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● Marelli uses laser welding technology and Roma’s high-quality PMMA material to create taillights for DS cars’ luxury hatchbacks

● PLEXIGLAS® provides aesthetic and functional properties to ensure a sensual product design

● Resource-saving materials, adapt to contemporary design needs

The new DS produced by the French high-end car company DS Auto
4 The hatchback sedan has a grand and elegant shape, and the taillights are particularly eye-catching, like delicate and dazzling jewels. The distinctive lights are the hallmark of DS cars and are highly recognizable. Nicolas, Head of DS Automotive Lighting and Exterior Design Components
Deluy explained: “Our taillights have a metallic effect, a design inspired by nature, like the gleaming scales of a fish, while we also draw on symbols of luxury, such as polished diamonds, and the Louvre in Paris. The famous glass pyramid in front of the palace gate.”

High-quality materials make for sensual designs

The sheen of the taillight housings creates the ideal ambience for the light design. Automotive lighting manufacturer Marelli uses crystal-clear PLEXIGLAS® moulding compound for lampshades, which are then embedded in PLEXIGLAS® 8N
The glossy black frame in high-gloss black completes the high-quality appearance of the taillights. Siamak Siamak, head of the Roma Moulding Plastics business unit
Djafarian) said: “ROHM’s PMMA material has excellent light-guiding and aesthetic properties, which can be used to create emotionally appealing product designs, and the taillights of the DS 4 sedan are a great example.”

DS
One of the features that distinguishes the taillights of the 4 from other DS models is that for the first time, the lampshade has a non-smooth surface, giving it a sculptural, bumpy look. Deluy explains: “The shade allows the taillight to be in line with the dynamic and avant-garde overall shape in terms of contour lines and proportions, as if a natural continuation of the body.” Force® molding compound is the ideal material. Balanced material properties and lighting technology developments allow this product to offer almost endless design options for body exterior and lighting. However, for vehicle lighting manufacturers, wider design freedom also means new challenges.

PLEXIGLAS FOR LASER WELDING®Molding Compounds

The flamboyant headlight design trend emerging in the luxury car segment requires a different craftsmanship. Manufacturing DS
For the rear lights of the 4, Marelli used a laser process to weld the lampshade to the housing. According to Arnaud, head of French R&D for Marelli headlights
Mouhon explained that due to the complex structure of this lampshade, it is not easy to design welding ribs, especially the outer side. “If we use other processes, such as vibration welding, there is no guarantee of machining accuracy,” he said.
Laser welding can minimize the gap between the trunk and taillights. “Of course, this requires materials that the laser can penetrate,” explains Mouchon. PLEXIGLAS® 8N high-gloss black
90114 meets this requirement while providing good heat distortion temperature, flow properties and melt viscosity. The high-gloss black border made of this molding compound gracefully masks the weld seam, ensuring a tight and smooth joint.

PLEXIGLAS helps auto manufacturing save resources

The superiority of design is also reflected in sustainability. According to DS Automotive, the entire DS 4 vehicle is 95 percent made from reusable materials, and 30 percent of its weight comes from reusable or recycled metals and polymers.

Sven Schröbel, Head of Global Sustainability Management at ROHM Moulding Compounds, said: “PLEXIGLAS has been designed with sustainability in mind, helping to conserve resources in vehicle design.”
This PMMA material from ROHM is a durable, fully recyclable, high-quality plastic with long-lasting UV and weather resistance that maintains good functional and aesthetic properties throughout the life of the car. This durability is extremely important in lampshade applications. The permanent transparency and excellent light transmission of the colourless PLEXIGLAS® moulding compounds not only ensure that the light signal is clearly visible, but also reduce the energy consumption of LED lamps.

The taillights of the DS 4 are as refined as jewels. The iconic faceted design is derived from a metallization process and laser etching technology. Shiny shades made of PLEXIGLAS moulding compound complete the high-end overall look, while PLEXIGLAS®
The high-gloss frame made of 8N high-gloss black ensures that the taillight lampshade is seamlessly integrated with the body and integrated.

Thanks to injection moulding technology, the PLEXIGLAS® PMMA material from ROHM can be processed into almost any shape: the body lines of the DS 4 are continued in the three-dimensional taillights.