Press Release
Design Makeovers...Subtle or Extreme, Shed Light on Prototypes
For Visteon’s headlight assembly project, Urgent Plastic Services injection molded about 20 design alterations during an 18-month period of the prototype headlamp lens, the parking light/turn indicator lens, park/turn reflector, the headlamp housing, and the headlamp bracket.
Styling concepts, more than any other element, can make or break a vehicle’s market success—in this case, rapid prototype assemblies illuminated the road to success
With few exceptions, most vehicles that have long-term success in terms of sales can attribute their success to winning designs. It’s no wonder then why stylists, engineers, marketers and management commit so much time and energy to developing design changes, and why every precaution is taken prior to implementing such changes. Whether the styling change is a subtle, new model-year alteration or an extreme, next generation changeover, numerous options, research, testing, focus groups, and process reviews are typically required to help guide decisions.
Especially when those decision and design modifications involve the front of the car, and in particular, the headlight assemblies. The headlights, more than most other elements, define the “personality” of the car, and many designers and stylist consider them to be a vehicle’s focal point.
But, no matter the personality style the headlights take on, one thing is certain—once a design concept is given the go-ahead, every effort has to be made to make sure the headlamp assemblies are right...for styling, manufacturing intent, fit and function. And every effort was made in a recent project to build headlamp assemblies for Visteon, a leading Tier 1 automotive supplier. A project that included approximately 20 design fine tunings, scores of meetings and reviews over a period of 18 months.
Undoubtedly, because of all the reviews and configurations, this project was a very critical undertaking for the car manufacturer’s design team, as well as the lighting group at Visteon. The project involved a vehicle with long lineage of high performance and cutting-edge styling, meaning each design element is always put under the tightest of scrutiny. The lines and contours can’t be close or almost, they have to be perfect. For the headlamps, these considerations included wind, drag and noise along with aesthetics and lighting capacity. The headlight design wasn’t merely a styling whim alone, either. The new system incorporated the very latest in technologies, including HID (high intensity discharge) and halogen projector lighting systems, advanced, high-strength and high-heat materials, and improved manufacturing processes. This combination of the styling elements along with the complex manufacturing technologies made having prototypes produced not just a luxury, but also a vital necessity for both the manufacturer and for Visteon. And, because as close to production-like prototypes, not just handcrafted models were needed, Visteon used the expertise of Urgent Plastic Services for this critical development step.
For the record, Urgent Plastic Services (UPS) of Rochester Hills, MI, is a specialist in the rapid prototyping of injection molded plastic components. Since its inception, the company has been working with automakers and suppliers like Visteon to provide prototype lighting components for new models and concept vehicles including cars, SUVs and trucks…and more recently, has added the ability to create light lenses with actual, production-quality reflex characteristics. The rapid part of the equation means that, in virtually all cases, through the use of advanced technologies, materials, and creative thinking, prototype parts are completed 50 to 70% faster.
The Visteon headlamp project was somewhat unique for the prototyping firm, as Steve Kelly, Senior Sales Engineer at UPS, relates. “With our rapid prototyping capabilities, we’re geared for fast turnarounds, with two to three week concept to delivery schedules being the norm,” Kelly notes. “Occasionally, one or two levels of modifications are required, so a project’s total time might extend over a few months. But for us to work on the headlamp assemblies for a period spanning 18 months was remarkable. Of course, much of that time was the development process of testing, results review, incorporation of design changes and repeating the process to validate performance. Still, taking into account about 20 design alterations in 18 months works out to an average of new prototype every month or so. For injection molded prototype parts, that’s pretty fast by anyone’s standards. The speed at which the prototypes were made provided team members from both Visteon and the automaker the time to tweak part designs, not only for aesthetics but also to assure manufacturing intent plus assembly ease and fit.”
