RAMEN EN LUIKEN. Auerhaan glas. Reken op ons.

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1 RAMEN EN LUIKEN Auerhaan glas

2 Auerhaan Lelystad is een bedrijf met een zeer lange historie; opgericht in 1885, is het bedrijf een bekende en betrouwbare toeleverancier van producten voor de carrosseriebouw, busbouw, machinebouw, scheepsbouw en jachtbouw. Vele vertegenwoordigingen van gerenommeerde fabrikanten in Europa en daarbuiten maken het productassortiment van Auerhaan tot een zeer breed programma. Het mag u dan ook duidelijk zijn dat de informatie die wij u geven via deze website nooit compleet kan zijn. 1

3 Automotive Overview Glazing adds aesthetic, functional and structural properties to vehicle design. Shortening development times require glazing suppliers to play an increasingly integrated role in the design and assembly of complex glazing. Pilkington Automotive is one of a small number of automotive glass manufacturers with the technical capability and geographic presence to play this role to the full. Globally, OE glass demand is around five times greater than that of AGR, though the proportion varies from region to region. Within the OE glazing market, light vehicles, including all cars, light trucks and the various cross-over vehicle styles such as sports utility vehicles and people carriers, currently account for around 97 per cent of global vehicle build. In addition there are several niche vehicle segments; medium and heavy trucks, bus and coaches, and off-road vehicles such as tractors and diggers, each with distinctive glazing requirements. Vehicle build shows long-term industry growth to be around 2.1 per cent a year on average. But for glazing this is only part of the story - other demand drivers play an important part, both in terms of volume, and importantly, value. Glass Growth in Vehicles Glass area: Styling trends have increased the overall glazed area in vehicles, as demonstrated by volume models such as the GM Astra, Ford Fiesta and VW Golf, through their various generations. Today, these three models use around 20 per cent more glass than they did 20 years ago. Larger glazed areas invariably require increasingly complex shapes, adding further to the value of glazings. New vehicle types such as minivans and SUVs with large glazed areas are now increasingly penetrating the European market. Value-added product features include: solar control properties, reducing solar heat gain; de-icing and de-misting capabilities; integrated antennas for radio, TV, cell phone, navigation etc.; integrated rain sensors for automatic wiper activation, as well as other sensors and hydrophobic coatings for improved visibility. Value-added activity includes: assembly and the supply of complete systems using encapsulation or extrusion, which enhance the vehicle s styling and aerodynamics, as well as adding functionality. Modern designs call for increased complexity in terms of curvature and surface tolerance. 2

4 Industry Trends As the industry responds to customer demand for style variants and niche models, with shorter development times, Pilkington Automotive helps customers engineer value into vehicle glazing - cutting costs in parallel with product enhancement. Shortening development time Pressure for differentiation and the need to develop new models quickly have considerably shortened development time as the industry moves towards the '12 month car'. The need to ensure that vehicle glazing is right the first time has brought the glazing supplier into the development and design process at an early stage. Pilkington Automotive is able to computer-simulate glazing performance to help car designers achieve their aims. Glazing demands Vehicle manufacturers are increasingly looking to Automotive glazing suppliers such as Pilkington Automotive to help produce vehicles with clear differentiation. This is most obvious in areas such as complex windshields and backlights with deep bending and added features. New designs for Cielo rooflights and Panoramic windshields increase demands on glazing engineering as the glazing becomes a structural feature of the vehicle. Laminated side glazings increase comfort, security and safety, as well as permitting added functionality. Environmental and safety issues Pilkington Automotive works closely with VMs in the development of Automotive glazing products that meet environmental demands, such as vehicle end-of-life and recycling issues. Solar control glazings attenuate solar gain in vehicles, reducing air conditioning load and fuel consumption. Safety factors are key in vehicle glazing system design. 3

5 Automotive Glazing High quality glass production starts with the float process, developed by Pilkington and now the industry standard. Automotive glass production includes pre-processing, toughening, laminating, encapsulation, extrusion and assembly, adding functionality. Float Glass The float glass process, developed by Pilkington in 1952, is now the world standard for high quality glass production. Float glass is often processed further before being fitted into buildings and vehicles. The process, originally able to make only 6mm thick glass, now makes it as thin as 0.4mm and as thick as 25mm. A 'batch' of precisely mixed raw materials is melted in the furnace. Molten glass, at approximately 1000ºC, is poured continuously from a furnace onto a shallow bath of molten tin in a chemically controlled atmosphere. It floats on the tin, spreads out and forms a level surface. Thickness is controlled by the speed at which the solidifying glass ribbon is drawn off from the bath. After annealing (controlled cooling) the glass emerges as a 'fire' polished product with virtually parallel surfaces. A float plant, which operates non-stop for a 'campaign' of between 11 and 15 years, makes around 6,000 kilometres of glass a year in thicknesses of between 0.4mm to 25mm and in widths of over three metres. The NSG Group operates or has interests in 51 float lines worldwide. 4

