Tabu is the Italian excellence in the wood dyeing technology: it produces natural dyed and multilaminar wood veneers. The first Italian company in the wood sector that declares the environmental impact of its production processes. We fully offset CO2 emissions by investing in renewable energy projects. Tabu operates in the automotive sector since years: the company has chosen to use certified and sustainable FSC wood, meaning products from forests managed in a responsible way.

What the audience will learn

• Presentation of the company and explanation about the production of veneers from natural, natural dyed and pre-composed wood for decorations and interior wood products.
• Focus on sustainability approach: first Italian company in the wood sector that declares the environmental impact of its production process.
• Approach and importance of the Tabu company in the automotive industry.

CO2-savings and conserving resources during production and use are now important aspects in the manufacture of interior components. As there are different ways to implement these requirements for interior parts, this presentation will take a closer look at possible weight savings, process optimization and the selection of suitable materials like natural fibers or recycled plastics.

The drive to integrate functionality into decorative surfaces is forcing the development of new electronic materials that allow the creation of circuits and the attachment of components onto substrates not previously used in electronics. The desire for larger, integrated parts has pushed the need for more extreme formability in applications that require high levels of both electrochemical and thermomechanical reliability.

What the audience will learn

• Technology of available and future In-Mold technologies
• Challenges of integrating formable films and circuits in emerging IME technologies
• Testing and validation of emerging IME technology to automotive standards

The presenter will share his knowledge of recycling waste materials into new products such as Wastea, a new-generation material made out of industrial waste with no future life. This material can be used vertically in almost all fields, replacing old-fashioned and environmentally harmful materials such as real leather, PU and PVC. Besides the example of Wastea, the speaker will discuss other waste materials and solutions made from them. Afterlife recycling solutions will also be shared.

What the audience will learn

• New Generation Materials & Sustainable Solutions
• Alternatives to old fashion materials such as real leather, PU & PVC
• Possibilities of transforming waste
• Natural wastes and their real value
• The future of interior materials

Dr Clemens will present trends in automotive HMI systems, and how PolyIC follows these trends with the decoration and touch sensor technologies within the KURZ Group. The presentation will show current solutions on the market as well as new prototypes and demonstrators, with special focus on PolyIC's recent smart crystal steering wheel demonstrator, which was made in cooperation with Swarovski. Another highlight will be display stacks with PolyIC touch sensors and KURZ IMD decoration based on plastic panels.

What the audience will learn

• Touch sensor technology and trends
• HMI trends
• Decoration of HMI surfaces
• Combination of Decoration and Touch applications
• Show cases innovative demonstrators & prototypes

Design requirements of display cover glass as well as the evolution and change in materials requirements will be presented. The audience will be introduced to different coatings and painting possibilities and how they changed over the intervening years. A future concept of newly designed central console with 3D bent glass will be presented to connect the history of traditional display cover glass to the future.

What the audience will learn

• previous requirements of display cover glass design
• change during the years
• future expectations and concepts

McLaren supercars are known for their engaging driving experience. So what makes a car engaging to drive? And how can design help with this? How do we make the driver feel one with the machine? This talk also expands on the unique challenges that come with designing a McLaren interior such as the specific ergonomics requirements regarding driving at high speed on a track. The talk will then conclude with an insight into the future challenges for supercars with regards to electrification and legislation, but also the future opportunities that autonomous driving and augmented reality can offer to make McLarens even more engaging.

Automotive interior smart surfaces are an unparalleled space for modern HMI features to fuse together and produce a seamless, intuitive experience. This talk highlights how the aXiom product range eliminates design complexity by bringing together capacitive touch, air gestures, force-sensing and haptics into a highly configurable single-chip-solution. TouchNetix has introduced several ground-breaking innovations using these features, which have particular relevance to the automotive industry.

What the audience will learn

• Novel functions using capacitive sensing
• Ways to introduce functional safety into automotive HMIs
• The benefits of a single-chip HMI solution

DFP; Design Function Panel is the surface decorated translucent panel. DFP can decorate the display surface with any graphical pattern. When the display is off, the display surface is recognized as the conventional interior decor surface. Once, the display is turned on, the display image can be introduce to the decor patterned surface. The advantage of DFP's special surface treatment, the display image quality on the decor surface is almost same with the display image on the display.

