The challenge presented by the belt buckle was that the PC optical fiber had to be surrounded by an inner and outer frame of PC-ABS without any shadow being created by the connectors. The KH tool-making team developed a twin-turn tool in which the moveable and the (usually) fixed side turn, and a hot-runner system which is self-guided by means of individual plates and the rotary axis.
Black-panel effects have long been perfected; nevertheless, a new trend is now emerging for white surfaces with dead-front effect. These are far more difficult to achieve, as black print has to be used here as well, but may not be visible on the white surface. On the other hand, too many white layers result in a light-scattering effect. On the 3D demonstrator, “MyWave”, KH illustrates how a perfect white-panel surface can be attained through individually co-ordinated process steps using In-Mold Labelling.
Many OEMs search for substitute procedures for galvanised chroming with chrom VI, and here the modern chrome effect paints offer a good alternative. However, they are particularly demanding to process as coating thicknesses of just 1 µm may be applied. For matt adjusted systems, only specialists would be able to discover the difference to genuine chrome. Moreover, the painted surfaces allow for capacitive control concepts and laser markings.
