Page 44 - Australasian paint & Panel Sep-Oct 2021

OEM focus
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PAINT&PANEL SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2021
LIGHT IS THE NEW CHROME
BODY LIGHTING HAS LONG SINCE CEASED TO BE A QUESTION OF PURE FUNCTIONALITY AS NEW HELLA TECHNOLOGIES CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE.
F
HELLA leads in the field of dynamic grille lighting.
OR MANY CAR MANUFACTUR-
ers and also car owners, indi- vidualised aesthetics are be- coming increasingly relevant – or, as Dr Frank Huber, managing director at HELLA responsible for the lighting division, puts it: “Light is the
new chrome.”
One trend is currently dominating the
field of vehicle lighting: lighting solutions are not only used for safety, but increas- ingly also to give vehicle bodies a distinc- tive design. Automobile manufacturers from both the premium and series seg- ments set striking visual accents with ‘carpets’ of light, illuminated manufactur- er logos or interactive radiator grille light- ing. This gives the body lighting an im- portant role as a differentiating feature. Such a development is also fuelled by the rapid advance of electrification: As e-cars no longer require classic engine cooling, car designers now have more scope to use the vehicle’s signature on the front of the car as the quintessential brand face.
RADIATOR GRILLS BECOME
WORKS OF ART MADE OF LIGHT
HELLA positioned itself in the growth area of car body lighting early on. Back in mid-2016 it opened a new Compe- tence Centre for body lighting in Lju- bljana, Slovenia. Since then the compa- ny has been able to continuously expand its know-how and work on pio- neering lighting solutions that automo- tive brands rely on. For example HELLA was significantly involved in the devel- opment of the illuminated radiator grille for the BMW X6 and it developed dynamic lighting for the radiator grille of another electric car made by a Euro- pean series manufacturer. For this pur- pose 130 LEDs are integrated into a thick-walled Edge Light light guide to create a crystal effect.
HELLA light developers have also de- signed a panel more than one metre wide that will be used in the front area of a European e-vehicle brand. The spe-
cial challenge here is the high surface quality and radar permeability to ena- ble implementation of the automatic distance control (ACC) function.
Whether it’s illuminated displays, LED light strips or illuminated logos – as a system integrator, HELLA has all the necessary core competences to design the body lighting of tomorrow. These range from distinctive expertise in light- ing technology through electronics and software know-how for control and sys- tem integration right up to the ability to produce even larger plastic parts with high-quality surfaces. Added to this are the many years of experience in the pro- duction of complex radar covers (ra- dome, abbreviation for radar dome). These protect the front radar sensors from the weather and from dirt and are usually located behind the car manufac- turer emblem. This also makes them a central element of the body lighting.