DE VELO PMENT LIGHTING TECHNOLO GY

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS FOR

HEADLAMPS AND REAR LIGHTS
Exterior lighting characterises the appearance of modern cars more than almost any other styling element. Head-
lamps and rear lights convey strong emotions. In order to meet current and future requirements, development
processes have to be newly set up. Therefore, Bertrandt integrates its lighting system development activities in its
own Light and Visibility product development process. The steps from the study phase, the definition phase,
the realisation phase and series production are described using a full-LED headlight, presented at IAA fair 2013
as an example.

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 AUTHORS
DIPL.-ING. DETLEF DECKER
is Team Leader Light and Visibility
at Bertrandt Technikum in Ehningen
(Germany).
DIPL.-ING. MICHAEL HAGE
is Head of Vehicle Body Development
groupwide at Bertrandt in Ehningen
(Germany).
DIPL.-ING. FRANZ JERG
is Head of Design Modelling
and Rapid Prototyping at Bertrandt
Technikum in Ehningen (Germany).
DR. RER. NAT.
EUGEN TATARTSCHUK
is expert for optical technologies at
Bertrandt in Cologne (Germany).
11I2013 Volume 115
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
Bertrandt has already been carrying out module developments
in a process grid for a long time. In addition to the classical body-
in-white shell modules of the body, doors and closures, interior,
seats, trim components and cockpit, exterior components such
as lights have recently also been included in the Bertrandt Prod-
uct Development Process (PEP). In the Light and Visibility
product development process, , the requirements of all of the
detail phases are defined with the aid of quality gates (Q gates).
When all requirements have been met when a Q gate is reached,
the development process can continue unhindered.
This PEP is divided into four sections: the study phase, the
definition phase, the realisation phase and series production. In
most cases, Bertrandt focuses on the development work in the
definition and realisation phases, which begin 48 months before
start of production (SOP) and end three months afterwards.
In the definition phase, the lighting units are fundamentally
defined and new technologies and innovations are examined
with regard to their feasibility. The end result is a design model
or a concept sample. The definition phase is subdivided into
three detail phases:
1. Product strategy
2. Definition of technology
3. Concept.
In the first detail phase, the product strategy is established. The
technology is secondly defined in detail. In the third detail
phase, the final decision on the concept is made.
In the realisation phase, the lighting units are developed,
which until now has been performed in two prototype con-
struction stages. In the future, at least one of these stages will
be eliminated, or development will be carried out entirely vir-
tually. The realisation phase is subdivided into the following
detail phases:
4. Design construction stage
5. Design for series production
6. Pre-series
7. SOP + 3 months.
The seventh detail phase refers to the first three months of pro-
duction, which are still supported by the development process.
At the end of each detail phase at the latest, the process must
pass through a Q gate.
The requirements are precisely defined with the aid of the Q
gate in each of the seven detail phases of the Bertrandt range of
services. This ensures that all requirements have been fulfilled
when these Q gates are reached. The integration and depend-
ency of other partners involved in the process are taken into
consideration in the PEP, .
DEVELOPMENT OF A LED HEADLIGHT
FOR IA A FAIR 2013
To demonstrate the range of services available, engineers from
Bertrandt implemented a PEP for the development and design
of their own full-LED headlight, . The headlight exhibit,
which Bertrandt presented at the IAA International Motor Show
in Frankfurt/Main 2013, is the logical further development of
the rear light presented there two years earlier.
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DE VELO PMENT LIGHTING TECHNOLO GY

Definition Phase Realisation Phase Series

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5 Phase 6 Phase 7
Product strategy Definition of Concept Design constr. stage Constr. series Pre-series SOP +3
Technology

Quality gates FAST ZK LH-G BK BS BI BSS AF PVS 0-S SOP K/P

Q10 Q9 Q8 Q7 Q6 Q5 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1 Q0 Q -1
Months -54 -48 -42 -36 -30 -24 -18 -12 -6 -0 +3
PM Project management
Quality management K-FMEA P-FMEA EMPB yellow EMPB green

Styling and Light and visibility Design surfacing Series surfacing Design freeze
package
DKM

Exterior Point cloud Design surfacing Series surfacing Design freeze

OEM Competence

Development/ Measuring concept

design Dimensional management

Concept/package Design BST Design series Series support

Functional CAE concept CAE BST CAE series

design
simulation

Prototype/ PWZ BST Constr. BST Series tool Constr. series

series tools
Virtual prototype Design concept sample First machined parts Production
peak
Testing
Testing BST Testing series
virtual/real

