ROHM PLEXIGLAS® creates beautiful ambient lighting for Seat’s new Ibiza and Arona

Latest News:

● SEAT equips two popular models with dazzling lighted air outlets

● A wide range of ROHM PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds can be used to create personalized ambient lighting in the interior of the car

● PLEXIGLAS® LED LD special molding compound is suitable for creating colorful side-emitting light strips

Sometimes it’s just a few little details with hidden surprises that can make you fall in love with a car – like the pleasant atmosphere created by the interior lighting. In 2021, the Spanish automaker Seat will give its popular small car Ibiza and small SUV
Arona makes improvements. The most striking adjustment in the interior design is the circular lit air-conditioning outlet, the light-guiding part of which is made of ROHM’s light-scattering PLEXIGLAS® moulding compound. This is also a new application of ROHM PMMA in interior design.

Ramon Vilardell, Senior Business Manager of the Spanish Molding Compounds business unit, said: “It is great to see our PMMA used in the new mood lighting design in the first model.”

Air, light and color

The air-conditioning vents on both models come with different iris colours: dark red or cool white for the Ibiza and red, light green or honey yellow for the Arona. These iridescent components present brilliant colours and create a pleasant interior ambience during nighttime rides.

Carolina Gómez, Color Designer, Seat Color & Decor Team
Sánchez said: “The interiors of both models have been revamped, and we wanted to add decorative lighting elements to the air-conditioning vents. The use of lantern technology can characterize the interiors of the Seat Arona and Ibiza. For the driver and passengers The two air-conditioning vents in the car have been redesigned with wrap-around LED lights to make the cabin space better fit the customer’s personality. This functional part tends to appear mechanically strong, and we wanted to embellish it with colorful details to make it The appearance is more lively and vivid, and at the same time, it perfectly interprets the image of the owner of the classic Seat Ibiza – a person full of vitality. For many people, the car is not only a simple means of transportation, but also a symbol of freedom and a reliable daily companion- Sitting in the car is like coming home, comfortable and comfortable. This also explains why people pay so much attention to individual expression when choosing equipment.”

In addition to color, lighting is also suitable for creating personalized designs with emotional appeal. In automotive interiors, this design element is increasingly important, both to ensure the visibility of backlit buttons and switches in the dark, to create ambient light that changes according to emotional state, and to complement the lantern trim with Play a purely decorative effect in the silhouette. Therefore, car manufacturers require high-quality light-guiding materials such as PLEXIGLAS® moulding compounds.

“The best material for creating fantastic lighting effects”

The Seat designer said frankly: “We decided to use PLEXIGLAS® in the colored light circle of the air outlet at the beginning of development, because PLEXIGLAS® has excellent optical properties and is the best for creating fantastic light effects. Materials.” For the materials, she and her team had two main requirements: to introduce light with a stable brightness throughout the part and to scatter it evenly. PLEXIGLAS®
LED LD special molding compounds can fully meet these requirements.

Gunther, Product Manager for Automotive Applications, Molding Compounds Business Unit
“This special specification molding compound was developed specifically for LED contour lighting,” Benz reveals. “Diffusing particles in the material ensure that light directed from the contour is emitted uniformly throughout the part.” This lighting also needs to consider the lighting range, so PLEXIGLAS®
There are four sizes of LED LD, providing light guiding performance up to 96 cm.

The light guides of the air-conditioning vents of the two Seat models are made of PLEXIGLAS® LED 8N
Made of LD12. The injection-molded annular configuration also ensures that the light diffuses well outwards. Seat uses clear molding compound as the surface layer and dyed plastic as the bottom layer, and adds colored plastic according to the model and configuration specifications.

Gómez
Sánchez emphasizes: “We are very satisfied with the final product. After the successful mass production of the luminous air outlet, we can continue to develop other ideas, such as new colors and lighting effects.” The color and decoration designer began to imagine More PLEXIGLAS® in future Seat models
LED, complete the interior lighting system.

Ventilation, light and colour: Seat equips its Ibiza and Arona models with illuminated air conditioning vents. ROHM’s PLEXIGLAS® LED LD special molding compound is used here.

Developed for LED contour lighting, PLEXIGLAS® LED LD is the ideal material for many ambient lighting applications, such as lantern contours, handles and operating elements.

Red or green? PLEXIGLAS® moulding compounds can be used to personalise colour schemes in contour lighting, such as the Aran Green used in the Seat Arona Xperience in this photo.