For this project, the assembly consisted of close to fifty components. For UPS’ role, they were asked to produce the headlamp lens (molded polycarbonate), the parking light/turn indicator lens (molded acrylic), park/turn reflector (bulk molding compound), the headlamp housing (talc-filled polypropylene), and the headlamp bracket (polybutylene). Visteon furnished the required bezel, gimp or rubber sealing gasket, and all the optical components.
The rapid prototype process Mr. Kelly referred to consists of multiple stages, virtually all of which are in-house processes at UPS. Today’s prototype project typically begins with the customer’s submission of part(s) design, and as was the case in the headlamp application, a CAD file. At this initial stage, UPS engineers and injection mold process experts review the design, making their recommendations for any changes that could ease manufacturing difficulties or lower costs.
After computer designs are approved and any engineering analysis required is completed, UPS may send the design file(s) to one of its stereolithography apparatus (SLA) systems available for producing three-dimensional models of parts, typically completing models in a few hours. SLAs use the CAD data file to generate a dimensional travel path for a laser light source that cures a photosensitive polymer into the size and shape of the part. The resulting model can be used as a “hands-on” reference tool for checking fits, fixturing or machining requirements if needed for subsequent steps (such as adhesive application), and for aesthetic review by design and stylist experts.
The next step in UPS’s rapid prototype process is usually building injection mold dies. Using sophisticated CAM software, CAD data files are once again translated to machining language for use in machining centers, or by high-speed machining and grinding centers for processing carbide tooling for EDM machines, depending upon die characteristics and manufacturing method required. For this application, the molds were machined from a special, high-grade aluminum alloy, and, like the operation of the SLA system, the CAD files generated the path for the machining centers’ cutting tools.
The aluminum alloy tooling is another of the time saving steps in the prototype process that UPS has developed. The aluminum alloy provides the right combination of machinability that allows fabrication of dies at fast speeds, yet with durability to mold hundreds of prototypes and even quantities into the thousands of parts without loss of accuracy. UPS has found that the machining rates of the aluminum can save several weeks in the process and still duplicate production-like quality, rates and data.
As a complement to the aluminum alloy, a Röder HSC (high speed cutting) machining center was employed for mold machining. The highly stable bridge style machine tool features a 40,000 RPM spindle, feed rates (not rapid traverse rate) of up to 1,200 IPM and a machining accuracy better than .01mm (.0004"). Larger mold components were produced on Makino V56 machining centers.
Once the dies for the parts were complete, the injection molding process began. Here to, UPS’s in-house capabilities played a significant role in the timely completion of the prototypes…with the firm’s multiple injection systems ranging from 75 to 1500 ton capacities. In fact, to complete the project, components were injection molded utilizing almost the firm’s full range of machines including 220, 500, 750, 850, and 1500 ton molding machines.
Completion of the project was achieved as UPS associates assembled the numerous components and subassemblies into finished headlamp prototype units.
The prototype parts produced by UPS were not only accurate as to size, shape and fit, but also assumed near production-like quality levels as to clarity—giving Visteon optimum prototype to end-product comparison values on which to base its production approval.
“The assembly of the headlamps was an integral part of the prototype process,” UPS’ Kelly says, “as various options are tried and all of the parameters to efficient assembly are established and documented. These parameters smooth the transition to production. As a matter of fact, we also assembled the pre-production pilot run off as the production supplier geared up his tooling and equipment, thus verifying the assembly process.”
“Our rapid prototyping goals go beyond the mere production of parts to encompass the process, the materials, the manufacturability, the costs, and tool designs. From start to finish, UPS rapid prototyping works hard to eliminate the process variables that might otherwise bring production to an abrupt halt, even before it begins.”
UPS was established to meet the needs of the plastic parts manufacturing industry, and specializes in the rapid prototyping of injection-molded components. It is associated with 3-Dimensional Services and a third company, Urgent Design & Manufacturing…the affiliation provides rapid prototyping of metal components fabricated through machining, stamping, laser cut and welded, and cast and molded in addition to the plastic injection molding process.
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