preferred that the extrusion axis points in the direction of the force. If extruded profiles of different lengths are used in the component, a desired force distribution curve can be established during an impact, with the shorter sheet profile being axially effective later in the collision and contributing to energy absorption.

[0047] As an alternative, sheet profiles with different wall thicknesses can also be used. In this case, preferably, in the direction of impact, impact first acts on the parts of the sheet profile with less wall thickness, then acts on the parts of the sheet profile with larger wall thickness.

[0048] If components are arranged in parallel and in series, it is further preferred that the components arranged in parallel comprise sheet profiles having corresponding shapes and that the shapes of the sheet profiles of the components arranged in series differ from the preceding and succeeding ones in the impact direction. Here, "in parallel" and "in series" relate to the impact direction.

[0049] In addition to using components with sheet profiles of different shapes, the properties of the foamed secondary components of the components forming the composite unit can also be adjusted. In this case, for example, the amount of additives, particularly reinforcing additives, in the polymer foam of the different components can be changed.

[0050] In order to connect the components to form a composite unit, the components can be directly connected to each other, for example by gluing or welding. Alternatively or in addition, the components can also be attached to a tie. In this case, the orientation of the tie is preferably transverse to the impact direction.

[0051] The method for producing the component preferably comprises:

[0052] (a) forming a sheet into a sheet profile;

[0053] (b) Connection of sheet profiles to foamed secondary components.

[0054] To form the sheet profile, any method known to those skilled in the art for forming a profile can be used. If the sheet profile is made of metal or a thermoplastic polymer, the sheet profile can be produced, for example, by a bending process, a deep drawing process, a pressing process or an extrusion process. It is also possible to combine at least two of these forming processes for forming the sheet profile. If the sheet profile is a hollow profile or a strand profile, an extrusion process is particularly preferred. The hollow profile or strand profile can be, for example, a tubular profile or a polygonal profile, such as a triangular or quadrilateral profile or a polygon with five or more sides.

[0055] Particularly when producing the sheet profile in an extrusion process, strand profiles can be produced with any suitable cross-sectional geometry.

[0056] After the sheet profile is formed, the sheet profile is connected to the foamed secondary part. To this end, in an alternative, the foamed secondary part and the sheet profile can be formed in separate processes and the sheet profile and the foamed secondary part are subsequently connected.

[0057] For the connection, the foamed secondary part can be attached to the sheet profile by any method known to the person skilled in the art, for example by a positive connection, a force connection or a material connection. Suitable connections of the sheet profile and the foamed secondary part are, for example, screw connections, rivet connections, adhesive bonding or clamping.

[0058] In addition to the above-mentioned alternatives, it is also possible to connect the sheet metal profile and the foamed secondary part by sliding the sheet metal profile into the foamed secondary part.

[0059] If a sheet part is slid into the foamed secondary part, it is particularly preferred for setting the energy absorption characteristics to use sheet parts with different wall thicknesses or more than one sheet part, each sheet part having a specific wall thickness adapted to the desired energy absorption characteristics. However, especially if a sheet part is slid into the foamed secondary part for production purposes, it is preferred to use only one sheet part. In this case, it is particularly preferred that the shape of the sheet part remains the same and that only the wall thickness is changed for setting the failure characteristics.

[0060] In another alternative, the sheet profile is formed and subsequently placed in a mold for producing a foamed secondary component. In this case, after the sheet profile is placed in the mold, the starting material for producing the foamed secondary component is fed into the mold, and the foamed secondary component is directly formed and partially or completely overmolded. If the foamed secondary component is made of continuous foam, it is preferred that the reactants (including foaming agent) formed by the foam are fed into the foam and the foam is formed in the mold. In this way, the foamed secondary component directly surrounds the sheet profile. If the foamed secondary component is made of particle foam, expanded polymer beads are fed into the mold as starting materials, and after filling the mold with the expanded polymer beads, the expanded polymer beads are connected and thus form particle foam. In order to connect the expanded polymer beads, for example, steam is passed through the mold, wherein the steam has a temperature at which the polymer of the expanded polymer beads begins to melt, so that the expanded polymer beads are welded together and form particle foam.

[0061] Regardless of the type of connection of the sheet metal profile and the foamed secondary component and / or the component forming the composite unit, the primary structure and the secondary structure and / or the components of the composite unit are only combined and supported with one another under load. In this way, complex nonlinear force curves can also be generated by targeted connection of the primary component or the foamed secondary component or the components of the composite unit in the deformation path.

[0062] The component or composite unit can be used, for example, in automotive engineering as a bumper or as an A-pillar, B-pillar or C-pillar and in the area of ​​the side rocker. In addition, the component or composite unit can also be inserted into a vehicle component to reinforce the vehicle component. The component and / or composite unit can further be used in any other application in which the energy of a possible impact should be at least partially absorbed.

