DVN recently visited Covestro’s Leverkusen Chempark location, a huge former Bayer plant with an area of about 5 km2. This was a follow-up after our Opel visit earlier this year. Opel presented the Manta E-mod show car with what they called the “vizor”, a seamless polycarbonate front panel with integrated sensors and lighting and communication elements. We see this as an important innovation with industry-changing potential. Numerous EVs are coming with smooth fronts because a closed front has aerodynamic and design advantages, and EVs don’t need a big cooling package like the combustion cars.
Besides internal technology developments in moulding, decoration, coating, and film insert moulding, Covestro are cooperating with customers and suppliers: tier-2 lidar suppliers; tier-1 headlamp, bumper, and front-panel makers; automakers, and also mold makers and technology companies. Because of these widespread partnerships along the process chain, Covestro have a deep view into the future front panel technology.
Moulding and coating a seamless front panel including both headlamp lenses is technically possible, according to Covestro’s expertise in polycarbonate glazing—although due to mould size, very large machines in the range of 3,200 to 4,000 tons are needed. Time will tell whether the added manufacturing cost and complexity of seamlessly integrating headlamps behind a single front panel can compete with a two- or three-part solution with very tiny or even hidden gaps. An interesting option could be to move single lighting functions from inside the headlamp to the transparent front panel, partly dissolving the traditional headlamp.
Seamless sensor and light integration is a must, of course, but it is still not easy matching demanding automakers’ frontal design wishes with optical specifications for polycarbonate lidar covers. Another question is dirt and ice in front of sensors and lighting elements. Lidar-transparent heating foils including the necessary connectors can be fully integrated by an overmoulding process to fight the ice. Cleaning is still a problem which is being tackled with a lot of water and compressed air today; this opens opportunities for developers of solutions based on anti-stick coatings in combination with smart cleaning technology. However, it is crucial that those coatings have to survive e.g. weathering, stone impact, and car washing.
So: large, fully integrated polycarbonate panels dominate the front ends of new EVs. This has an impact on the system supplier structure, and consequently on the whole automotive lighting industry. It will be fascinating to watch—and participate!
Sincerely yours,