Crash-active headrests recently introduced by BMW employ a kinematic skeleton made primarily of engineering plastics from BASF (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com). The framework is manufactured by ITW (Röttingen / Germany; www.itwmotion.com) using its automated assembly plant and the headrest is subsequently assembled by Grammer (Amberg / Germany; www.grammer.com). For the development and production of the headrest, BASF provided ITW with “Ultradur” B4300 G6 (PBT), “Ultramid” B3EG3 (PA 6), “Ultramid” A3K (PA 6.6) and “Elastollan” (TPU) and computer aided engineering (CAE) calculations and head-impact tests.

The part is designed to provide even greater protection to passengers against whiplash trauma. In the case of a rear impact at a speed of more than 12 km/h, an actuator in the headrest is automatically triggered. A pre-tensioned spring moves the front half of the headrest forward and upward almost instantaneously. This reduces the distance between the back of the head and the head­rest, lessening the risk of neck injury due to an overextension of the cervical vertebra.