Creating Futuristic and Stylish Interiors for New Electric Vehicles
New film solves issues of design, surface hardness, and environmental load in one fell swoop.
Automobile interior manufacturer Design and development division
The Solution
Summary of the Solution
- Teijin’s decorative polycarbonate films boast excellent properties, including surface hardness, chemical resistance, and thermoforming performance.
- Potential processing issues had been evaluated in advance at Teijin’s laboratory, and Teijin offered good support.
Excellent Film Properties and Manufacturing Support Made Stylish Components
Remembering how she had recently received information from Teijin concerning a new type of decorative film, the employee contacted Teijin.
Teijin has developed a new type of decorative polycarbonate film for components of light transmissive indication. The material boasted high surface hardness and good chemical resistance, and was more readily thermoformable than conventional polycarbonate films. This film (substrate) was also only developed after Teijin had verified its thermoformability and insert molding performance at its own laboratories. Furthermore, Teijin’s proposal to the manufacturer included access to flexible advice in the event that issues should be identified during the production process.
Presently, the manufacturer produced a prototype of the light transmissive indication/ electrostatic switch unit using Teijin’s decorative films. While the manufacturer did encounter some issues at the prototype stage, it was able to resolve them after making adjustments to temperatures on the advice of Teijin’s laboratory.
Because, unlike the previous process, in which components were painted after being formed, decorative portions of the interface were now being printed, thereby contributing to reducing the process’ environmental impact, the team was also able to obtain the approval of the purchasing division.
The auto manufacturer’s initial assessment of the prototype was very positive. The manufacturer now intends to continue its evaluation, treating the insert molded components that feature Teijin’s decorative polycarbonate films as a potential candidate.