6 Pilkington Technology Over the past 50 years almost every major advance in glass has come from Pilkington, from the invention of the float process to self-cleaning glass. Pilkington invests around 29 million a year in research and development focused on product development and manufacturing efficiency improvement. Pilkington Automotive has pioneered techniques that have led to major industry firsts such as; the production of the wraparound windshield the S-bend backlight solar reflective automotive glazing full vehicle encapsulated glazing systems electrically heated filament windshields Automotive Processes Toughening (tempering) Toughened glass is most frequently used in the rear and side windows of vehicles. It is designed to be much stronger than standard glass. In the case of a breakage, it shatters into very small blunt pieces thereby significantly reducing risk of injury. The toughening process introduces internal stresses into the glass through a combination of controlled heating to very high temperatures, (>640 C) and differential cooling. The heating cycle is also used to shape or curve the glass, either by allowing the heated glass to 'sag' to a predefined mould shape under gravity, or for more complex shapes, by being pressed to shape by male and female moulds. Laminating Lamination is a form of safety glazing where normally two thin glass plies create a sandwich around a polyvinylbutyral (PVB) interlayer. Normally used for a vehicle's windshield, in the case of breakage, the glass is held in place by the interlayer, retaining emergency visibility for the driver. Laminated glazing is now also increasingly being specified for car side windows. Usually the glass plies are shaped (curved) as matched pairs through heating to a temperature of around 620 C. As with tempering, the shape can be achieved through gravity 'sagging' or through pressbending for the more complex shapes. Differential heating to control temperature across the surface of the glass, and hence the resultant degree of bending, is also used for more complex shapes. The shaped glass pairs are then gradually cooled to room temperature before the PVB laminate is sandwiched between them. At this point the PVB is opaque and only becomes transparent at completion of the lamination process. This involves the removal of any air trapped in the glass sandwich through a mechanical or vacuum squeezing process, followed by the heating of the windshield to 140 C within an autoclave, under a pressure of 10 to 15 kg/cm2, to complete the bonding of the two glass plies. 5

7 Automotive Glazing Systems Processes Encapsulation Increasingly, glazing systems rather than a simple piece of glass are being supplied to the vehicle manufacturers. Much of this value-added activity is undertaken once the glass has been laminated or tempered. Glazing systems help to simplify the vehicle assembly process. Modular systems such as encapsulation and extrusion are designed to facilitate adhesive bonding of the glazing to the vehicle. Encapsulation involves the injection moulding of a polymer trim, shaped precisely to fit the vehicle body, to the periphery of the glazing. It also provides the opportunity to incorporate within the moulding additional styling features, fixing mechanisms and even hinges for opening windows in minivans and estate cars. Extrusion An alternative glazing system is provided by the robotic extrusion of a polymer profile to the periphery of the glazing, with the extruded profile or seal being precisely shaped to the vehicle. Assembly Fixing of certain glazings within a vehicle can also be achieved through the application of locator clips to the glass. The attachment of such clips, together with other hardware, is most commonly referred to as assembly. Complex Shaping Since the 1990s, the opportunity to produce complex shapes and curves while maximising visibility has been exploited by car designers. Advanced glass shaping techniques offer vehicle manufacturers greater freedom to achieve their styling concepts. Automotive designers and engineers demand continuous advances in vehicle glazing systems to meet requirements for improved visibility and safety and better aerodynamics. They increasingly recognise glazing as an essential element of the curves and angles that help define the style and character of their vehicles. Pilkington Automotive works closely with stylists and engineers in the very earliest stages of new vehicle development. We help customers ensure that their vehicle glass reflects the unique design characteristics they seek, whilst at the same time helping to define optimal performance and manufacturing specifications for the glass components. Windshield design is focusing on increasing driver visibility and the glass area in one of two ways; extending the windshield into the roofline (Cielo design) or by wrapping the windshield into the side 6

8 of the vehicle (Panoramic design). This provides a challenge for the glass manufacturer to make windshields that continue to meet tighter specifications for optics, shape, windshield wiper performance, water management and noise control. Pilkington Automotive has the capability to help car designers bring concepts involving complex shaping to reality. Rear glazings are following a similar trend to windshield trends. Designers are working on an increasing number of Panoramic rear glazings with rear glazing wrapping in to the side of the vehicle, or side glazing wrapping into the rear of the vehicle. Rooflights Designers are incresingly specifying larger glass roofs for cars. The parts, termed Cielo roofs, are two or three times the size of traditional sunroof and increase the feeling of space and light within the vehicle. Automotive Products Pilkington Automotive products include advanced solar control glass for passenger comfort, glass heating systems to control condensation and icing, security glazing and glazing systems, including encapsulations, extrusions and components, added after basic manufacturing. 7

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10 Platinastraat AR Lelystad Postbus AA Lelystad T lelystad@auerhaan.nl F