What the audience will learn

• Hidden display
• Innovative future's automotive interior space
• Future's automotive HMI

The integration of lighting and sensor solutions has been revolutionizing the automotive industry, enhancing safety, efficiency, and the driving experience. In this scope, printed technologies enabling the production of flexible lighting solutions that can be seamlessly integrated into a vehicle's design, improving both aesthetics and energy efficiency. Furthermore, these can be incorporated with different functionalities, such as in the user´s control and monitoring of the environment, or to improve the comfort.

What the audience will learn

• Lighting Solutions
• Printed Technologies
• Improve the comfort of user

The automotive sector is currently undergoing a massive, industry-wide transition that is requiring manufacturers to re-examine their environmental impact and transition to new materials. At Filc, a company of Freudenberg, we are supporting this trend of futureproofing by pursuing advancements in our production process and investing in developing sustainable products.

TactoTek® introduces IMSE® LightChannels, an advanced light platform for function, styling, and HMIs to create programmable light structures with revolutionary lighting performance. The platform offers superior light uniformity, intensity, color mixing, and cost benefits by reducing the bill of materials and reducing packaging space compared to traditional lighting solutions. This presentation explains the structure, advantages and main applications of the LightChannels-platform.

What the audience will learn

• LightChannels -structure
• Advantages of LightChannels-platform
• Main applications of LightChannels-platform

With the development of the next generation UV laser, FOBA is building on the success of the fiber laser in the automotive industry. UV lasers are ideally suited for high-contrast laser marking of delicate and sensitive materials due to their short wavelength and correspondingly low heat input during marking. FOBA's new UV laser is more powerful, easy to integrate, durable and thus a perfect fit for the interior design sector.

What the audience will learn

• Why UV laser for design themes
• For these materials is a UV laser the best choice
• What does “Next Generation” mean

As mobility is undergoing a revolution to become cleaner, it is key to both reduce the environmental impact of materials and the weight of vehicles which helps reduce energy consumption during use. With Bcomp’s flax fibre based composite reinforcements, it is possible to meet both aspects in automotive interior panels. Proven in use cases like the Volvo EX30, Polestar Precept or McLaren’s F1 seat, Bcomp’s technologies are challenging standard solutions with one based on nature.

What the audience will learn

• Benefits of using natural fibres in the automotive sector to not only create more sustainable but also lighter interior components with added benefits (e.g. reduction of C02 footprint, viable end-of-life options, increased vibration damping for better com
• Plug and play solution that can easily be integrated into existing production lines. The possibility of implementing a one-step back injection process further enhances efficiency, allowing the materials to seamlessly align with tight time restrictions in
• Versatile and innovative aesthetic possibilities delivering various design options and functionality.
• Examples of concrete applications with their advantages such as the Volvo EX30 interior with ampliTex™

The trend of hyper-individualisation is accelerating. Customers want unique products, also in automotive. Ferrari’s CEO attributed the fantastic 2022 results largely to hyper-individualisation. Luxury & Mainstream brands are looking into this. The challenge is switching to production with a high degree of variation. Twikit translates the unique customer needs directly into a manufacturable file (automatically fed into the supply chain). Enabling hyper-individualisation at OEM scale.

What the audience will learn

• How to automate flows behind individualisation
• How to allow your customers to visualise individualisation
• How to scale sales of individual, high value parts
• How to involve the supply chain
• How to optimise the Data of individualised products

Plastronics is evolving to fulfill the needs of most mobility sectors. As requirements increase, the technology is also experiencing quantum leaps to be able to integrate low-cost high-performance printed electronics inside of structural plastic parts. A new automotive use case will be presented, diving deep into the challenges in the thermoforming process. In addition, specific details on the limits of thermoformability will be described.

The automotive industry is experiencing a revolutionary transformation. Global interference, sustainability concerns, technological advances, and new consumer habits are transforming this industry on many levels, opening new opportunities. CITEVE, as a Technological Center, identified and responded to these challenges by promoting innovations with focus on sustainability, comfort, smart applications, 3D printing, new interior concepts, lightweight and high-performance material developments.

