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01/03/2005
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When Plastic Omnium came up with the concept of fixing headlights onto a bumper module instead of the vehicle — first seen at the 2003 IAA Show in Frankfurt — the company then had to move quickly to prove its concept to vehicle-makers by manufacturing convincing prototypes.
The French exterior systems supplier called in Materialise which specialises in the production of very large stereolithographic (SL) models (up to 2100x600x780mm) on its patented machines. Almost as important is the fact that the resins used have properties that can closely resemble those of polypropylene or ABS.
The project was realised in two phases. Initially, Materialise built the bumper skin in one single piece within five days. This SLA part was then taken to Plastic Omnium to have technical elements, such as the headlight housings, integrated and then returned to Materialise where the surface finish was enhanced and the skin painted.
A Plastic Omnium spokesman explained the benefits: “Before, we had to make do with hand lay-up parts. It took ages to get hold of these and the techniques used did not allow us to obtain the correct wall thickness or technical functions.” Stereolithography, he said, provided the “luxury” of large parts that “are much more representative.”
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Author
Roger Bishop
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