Project 4: Windshield Modelling

WINDSHIELD

The windshield of a car, also known as the front car glass or windscreen, serves multiple functions in your automobile. Here are a few of them.

Clear Vision
One of the most basic functions of a windshield of a car is to provide a clear, unobstructed view of the roads ahead to the driver. A clear view is of much importance if you want to drive your car safely without getting into potentially dangerous situations.

Protective Shield
A windshield for a car, as its name suggests, is a ‘shield’ that protects the vehicle’s occupants and the interiors of the car from dust, stones, debris, bugs, rain, wind, and other such outside elements that you encounter on the roads.

More than an Ornamental Addition
The windshield for a car also is a fundamental safety unit of your car. It lends 40% structural strength to the car roof. If you get caught in a rollover, the windshield in the car works as a supportive beam and prevents the car roof from caving in and collapsing on you and your loved ones.

Flexible Glass Sandwich
The windshield for cars is typically made of laminated glass or safety glass. Laminated glass is a sandwich of two panes of glass with a polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayer in between which is then bonded together to form a single uniform piece for windshield safety. This PVB prevents the windshield from shattering like ordinary glass, thereby safeguarding you and your fellow passengers in the event of a collision.

This laminated glass sandwich is also highly resistant to penetration and thus ensures complete windshield safety. If you aren’t wearing a seatbelt, the laminated windshield in a car also stops you from being ejected out of the car in the event of an accident. Laminated glass also localises the damage to the point of impact. As a result of this, visibility in other parts of the car windshield is not compromised. Along with this, the laminated glass in the windshield of cars is highly effective in blocking harmful UV rays.

Proper Deployment of Airbags
The windshield of the car helps in the proper deployment of the front airbags. The car windshield acts as the backstop for the airbag to inflate towards the occupants of the vehicle. Without the windshield absorbing the impact on the airbags, the airbags will not work efficiently and malfunction.

Undoubtedly, the windshield of a car plays an integral part in keeping you and your loved ones safe inside the car. This is why you must keep the windshield in top-notch condition. Unfortunately, no matter how much you try, windshield damages cannot altogether be avoided. Outside elements and unfortunate incidents can leave your car windshield with damages. Whether the damage is a minor or a major one, you should be proactive about it and get it fixed without any delay since a good quality windshield for cars is extremely important.

Design Requirement :

Gradient Lines

• Printed Filaments in the top and bottom of the windshield
• To hide rubber sealant and metal joints near roof and cowl area
• To give better aesthetic looks
• Also to hide IRVM (Inside Rear View Mirror)
• Dotted filaments in the rear windshield get heated up and act as defoggers
• Most of the windshield has a small sheet in between them.

• The Austin Material is used for the sheet in between and the thickness of the sheets will be 2 surfaces of 2.25mm and a sheet of 0.2mm and the total thickness of the windshield will be 4.7mm

• The Gradient lines are present in the car's windshield id to hide the rubber sealants that holds the windshield with the A-pillar and the Hood cowl.
• The shape of the gradient lines are being made in the specific design as they hide the inside rearview mirror or the rearview mirror that is placed in the car for the driver's additional view of what is happening on the road behind him.

Types of Windshield:

LAMINATED GLASS :

They have 3 layers wherein two surfaces are glass and the other surface is a film of polyvinyl butyral film. At the final stage, they are checked for air bubbles too. They are commonly used in front and rear places.

Windshield with Glass and Headliner highlighted