What the audience will learn

• Automotive Textile Innovations
• R&D Automotive Projects
• CITEVE as a Technological Center

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, haptics emerge as the missing link in technology, allowing us to reconnect with users on a profound level. Imagine a world where every touch feels like a genuine interaction. Haptic technology adds elegance by eliminating clunky buttons and enhances trust and user safety. Join us in this presentation to discover the captivating realm of haptics, showcasing its remarkable impact on the automotive industry and beyond.

What the audience will learn

• Haptic technology plays a significant role in enhancing user experiences in the automotive industry. It is employed to create tactile sensations that improve the interaction between users and their vehicles.
• Haptic feedback can improve safety by providing tactile alerts and responses, such as steering wheel vibrations for lane departure warnings or collision avoidance systems, contributing to safer driving.
• Companies in the automotive industry can gain a competitive advantage by investing in haptic technology and user experience enhancements. It sets them apart in a crowded market.

As the EV industry is setting up new requirements for energy saving, cost-effectiviness and sustainability, the leading automotive companies are developing new solutions of printed stretchable electronics to combine sensing and heating in car interiors. In this session Forciot will present new innovative technology solutions, how the thin stretchable printed sensors and heaters can be used for steering wheel, seating and panel functions and how they add comfort, safety and manufacturability.

What the audience will learn

• What are the benefits of the printed heating and sensing functionality
• What is the printed technology used in sensor and heater solutions
• How the printed electronics sensing and heating can be integrated in applications

Since the REACH regulation restricted the use of hexavalent chrome (Cr6) in 2017 and established a sunset date in 2030 for its usage in the European Union, alternative manufacturing methods for plastic components without Cr6 usage has been a hot topic. Taiyo's non-hexa is a unique technology that enables decorative chrome plating for automotive components without making use of hexavalent chrome during the whole plating process. Mass production started in 2022 and has been active ever since.

What the audience will learn

• REACH Regulation and Cr6 usage
• Current situation of plating of plastics
• Plating of plastics without Cr6 usage
• Eco-friendly and sustainable manufacturing processes

Haptics & gamification is not just an effective way to engage customers & create loyalty. The idea behind it all is using games to strengthen and differentiate the brand. The trends are multimodal HMI & autonomous driving. The "cockpit of the future" will become a new living room, workspace & virtual social environment. Passengers will expect entertainment & gaming in the car. The quality of XR experience will provide a new dimension of brand experience & differentiation between OEMs.

What the audience will learn

• Gamification in Automotive
• Haptic Trends
• HMI in Automotive
• Autonomous Driving
• active Haptics

Integration of functions is an important aspect of modern control elements, among other things. One challenge is the contacting of such parts, which is necessary for power supply and data transmission. Up to now, cable or connector-bound solutions have been the state of the art. DraKo is the first solution for wireless supply control elements with touch operation and LED lighting in a molded part with energy and the ability to connect them to higher-level systems.

What the audience will learn

• Possibility of wireless connection for plastic moulded parts
• Advanced sensor and electronic integration
• Film Insert Moulding
• Design aspects

The demand for new concepts and new solutions, that contribute to making the automotive cabin a "third living space", has increased in recent years. In this way, new solutions with innovative functionalities on the automotive surfaces will be presented. Technologies and solutions to develop easy-cleaning and self-healing surfaces and substrates with higher thermal comfort for automotive interior will be highlighted.

What the audience will learn

• overview of solutions and approaches to achieve suction function
• additive manufacturing and their advantages for automotive sector
• preliminary results related to suction solutions

With the sharing economy in the vehicle sector, interiors will be needed in the future that can respond spontaneously and highly flexibly to passengers' needs. In his BA design thesis work, Lieven Landsmann has developed a seat for the rear of the vehicle that can transport all persons from the age of 3 without additional effort and fully automatically, and also enables interaction between child and parent during the journey.

