As automobiles increasingly take over more tasks for the driver, the focus on vehicle interiors is intensifying. More attention is being paid to how people interact with vehicles and how interiors can be optimized. Padded, soft surfaces remain the preferred choice, due to their look and feel, and now there is a trend towards making them multifunctional.

Sekisui Alveo, European manufacturer of high-quality polyolefin foams, has developed translucent foams for use in automobile interiors.

These special foams allow light to pass through soft trim elements such as the dashboard and door panels, displaying information or providing illumination. The new technology is driving a growing trend in interior design, particularly that of electric vehicles.

Sekisui Alveo introduces its translucent foams for use in automobile interiors.

Andre Sigrist, Business Unit Manager at Sekisui Alveo, introduced, “In cars, information has to be displayed and interaction has to be possible on an as-needed basis. People are used to interacting with smart phones and they would like to have smart surfaces in cars too. But at the same time, they want to have the same look-and-feel comfort they are used to in automobile interiors.”

The breakthrough in this new technology is translucent foam. Foams are typically opaque due to their cell structure and various components; however, they can be made translucent.

The newly developed foams include the PE foams TL LV and TLA LV, in white and natural. They are suitable for applications with low thermal requirements like door roll and door panels.

These special foams allow light to pass through soft trim elements such as the dashboard and door panels, displaying information or providing illumination.

Thermal requirements are higher for applications above the belt line. Here, PP foams are required. Sekisui Alveo is now developing PP foams with greatly improved translucent properties.

This material presents a greater technical challenge, and the company is mastering it with the development of new foams. Initial samples are available, and testing is ongoing at the company’s in-house Application Service Laboratory and at customers’ fabrication plants.

Besides translucency, these foams must meet all the standard requirements of the automobile industry, e.g. for flame resistance, tensile strength, and emissions, and offer good converting properties like vacuum formability.

Sekisui Alveo’s translucent foams are high-quality products that meet these requirements. The mechanical properties and LV performance are similar to those of standard PP foams.

As automobiles increasingly take over more tasks for the driver, the focus on vehicle interiors is intensifying. More attention is being paid to how people interact with vehicles and how interiors can be optimized. Padded, soft surfaces remain the preferred choice, due to their look and feel, and now there is a trend towards making them multifunctional.

Sekisui Alveo, European manufacturer of high-quality polyolefin foams, has developed translucent foams for use in automobile interiors.

These special foams allow light to pass through soft trim elements such as the dashboard and door panels, displaying information or providing illumination. The new technology is driving a growing trend in interior design, particularly that of electric vehicles.

Sekisui Alveo introduces its translucent foams for use in automobile interiors.

Andre Sigrist, Business Unit Manager at Sekisui Alveo, introduced, “In cars, information has to be displayed and interaction has to be possible on an as-needed basis. People are used to interacting with smart phones and they would like to have smart surfaces in cars too. But at the same time, they want to have the same look-and-feel comfort they are used to in automobile interiors.”

The breakthrough in this new technology is translucent foam. Foams are typically opaque due to their cell structure and various components; however, they can be made translucent.

The newly developed foams include the PE foams TL LV and TLA LV, in white and natural. They are suitable for applications with low thermal requirements like door roll and door panels.

These special foams allow light to pass through soft trim elements such as the dashboard and door panels, displaying information or providing illumination.

Thermal requirements are higher for applications above the belt line. Here, PP foams are required. Sekisui Alveo is now developing PP foams with greatly improved translucent properties.

This material presents a greater technical challenge, and the company is mastering it with the development of new foams. Initial samples are available, and testing is ongoing at the company’s in-house Application Service Laboratory and at customers’ fabrication plants.

Besides translucency, these foams must meet all the standard requirements of the automobile industry, e.g. for flame resistance, tensile strength, and emissions, and offer good converting properties like vacuum formability.

Sekisui Alveo’s translucent foams are high-quality products that meet these requirements. The mechanical properties and LV performance are similar to those of standard PP foams.