PLEXIGLAS moulding compounds take centre stage in Mini union jack taillights

To celebrate the 60th birthday of the MINI, the car has received a unique detail, a LED taillights with a Union Jack motif.

The Union Jack design is created by combining different components made from PLEXIGLAS moulding compounds, the brand polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) from Röhm which has long been a proven solution for taillights.

The material is initially completely colourless and can therefore be coloured in all standardised signal colours used worldwide.

Its optical properties, such as the good light transmission and light guidance or scattering, are retained – and in the long term, too, as PLEXIGLAS moulding compounds are both UV and weather-resistant. The colour of the taillight covers therefore remains unchanged throughout the entire vehicle life cycle.

Aa light-scattering moulding compound ensures the homogeneous illumination of the taillights, as Morgenstern explains: “A clear and easily recognisable design language is best supported by homogeneous light design.”

This measurable homogeneity is achieved by using the light-scattering PLEXIGLAS Satinice DF23 moulding compound.

The visual impression of the taillights is rounded off by a transparent PLEXIGLAS cover.

“Every component in the taillight has a different function,” explains Andrea Menotti, project manager at automotive supplier Magna in Italy.

“That’s why we needed different materials which met the specific requirements for heat deflection temperature, appearance, colour and performance in injection moulding.”