What the audience will learn

• design for future mobility
• modular seating system
• design for autonomous driving
• seat design
• family experience

High precision layer-by-layer ablation of paint or coatings from parts without damaging the underlying material can be accomplished with ACSYS' sophisticated Large Field Removal (LFR) technology, whenever large working areas of 2,000 x 2,000mm are required. In fact, the entire area can be processed without axis movement, opening up new degrees of freedom in the design of products, components and styling elements. Experience seamless machining using LFR®️, leaving no visible gaps or overlaps.

What the audience will learn

• The potential of Large Field Removal (LFR) in automotive design
• Seamless surfaces for enhanced aesthetics with laser ablation
• Design flexibility and creativity for day-night-design and beyond
• Advancements in manufacturing capabilities by using LFR
• Engineered surfaces (i.e. anti-fingerprint) on large scale parts

Aesthetic quality is a must for the automotive interior surface nowadays. The high value of the surface doesn't allow any imperfections on it and it needs to be controlled strictly. ISR Specular Vision has the technology and the experience in aesthetic quality control of interiors surfaces such as, Smartbarts, Interior Lightings or Decorative Trims. All in one process, giving feedback of quality and production efficiency. The presentation shows the artificial vision technology and its potential.

What the audience will learn

• Artificial Vision technology for surface quality control
• Potential of production optimization, by connecting the process to the quality control
• Large view of defects on surfaces that can be detected
• Influence of the process on the defects generation

Closed-loop recycling is a hot topic in the EPP industry. As a global raw material supplier JSP is leading the way with recycled ARPRO-EPP, driving the change from material to end-of-life to meet the requirements of the Green Deal. This presentation will focus on the use of recycled EPP in high-precision interior components to minimise the carbon footprint during the full lifecycle. Case studies of various OEMs, such as Volvo and BMW will be used to illustrate the use of digital tools to rationalize resources during the design and manufacturing process to optimise the performance of seats, center console, instrument or trim panels. The savings in terms of weight, production cost, and ultimately carbon footprint will be highlighted. Finally, tangible examples of the use of recycled ARPRO-EPP in series production of interior solutions will confirm that a closed-loop recycling network for EPP is a reality and forms a solid basis to meet the end of life requirements as stipulated by the Green Deal.

What the audience will learn

• Details of recycled EPP, in terms of mechanical and LCA performance
• Digital tools to optimise the design and manufacturing of complex EPP components
• Operational details of EPP closed-loop recycling network

As a leading surface finishing brand, we are committed to promoting sustainability, enhancing environmental performance, and resource efficiency, and adopting ambitious frameworks. Our presentation covers two key aspects. The first is sustainable plating for the automotive industry, Cr(VI)-free and non-PFAS, offering durability and quality. The second is a carbon footprint study of electroplating, analyzing materials and energy use for optimization, including a comparison with alternative technologies.

What the audience will learn

• Production proven chromium-free pretreatment of plastics
• Sustainable decorative plating alternatives without hexavalent chromium and without PFAS
• Life cycle assessment of decorative electroplating in comparison to alternative chromium-like appearing technologies
• Contribution of decorative electroplating for a low carbon footprint in the automotive industry

In automotive industry, where enhanced safety, improved interactivity, and visually satisfying interfaces are paramount, the potential of 3D-PE is truly promising. Mechanical, electronic, and optical functions are integrated all at once, simplifying design complexities and placing intelligence directly at the drivers’ and passengers’ fingertips. IME at the forefront, PE possesses the potential to create compelling driving experiences through integration of printed sensors, displays, and light.

What the audience will learn

• Printed Electronics
• Embedding smart functionalities into 3D objects is possible through In-Mold Electronics (IME)
• Integration of printed sensors, displays, light, heating
• Flexible lightweight electronics
• Stretchable conductive inks for textile applications

Each of these " applications involves specialized ink formulations and printing processes tailored to the specific requirements of the product. 1, Black mask ink integration with LCD screen. 2, Wood decoration effect high transparent ink for cover glass LCD screen. 3, Sunroof light diffusion ink. This type of ink might be used to create a diffusing or scattering effect, reducing glare and ensuring uniform light distribution within the vehicle cabin.

What the audience will learn

• Black mask ink
• Wood decoration effect
• Sunroof light diffusion