In the driving seat: ALBIS develops light diffusing deep colour materials for high gloss automotive interior applications

A lot has changed in recent years in the field of automotive interior design. While comfort has always been important, design concepts are focused on giving the driver as much freedom as possible, reinforced by the trend towards autonomous driving. Lighting elements, especially ambient lighting, are key building blocks in creating a feel of high quality, individual design and a sense of space.

ALBIS now offers ALCOM LDDC (light diffusing deep colour) materials that enable a high-gloss piano black or deep white surface for electronic controls such as panels, displays and touch sensitive surfaces found in the vehicle interior.

Until now, traditional designs of these lighting applications involved the use of back-injected black film or laser etched symbols on painted plastic parts.

With these methods, symbols were mostly visible in daylight. For example, there was a marked difference in colour between illuminated elements and the environment, even in “inactive” status.

In addition to this aesthetic problem, there are additional disadvantages in that production processes are more expensive. They involve many steps with high reject rates. Black-coloured lighting elements made in this way also have a rather greyish light transmission, which is often too low.

The new ALCOM LDDC products enable a high gloss surface in the vehicle interior in piano black lacquer or deep white with integrated daytime lighting without the background showing through (when the LED is off). This makes sense, for example, for touch-sensitive sensors or control elements that are not noticeable in “day design” and only appear when “lit up”.

The new products from ALBIS guarantee excellent light transmission in the visible colour spectrum and can be optimised for different wall thicknesses while offering homogeneous light distribution.

"That means completely new design freedom and operating concepts in the vehicle interior," says Eric Fautz, Product Specialist at ALBIS.

For more information please contact ALBIS UK on +44 1565 755 777 or albisuk@albis.com.