System
suppliers Selection of suppliers Finalisation of suppliers

Validation Provision of data DMU process

BST: Construction stage CAE: Computer aided engineering DKM: Data control model EMPB: Initial sample test report PWZ: Prototype tool

Light and Visibility product development process with requirements of all of the detail phases as well as quality gates

DEFINITION OF THE TECHNOLOGY area. A powerful multichip LED was try and the adaptation of the input and
located at the upper side of the dipped- output optics enabled individual signa-
The basic design with the central ele- beam and main-beam reflector surface. tures to be produced, .
ments of a dipped beam reflector, main Its light is shaped into an ECE light dis-
beam reflector, daytime running light tribution by the reflector surfaces.
DESIGN AND FIRST
signature and turn indicator was defined The thermal management of the main
CONSTRUCTION STAGE
for a lower mid-size vehicle. This was light functions was intelligently linked
followed by interaction between design, with the de-fogging concept for the In the next step, the Class A surfaces were
construction and technical surfacing, plastic cover lens (KAS). The heat sinks modelled in interaction with the design,
with an evaluation and calculation of the of the two main light functions, into simulation and production departments.
technical feasibility of the full-LED which the heat from the high-perfor- As these surfaces are within the observ-
headlight concept. The focus was on mance LEDs is guided, are designed as ers direct field of vision, particular care
two key points of the technical develop- ducts. A fan transports cool air through needed to be given to their design. After-
ment of the headlight: photometry and them, and after heating up, the air is wards, the concept was verified and the
thermal management with de-fogging. guided onwards. By flowing around the positions of the LEDs and circuit boards
inner side of the KAS, the air is cooled, were defined.
after which it returns to the rear of the The dimensions of the heat sinks and
FINALISATION OF THE CONCEPT
headlight, thus resulting in a closed cir- the base plate were defined using thermal
In the detail phase Finalisation of the cuit for cooling and de-fogging. simulation in such a way that the bound-
Concept, Bertrandt chose optics with a For the daytime running light ary layer temperature of the LEDs is
unique appearance. The development (dimmed at night: position light) and within an uncritical range. Photometric
began with analyses of the implementa- the indicator, an Edge Light concept design using the computer-aided lighting
tion of the individual functions. The was defined for each light system. The software Lucid Shape was applied to
main functions of the headlight were light from the LEDs is coupled in the achieve high reflector efficiency while
implemented in each case using a redi- rear sides into the solid low-profile light fullfilling all legal requirements for
recting reflector with a large surface guides. The design of the basic geome- dipped-beam and main-beam headlights.
30

