A demonstrator by Kurz to show off their wood-effect polyester foil hot stamped onto acrylic sheet, which is backlit with integrated tough sensor. A black mask is printed on the reverse side of the semi-transparent foil, which helps control the lighting effect. This kind of technology is used in appliances as well as automotive applications. In car interior applications, where head impact is a risk, polycarbonate (PC) is preferred over acrylic (PMMA).

Airbag covers are typically injection moulded thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). The material must be robust enough to withstand daily use, but able to breakaway in a controlled manner when the airbag is deployed.

Cross-section through the detachable roof modules of the Ford Bronco. This part is made with a thermoformed thermoplastic outer layer, which is back-moulded with glass fibre and polyurethane resin (PUR), plus a Nomex honeycomb core for increased thickness (stiffness with minimal additional weight). It is manufactured by compression moulding, whereby the thermoformed polycarbonate (PC) is placed into the mould, onto which glass fibre and honeycomb are laid. A precise dose of PUR is applied by spraying on the layers and then the whole assembly is compressed in a mould and heated to cure.

Cross-section of a foam sandwich injection moulding. The white outer is virgin polypropylene (PP) and the black core is foamed recycled PP (rPP). The layers are formed by first injecting the white (the colour has been used to emphasis the technology in this case) and then injecting the black with chemical foaming agent (CO2). The black rPP forms a bubble inside the white, pushing into onto the surface of the mould. In application, the surface layer would be the same colour as the core to create a high quality visual surface. This example is a cross-section through the LimbicLife ergonomic chair seat. The process and tooling were engineering and optimised by Deckerform.