[0063] Embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings and are explained in more detail in the following description.

[0064] In the attached picture:

[0065] FIG. 1 a shows the sheet material profile of FIG. 1 in cross-sectional view with an initial impact;

[0066] FIG. 1 b shows the sheet profile of FIG. 1 in a deformed state due to an impact;

[0067] FIG. 2 a shows a component according to the invention having a sheet metal profile and a foamed secondary component;

[0068] FIG2 b shows the component of FIG3 a in a deformed state due to an impact;

[0069] Figure 3a shows a single component;

[0070] FIG3 b shows the main spatial arrangement of components used to form a composite unit;

[0071] Figure 4 A component with an inner profile embedded in a foamed secondary component is shown.

[0072] FIG. 1 a shows a cross-sectional view of a sheet material profile that can be used in a component.

[0073] The sheet profile 1 can be formed as shown in the example in Figure 1, comprising a base 3, a first leg 5 and a second leg 7, the first leg 5 terminating in a first edge 9 and the second leg 7 terminating in a second edge 11. In the design shown in Figure 1a, the first edge 9 and the second edge 11 are oriented parallel to the base 3.

[0074] The sheet profile 1 will usually be arranged so that an impact 13 acts on the base 3. The impact 13 is shown by the arrow in Figure 1a. During the impact 13, the base moves in the direction of the upper end 15 of the sheet profile 1, and the upper end 15 is formed by the first edge 9 and the second edge 11.

[0075] Due to the impact 13 and the movement of the base 3, the first leg 5 and the second leg 7 are deformed. Depending on the material of the sheet profile 1, the first leg 5 and the second leg 7 are deformed, for example by buckling, as shown in FIG. 1 b. Such a deformation occurs in particular if the material of the sheet profile deforms elastically or plastically without breaking, for example if the material is a metal such as steel. If the material tends to break due to the impact, for example if the sheet material is a thermosetting plastic material, in particular a reinforced plastic material with continuous fibers, the legs 5, 7 start to deform, as shown in FIG. 1 b, but will soon break. Depending on the thickness of the sheet profile 1, deformation may already occur by a weak impact.

[0076] Furthermore, especially if the sheet metal profile has a relatively simple design, such as is shown in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b , the energy that can be absorbed by the sheet metal part 1 due to its deformation is limited.

[0077] In order to increase the absorbable energy, according to the invention the sheet metal profile 1 is connected to a foamed secondary component 17 to form a component 19. Such a component is shown in cross section in FIG. 2a and is shown under impact load in FIG. 2b.

[0078] The sheet metal profile 1 can be completely surrounded by the foamed secondary part 17 or, as shown here, only partially surrounded by the foamed secondary part 17. 3 The foamed secondary component 13 of a density of 1.5 Å supports the deformation of the sheet profile 1, so that the amount of energy that can be absorbed by the controlled deformation of the sheet profile 1 is increased. Furthermore, the foamed secondary component 17 allows the sheet profile 1 to be deformed in a controlled manner by the impact 13 acting on the sheet profile 1. This support of the deformation of the sheet profile 1 and the deformation in a controlled manner allow much more energy to be absorbed than the sheet profile 1 alone.

[0079] As exemplarily shown in Fig. 2a, Fig. 2b, if the sheet profile 1 comprises legs 5, 7 deformed by an impact on the base 1, the foamed secondary part 17 is arranged on the surface of the legs. During the impact 13, the foamed secondary part 17 is compressed and thus absorbs part of the energy of the impact and supports the sheet profile 1, so that the sheet profile 1 adopts a deformation state more favorable for energy absorption under the load of the impact 13. In this way, by adopting the foamed secondary part 17, the energy absorption characteristics of the sheet profile 1 are improved. In addition, the maximum load showing the beginning of the failure range can be increased.

[0080] In order to optimize the energy absorption properties it is further preferred to combine at least two components 19 to form a composite unit 21. An exemplary component 19 is shown in Fig. 3a and an arrangement of components 19 for forming a composite unit 21 is shown in Fig. 3b.

[0081] Each component 19 comprises a sheet material profile 1 and a foamed secondary component 17. To form a composite unit 21, the components 19 can be combined in any suitable arrangement.

[0082] As shown in Fig. 3b, the components 19 can be arranged, for example, one on top of the other, side by side and / or in series. An arrangement one on top of the other and side by side can also be referred to as a parallel arrangement. In this context, a parallel arrangement can refer to the orientation of the main axis of the sheet profile, or preferably in the expected impact direction. Correspondingly, a series arrangement means that the components are combined one after another in the direction of the main axis of the sheet profile, or preferably in the direction of the expected impact on the composite unit 21.