As the homogeneous illumination of the
road is an important criterion, the reflec-
tor surfaces were designed in such a way
that dark areas on the road were avoided.
On this basis, it was possible to achieve
the virtual, physically correct representa-
tion for day and night at the same time.
HARDWARE STRUCTURE
After the confirmation of structure (BS)
Q gate, work began on preparing the
hardware prototypes in the Bertrandt
lighting studio. The surface and volume
data of lighting systems were collected for
the design and structure of the proto-
types, which were then produced using
stereo lithography. Components that were
subject to higher stress were produced
using laser-sintering processes. Printing
11I2013 Volume 115
Catia CAD design of
the full-LED headlight
technology was used to produce the
metallised parts. In the next step, the
plastic cover lens (KAS) was produced on
a high-speed five-axis milling machine.
Due to the precise multistage machining
process, no visible defects or distortions
were produced on the surface, .
The photometric performance and the
appearance of automotive lighting sys-
tems are influenced by compliance with
four parameters:
: precise geometric reproduction of all
surfaces relevant to the lighting
performance
: maximum precision of the optical
surfaces
: use of transparent materials in optical
series quality
: positioning of the lighting components
with specified tolerances.
In close cooperation between experts
in the lighting systems development
department and rapid prototyping
department, the ambitious targets were
achieved. Each component was evalu-
ated individually in a detailed coordi-
nation process. Taking into considera-
tion the influence of the parameters
mentioned before, the optimum proto-
type production process was jointly
selected.
Besides the importance of the machine
and the material, complying with precise
process sequences is a key part of the
production process. Many components
require manual machining. In this case,
in addition to the workers skills, exper-
tise in lighting technology and a sensi-
tivity for the influences that affect opti-
cal systems are required. For example,
training in the fundamentals of lighting
technology is another important compo-
nent of employee training in the field of
rapid prototyping at Bertrandt.
ELECTRONICS DEVELOPMENT
The complete and flexible control of an
LED headlight requires various electric
and electronic components. The increas-
ing complexity of lighting systems calls
for flexible and low-cost control
electronics.
Initial sketches visualise the appearance
of the full-LED headlight with its special features
(Edge Light concept)
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DE VELO PMENT LIGHTING TECHNOLO GY
The individual components were produced by design modelling specialists using most various processes,
for example completely in aluminium on a five-axis high-speed milling machine (reflectors)
The universal LED control unit from
Bertrandt is based on the modularity of
the hardware and software components,
with the result that, depending on the
application, only the modules concerned
can be extended or quickly adapted at
low cost.
MODULAR DESIGN
The modular design of the control unit is
based on plug-in hardware modules with
a standard interface. A microcontroller
module with the corresponding memory
components provides suitable computing
power independent of the project-specific
requirements. An additional communica-
tion module provides wireless control by
mobile computers, smartphones or tab-
lets. Communication takes place via
Bluetooth and Wlan/WiFi interfaces.
Furthermore, the microcontroller has a
further DMX interface, thus allowing
quick and effective integration of com-
mercial tools such as Madrix for the con-
figuration and operation of even more
complex light animations.
The driver modules can be developed
separately depending on the LED power
category and the control mode. These
modules can be used not only to produce
standard cluster controls in which the
LEDs are controlled in groups; individu-
ally controlled LEDs allow every con-
ceivable light scenario to be produced.
The dimming of the individual LEDs and
the speed and direction of the preconfig-
32
performance of the prototype. Based on
ured light scenarios can be adjusted
wirelessly during operation using an
Android app. The light scenarios are
configured via an intuitive user inter-
face. In this way, various LED patterns
can be designed in a user-friendly man-
ner by drag-and-drop and transferred to
the control unit. The interfaces available
are USB, SD card, Bluetooth and Wlan/
WiFi.
For further functions, such as the con-
trol of self-levelling headlights or cool-
ing, a further board with the corre-
sponding electronics is plugged onto the
main board of the control unit as a sepa-
rate module. Other communication inter-
faces such as CAN and LIN bus allow the
microcontroller to be directly integrated
into the vehicle prototype.
The software implemented is based on
a real-time operating system. According
to the light scenarios, the application is
divided into several tasks that can be
used for multiple applications when pro-
grammed with different parameters. On
the SW platform developed, this applica-
tion is decoupled from the HW driver
layer, thus allowing it to be transferred
to other microcontroller families.
VALIDATION
Headlights and signal lights are safety-
relevant vehicle components and are
subject to mandatory international certi-
fication. For that reason, the lighting per-
formance of the product must be meas-
ured with regard to its light intensity,
light distribution, illuminating surface,
etc. to ensure that it complies with legal
requirements.
In many cases, the photometric meas-
urement of the initial sample already
provides results and decisive indications
on whether the headlight can be pro-
duced in series. Measuring the lighting
performance is therefore a fixed part of
the process at Bertrandt after the initial
assembly of the components.
Bertrandt chose the Light Technology
Institute at Karlsruhe to measure the
performance of the complete exhibit.
Measurement by this certified and
renowned centre forms the basis for a
robust assessment of the photometric
the results of the measurements, modifi-
cations and corrections can be quickly
integrated into the design data and the
hardware to guarantee that the lighting
performance requirements are met.
SERIES PRODUCTION
Successful passing of the Q5 gate confir-
mation of integration (BI) is followed by
detail phases 5 to 7, which are oriented
towards series production. The Bertrandt
engineers usually carry out these phases
in close cooperation or direct commis-
sioning with the series suppliers. These
phases were not carried out for the IAA
Headlight demonstration prototype.
OUTLOOK
The technological change from the light
bulb to the LED is taking place at a rapid
pace. The use of new optical systems
such as light guides allows new designs,
functions and light features to be imple-
mented in the car. It is therefore an
important trend, even in the early devel-
opment phase, to produce fully func-
tional lights that can demonstrate the
subsequent quality in series production.
For these challenges, Bertrandts
Light and Visibility product develop-
ment process is a reliable instrument for
complying with the future requirements
of lighting system development in a com-
bination of expertise and experience.
The benefits lie in the continuous pro-
cess chain, from the initial concept
through to the verification of the lighting
performance, and the high level of tech-
nical expertise available.