Developments for prototypes and show cars

Vehicle glazing for prototype vehicles and show cars can be realised relatively easily in plastic. Out-of-the-ordinary design concepts can be realised at Kirsch Kunststofftechnik. Here too, we keep to our principle of everything from one source. We perform all the necessary work steps ourselves on our premises.

Starting with design of the components and forming tools through to screen printing or painting of the black edge area, thermoforming, scratch-resistant coating and precise contour trimming with CNC milling machines. There is no major trade fair where glazing from Kirsch Kunststofftechnik is not present. Brilliant designs in perfect quality set us apart in this segment.

Production examples of prototype vehicle glazing:

F800 prototype development - KIRSCH KUNSTSTOFFTECHNIK develops the vehicle roof

A new concept vehicle was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in 2010. KIRSCH Kunststofftechnik manufactured the roof element from a tinted polycarbonate sheet.

A forming tool was designed and milled on the basis of CAD data. In the next step, the flat sheet was pre-milled and then screen-printed on the outside in the vehicle colour and printed inside with a dot screen in black. Specific design requirements with respect to colour and appearance were realised here.

In the next step, thermal 3-D forming was performed. Ultra-clean conditions and precise temperature control are essential for this work step. A high degree of technical understanding of this material and its properties is required in order to produce a highly-transparent glazing product with a genuine-glass look.

A scratch-resistant coating was also applied in order to protect the roof element. This took place using the flooding method under cleanroom conditions directly on our premises. The special feature of this roof element was the coating on the printed areas. The additional effects were creation of an impression of depth as well as an increase in the gloss of the screen-printed colour. This was tested in advance in order to achieve the same appearance as the body colour with the roof element. It was necessary to observe all process parameters exactly in order to guarantee dimensional accuracy as well as corresponding bonding of the various layers. Finally, the finished element was glued onto the body. For this reason, it was essential that the different layers harmonised with each other. To achieve a perfect result, Kirsch Kunststofftechnik called on its years of experience in this field and its extensive know-how of surface finish technology.

In a last machining step, the roof element was contour-milled on our 5-axis machining centre. The milling program was created on the basis of CAD data. An important parameter here was alignment of the element on the basis of the screen printing. This is because even the smallest deviation will be noticed. Absolute dimensional accuracy is a matter of course for us. To provide the edge with the typical “C” finish, our specialists produced this ground finish by hand. The edge then had to be sealed once more. This takes place in a specially developed process that produces the required degree of gloss and also protects the material against damaging UV radiation.

KIRSCH Kunststofftechnik proved with this project firstly that it is possible to produce such large roof elements using polycarbonate and secondly that KIRSCH Kunststofftechnik is the right partner for realisation of such demanding projects.

Read our press releases to find out more.