[0083] The components 19 can be arranged so that the connecting sides of two adjacent components 19 touch over the entire surface area of ​​the respective sides. However, this is only possible if all components 19 connected to form the composite unit 21 have the same size.

[0084] Alternatively, the components 19 may also be connected with an offset, regardless of whether all components 19 have the same size or whether at least some of the components 19 have different sizes.

[0085] If all components 19 have the same dimensions as shown in FIG3 b , sheet profiles 1 with different geometries can be included in the component 19 to adapt the energy absorption characteristics to a specific failure behavior. On the other hand, all components 19 with the same geometry (including sheet profiles 1 with the same geometry) can also be connected to form a composite unit 21.

[0086] Any suitable connection method known to a person skilled in the art may be used to connect the components 19 to form the composite unit 21. For example, the components 19 may be connected by screws, rivets, gluing, snap-fitting or otherwise attached to the tie.

[0087] In addition to the geometric structure of the sheet profile 1 as shown in the drawings, the sheet profile can also have any other geometric structure, depending on the intended use of the component. The geometric structure of the sheet profile can be determined, for example, by simulation calculations. In addition, the foamed secondary component 17 can completely or only partially surround the sheet profile 1. If the foamed secondary component 17 only partially surrounds the sheet profile 1, the surface of the foamed secondary component and the sheet component can, for example, form the surface of the component 19, such as the component of Figure 2a, Figure 2b, in which the surface of the base 3 and the foamed secondary component 17 form the bottom side of the component 19, and the surface of the edge 9, 11 and the foamed secondary component 17 form the upper side of the component 19. In addition to such an arrangement in which the surface of the sheet profile 1 and the foamed secondary component 17 form the surface of the component 19, it is also possible that only a small part of the sheet profile 1 is in contact with the foamed secondary component 17. In this case, the sheet profile usually protrudes from the foamed secondary component 17.

[0088] If the sheet metal profile is a hollow profile, it is also possible to arrange the foamed secondary components only on the outer surface of the hollow profile, to fill the hollow profile only with the foamed secondary components, or to arrange the foamed secondary components inside the hollow profile and on the outer surface of the hollow profile.

[0089] exist Figure 4 Such a component 19 is shown in FIG. 1 , which has a sheet metal profile 1 with a tubular hollow profile and a foamed secondary part 17 which surrounds the sheet metal profile 1 on the outer surface of the hollow profile.

[0090] If the sheet profile 1 is a hollow profile like a tubular hollow profile, the sheet profile 1 is arranged in the foamed secondary part 17 such that the main direction of impact 13 corresponds to the main axis 23 of the hollow profile. The hollow profile is preferably produced by an extrusion process and therefore the main axis 23 also corresponds to the extrusion direction.

[0091] After the hollow profile has been produced, it is overmoulded together with the foamed secondary part 17. As an alternative, the hollow profile and the foamed secondary part 17 are produced separately and the hollow profile is then slid into the foamed secondary part 17.

Claims

1. A component for absorbing the energy of an impact applied to a component (19), wherein the component (19) is capable of plastic deformation by the impact and optionally capable of at least a certain degree of destruction, the component (19) comprising a sheet profile (1) as a main component and a foamed secondary component (17), wherein the foamed secondary component (17) is connected to the sheet profile (1) and has a strength greater than 0.2 g / cm 3 density.

2. The component according to claim 1, wherein the foamed secondary component (17) is made of polymer foam.

3. The component of claim 2, wherein the polymer foam is a polyamide foam.

4. The component according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the polymer foam is a particle foam.

5. The component according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the polymer foam has a relative humidity of 0.25 g / cm 3 Up to 0.45g / cm 3 density within the range of .

6. The component according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the polymer foam is at least partially in contact on both sides of the sheet of the sheet profile (1).

7. The component according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the sheet profile (1) is made of metal or polymer.

8. The component of claim 7, wherein the metal is selected from the group consisting of: steel, aluminum, and aluminum alloys.

9. The component of claim 8, wherein the polymer from which the sheet is made is polyamide, polybutylene terephthalate, polystyrene or polypropylene.

10. A component according to claim 7 or 9, wherein the polymer is reinforced.

11. A composite unit comprising at least two components (19) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, the components (19) being connected in parallel and / or in series.

12. Composite unit according to claim 11, further comprising a tie to which the component (19) is attached.

13. A method for producing a component according to any one of claims 1 to 10, the method comprising: (a) forming a sheet into the form of the sheet profile (1); (b) Connecting the sheet profile (1) to the foamed secondary component (17).

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the foamed secondary component (17) and the sheet metal profile (1) are formed in separate processes and the sheet metal profile (1) is subsequently connected to the foamed secondary component (17).

15. Method according to claim 13, wherein the sheet profile (1) is inserted into a mould and subsequently the starting material for forming the foamed secondary component (17) is fed into the mould.

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