World premiere at K: KraussMaffei ColorForm technology for headlight production demo
At K 2025, KraussMaffei will partner with LEONHARD KURZ and Rühl, to demonstrate the production of “FrontIQ Light” headlights, manufactured with ColorForm (direct coating) technology.
The “FrontIQ Light”.
Visitors can experience the technology live on a GXW 650 with a reversible plate. A 3K demonstrator in the design of a 720-millimeter-long headlight will be on display at the LEONHARD KURZ booth.
The “FrontIQ Light” features an inline-applied PUR layer that protects against UV radiation, stone chips, and chemicals. The coating can be adjusted with precision to within a tenth of a millimeter. It enables variable haptic effects and even has a self-healing effect for fine scratches.
Design freedom through film integration
The mold-integrated film deep-drawing process is a world first. The film is three-dimensionally shaped directly in the mold. This allows for maximum design freedom, from elegant depth effects to individual surface patterns.
The technology also opens up unlimited design possibility as it allows the combination of several thermoplastics, decorative film, and PUR surface. Brilliant depth effects, individual patterns, and durable protection are created directly in the mold - without any subsequent painting processes.
The surface is designed using films printed using thin-film technology, which are back-injected into the mold using a sheet-to-sheet process with transparent and black polycarbonate.
Precise 3D forming
Precision is ensured by an automation solution that cleans the films in advance, positions them exactly, and shapes them to fit perfectly. Thanks to integrated automation, the gripper features a heating process that makes deep-drawing of the film possible in the first place. This innovation ensures extremely precise and uniform heating of the film, thereby ensuring maximum quality and perfect fit in the mold.
Turnkey complete solutions
KraussMaffei supplies ColorForm technology as an integrated solution, covering automation, PUR technology, and injection molding. The result is a fully integrated process – design, function, and protective layer are created directly in the mold without any additional reworking.
