T4 Quad Headlight Project .......... latest update

[TURK]

Hi chaps,


My headlight cover design didn't quite go according to plan I'm afraid guys ..................... One thing that did concern me in the beginning was, just how clear could I vacuum form transparent sheets of plastic. In the automotive industry these things are usually manufactured using an injection moulding process. So I've been running various tests on my vacuum forming machine, currently I've only tested transparent PETG, the stuff I have in stock is 'VeraLite' and I also tried 'Lumex', both have a light transparency of 92% clarity ( the rest is reflectiveness ) and are also UV protected. Next I'll try running some tests with Polycarbonate, as we speak I'm trying to get hold of sheets of 'Pulsun' Polycarbonate, apparently they make airplane windows out of the stuff! They claim it's virtually indestructible!

The result of the 'Lumex' PETG, very very clear, no distortion and no blemishes >>




I was quite surprised with the results actually, as the material is in direct contact with your mould ( tooling plug ) while being formed, I thought I may of had some sort of marks left on the plastic, but it worked OK. The clarity is very good and surprisingly strong >>





Unfortunately the base ( or footing ) of the plugs didn't quite form properly, I came to the conclusion that my tooling plugs were a little too high. To form the plastic sheet properly I was having to raise the temperature of the vacuum former higher than I really wanted to, and this was damaging the plastic sheet and leaving slight blemishes in the surface. So back to the drawing board so to speak! My only option was to re-design my tooling plug, it's no big deal really, I just have to remove 20 to 30mm off the base to make the plug lower and incorporate a steeper draft angle to one side >>




This clear headlight cover will be the base for the twin aperture headlight covers, without it I can't work out where the two holes will be positioned.
So I'm currently modifying my plugs, in the meantime, the sheets of Polycarbonate should arrive when the plugs are ready for some more testing.




TURK

[Hans]

Wish i had your patience. Make sure they only available to just t4's

Sent from my SM-G930F using Just T4s

[TURK]

Thanks Hans

Any proud T4 owner mate, about time we had decent headlights on our vans.
I got the short nose and the long nose, both in need of good headlights >>



BigBlue - My 150 MultiVan




TURK

[slimjim]

Any news Mr Turk?

[Snowrider]

What ⤴️ said...#desperatelyneedturkslights


Sent from my iPhone using Just T4s

[TURK]

In all honesty chaps .................... I'm struggling!
I'm struggling to get things to fit together correctly. With the amount of parts I have to make, getting them to fit precisely together is proving to be a tad difficult. I'm fine tuning stuff right now ........ the headlight unit mounting bracket, and the rear portion of the headlight cover must come together without any gaps in the OEM headlight retainer, a precise and solid fit is what will make these headlight assemblies last and be affective as a headlight should be. Not only structurally, but in performance also. I don't intend for these headlights to be of 'Chinese' quality!

Having said that, I know not all Chinese manufactured products are of poor quality, but I just can't stop thinking about my poor old LED DEPO style aftermarket headlights that coast me £375 a few years ago, within a year of installing them they were full of water! not to mention that they didn't fit properly! And the amount of light that they produced was actually worse than my OEM T4 headlights!

I'll keep on and on, and on, until I get it right!




TURK