New Glazing Solutions for Automotive Manufacturers

As automakers move towards the broader adoption of lightweight polycarbonate glazing materials to assist with fuel economy improvement and CO₂ emissions reduction, SABIC Innovative Plastics has the answers to new design and manufacturing challenges facing automotive engineers.

Through its Exatec automotive glazing organization, a range of custom solutions are available which provide OEM’s and Tier-1 suppliers with the broadest range of automotive glazing technologies. This includes new research into the best part design approach for optimum coating performance. A study recently completed at the Bergen Op Zoom, Netherlands, Glazing Center of Excellence revealed the effect of different transition profiles (where the clear polycarbonate window meets the opaque “black-out” material) on the surface quality of silicone hard-coated parts.

The results were generated using a new panoramic roof prototype tool (shown here) and indicated the best transition designs for suppliers to implement, which will achieve higher quality appearance and better manufacturing yields for wet-coated and plasma-coated exterior surfaces.