The need to efficiently heat the automotive interior while keeping passengers comfortable is crucial. PowerHeat stands out from other types of automotive surface heating because it can be applied to dashboards, door panels, armrests and any molded or fabric/leather parts of the interior trim. It can be seamlessly integrated into existing interior production processes through insert molding, foaming and laminating. The fabric is extremely thin, allowing it to be placed directly beneath leather or interior fabric, and molded into existing components to create a localized heating system that generates a heated microclimate for passengers.

In the automotive space, the Fujikura name is primarily associated with wire harness products. This year, the company is bringing more technologies to the table in the automotive space. Its 139 years in business, and experience in industries such as consumer electronics and beyond, have made Fujikura a master of miniaturization and high performance. This presentation will provide a brief overview of Fujikura and highlight a couple of its key technologies, which enable its (mainly Tier 1) customers to better design products (for infotainment, seating, lighting and beyond), allowing them to truly accomplish more with less.

LuxSense silicone leather is the first synthetic leather (PU, PVC or silicone) that competes with natural leather on performance and exceeds it on sustainability. A multilayer composite, LuxSense is designed to unlock design creativity and can be used on existing processing equipment. Several technical challenges were overcome using fundamental science to understand the underlying mechanisms and create a comprehensive yet elegant solution via chemistry. Key to this are silicone-organic hybrid materials that combine the advantages of silicone (aesthetics, flame, stain, chemical and UV resistance, durability) with those of organics (outstanding abrasion resistance) in a cost-effective, sustainable (lower VOC, free of plasticizers, DMF and harmful solvents) system. As a result, LuxSense has become the world’s first silicone luxury leather approved and commercialized in automotive interiors. It meets automotive interior specifications, including car seating applications, and exhibits the unique features of 4S: sight, smell, sensation and sustainability.

What the audience will learn

• LuxSense has become the world’s first silicone luxury leather approved and commercialized in automotive interiors
• It has aesthetics, flame, stain, chemical and UV resistance, durability and sustainability (lower VOC, free of plasticizers, DMF and harmful solvents)
• It exhibits the unique features of 4S: sight, smell, sensation and sustainability

Supreme Nonwoven has introduced a range of solutions that reflect the company's ongoing commitment to sustainability. It offers eco-friendly solutions across various applications for automotive soft interiors. Its offerings are engineered with cutting-edge, sustainable materials that deliver high performance while reducing environmental impact. These innovations reflect Supreme Nonwoven's dedication to creating a circular economy, where resources are used efficiently and waste is minimized.

Market trends for automotive interiors are shifting toward new possibilities and more sustainable manufacturing alternatives. REACH regulation for hazardous materials in the European Union is not foreign to the American automotive industry. Taiyo has taken the lead in sustainable chrome plating with the development of a Cr6-free etching line (with mass production since February 2022) and a newly developed Cr3 silver color (end of 2023) that is virtually the same as its Cr6 counterpart. With these alternatives, Taiyo aims to provide environmentally friendly solutions for an industry searching for sustainable options that do not compromise on quality or style.

Automotive engineers and designers face growing challenges as electronics, functionalities, lighting and materials converge with styling trends, opening up new opportunities for illumination while the demands for high performance, quality, safety, lightweighting, sustainability, design flexibility and cost-efficiency persist. This presentation will explore case studies and strategies across various car applications. It will demonstrate how integrating polycarbonate materials with innovative design and manufacturing techniques can effectively address these trends.

Made by Unifi, Repreve is a global leader in recycled performance fibers and resins. Using proprietary recycling technology, Repreve leverages multiple waste sources, including single-use plastic bottles, ocean-bound plastic, textile waste and recycled yarn. Repreve has transformed more than 40 billion plastic bottles into recycled fiber, powering globally scalable products for world-leading brands. Repreve – powered by the Textile Takeback process – recycles global post-industrial and post-consumer textile waste into next-generation materials using proprietary technologies. Made traceable with FiberPrint technology and certified by U-Trust, Repreve spans sports apparel, fashion, home, automotive, construction, transportation, military, medical and packaged goods.

Additively manufactured electronics continue to garner significant interest across multiple product applications for embedding devices within existing standard products and producing novel flexible devices. Compared with traditional copper-foil-based flexible printed circuit board (F-PCB) technologies, printed electronic circuits can accept a wider range of flexible substrate materials, can be readily integrated with other printed device functions and can exploit roll-to-roll manufacturing for extremely low cost. This presentation will discuss manufacturing methods of printed circuits and subsequent component assembly. Preliminary reliability data will also be discussed, as well as a performance comparison with traditional circuit board technology.

RFID technology enables real-time tracking and tracing of assets, offering numerous benefits for vehicle component tracking and production control in the automotive industry. In this presentation, you will learn how to enhance supply chain visibility, automate data capture, improve inventory management and reduce errors. RFID assigns unique tags to components, simplifying tracking and traceability. Join this session to hear how digital solutions can revolutionize your operations.

In today's rapidly evolving automotive industry, precision and efficiency are paramount, especially in the production and design of vehicle interiors. This presentation delves into the groundbreaking advances in laser technology, focusing on ACSYS's innovative LFR technology. The latest advances in laser technology enable seamless processing of very large layouts, ensuring that designs are executed flawlessly without any gaps or overlaps. This technology is versatile, allowing precise laser applications across a wide range of materials. Moreover, the process is adaptable and free of design constraints, providing the flexibility to achieve complex and intricate patterns with consistent accuracy and high quality.

With today’s market demands to reduce cost, weight and manufacturing complexity without sacrificing the user experience, quality and longevity, Reell Precision Manufacturing has developed technology and methods to meet these demands. This technology session will provide ideas, concepts and methods for hinging applications that meet the challenges of the Tier 1 suppliers and the demand for enhanced user experience by the OEMs. The session will also introduce new technologies that address problems that have plagued various applications, and end users’ challenges related to hinged mechanisms.