Heated Windshield Technologies

The current generation of heated windshields on the market, consist of thin filaments of tungsten wire used to provide resistive heating to provide functionality.  However, it is limited by the wiring technique which involves laying down crimped tungsten wires onto PVB, this limits the ability to modify the choice of pattern that one could use.  The goal of this project is to improve the optics of heated windshields by utilizing printing technologies that enable the use of new materials and optimised patterns for the heating elements.  Advantages include the flexibility to produce virtually any 2D patterns and the possibility of lower material cost.  The technical challenge is to produce a product that meets all the legal requirements applicable to the automotive industry whilst meeting the performance requirement that is required by the sponsoring company.