Plastics technology: Lighting components on K 2025

Plastics Light is the New Chrome

2026-02-19 From Gerald Scheffels | Translated by AI 3 min Reading Time

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In the case of trim parts, it is plastics that are made to shine, and they are also the dominant material for front and rear headlights. There were many examples to see at the K 2025.

Complex design, simple production: With the "Front-IQ Light" headlamp, a film is three-dimensionally formed directly in the tool thanks to Colorform technology.(Image: Leonard Kurz) — Complex design, simple production: With the "Front-IQ Light" headlamp, a film is three-dimensionally formed directly in the tool thanks to Colorform technology.
(Image: Leonard Kurz)

This is a tradition at the K trade fair in Düsseldorf: innovations are produced directly on site; the entire value chain is presented. For example, at the Leonard Kurz stand. There, on a Krauss Maffei system over twelve meters long, the complete panel of a headlamp was produced - in a 3K process step, with decorative elements and a polyurethane surface applied using the so-called Color-Form process.

The technology enables the production of components from three plastics - with opaque and transparent sections, with component sizes of up to two meters and without upstream thermoforming processes - with a cycle time of less than 120 seconds. The plastics used are transparent PC, black ABS/PC and a PUR layer with which the decorated module is flooded at the end. The special properties of the headlamp include a self-healing effect for fine scratches. And the design freedom of the Color-Form technology is huge: brilliant depth effects and individual decors are created directly in the tool.

Tail Light Without Hard Coating

Plastic-based innovations that simplify the production process for rear lights were also on show in Düsseldorf - for example at the Engel stand. A new generation of rear lights was presented there, which does not require a hard coating and in which a duo 700 rotary table injection molding machine produces a 600 x 240 millimetre rear light module. The color design of a film is first transferred to the component on one side of the tool by thermoplastic back injection. On the opposite side, the same mold is flooded with PUR in the so-called clear melt process, which is equivalent to painting in the mold. This gives the component a transparent, scratch-resistant and design-supporting surface layer in a single production step - without subsequent hard coating. The PUR layer also offers protection against yellowing caused by UV light.

Faster Production, Customizable Light Signals

Leonhard Kurz also showed how a complex injection-molded component is further processed into a complete rear light using the "Functional Foil Bonding" (FFB) bonding process. Compared to conventional optical bonding or laminating processes, this application method for the power LED film enables greater automation, faster processes and improved process control. Additional advantages over conventional multi-component injection moulding: light functions can be individually adapted, and colored light signals - for example for marking autonomous vehicles - can also be realized without changing tools. Other project partners were Röhm (PMMA/Plexiglas), Votteler (functional finishing with PUR) and Zechmayer (injection mold).

Light Signatures and Accents

Leaping horses (Ford) or light grids (Volkswagen) are projected onto the curb, little stars flash in the grille (Mercedes-Benz) and more or less discreet illuminated lines emphasize the design: The motto "Light is the new chrome" also applied at the K 2025 and was addressed by Röhm, among others - with the light strip of the Lucid Gravity and the illuminated brand lettering of the Opel Grandland. PMMA molding compounds allow the production of large, luminous components.

With a modified Grandland, Opel is testing new communication technologies. (Image:Opel)

A Challenge for Toolmaking

So-called ambient light design elements also open up new markets for tool and mold making: Siegfried Hofmann presented an injection moulding tool set for the grill of the BMW X3 in Düsseldorf. During the production of the lighting elements, PVD-coated design foils are inserted into the tools and overmolded with PC. To avoid unwanted light scattering, PC/ABS strips are then injected to direct the light in the right direction. Finally, the components are flooded with polyurethane. The design effect of the films is not lost in the process. On the contrary: the PU flooding results in a self-healing and scratch-resistant coating that no longer needs to be painted.

Recycling Lights

Several exhibitors presented new solutions for the recycling of plastic lights at the trade fair. Kuraray, for example, has developed "Parapet", a PMMA-based material that completely replaces ASA/ABS and thus enables rear lights to be returned to the material cycle. Röhm presented the prototype of a rear light made from recycled PMMA, which was developed together with Valeo and Renault.

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Covestro used the K 2025 to launch a new range of recycled polycarbonates made from old car headlights. The material was developed in a program launched by the German GIZ (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) with Volkswagen and Nio as main partners. The new materials are TÜV Rheinland-certified. They contain 50 percent recycled content and are already commercially available. Volkswagen and Nio are currently testing the material for possible use in future vehicle designs.