The car insulation film installed on the inside of the car glass is also called solar film and car window film.
Window film has a history of nearly 160 years, with applications ranging from construction to automobiles, and is hailed as one of the greatest inventions in modern times.
This article will describe the color-changing film from four aspects: application history, process evolution, product status, and future trends.
1. 100 years ago, the glass film (tea paper) based on PE (polyethylene) used in aerospace at that time was used on building glass, which had the effect of energy saving and heat preservation.
2. In the 1970s, NASA applied advanced vacuum aluminum plating and magnetron sputtering technologies to PET window films, opening up architectural window films that can selectively block the solar spectrum.
3. In the 1990s, Israeli window film factories endowed window film with safety properties, and its applications expanded from military industry to automobiles.
2. Window film is driven by the evolution of its process driven by human technological progress:
Discovery: After Edison invented the phonograph in 1888, he turned his attention to developing motion pictures. During his research, he found that the darker the film, the better it could block and absorb the heat emitted by the electric light. Therefore, this accidental discovery laid the basic theory of light and heat insulation. Tinted window film made of PE material came out in the 1960s.
Equipment: In the 1970s, vacuum aluminum plating and magnetron sputtering equipment were applied to window films on PET substrates, and high-definition reflective window films developed rapidly.
Cognition: Among the electromagnetic radiation energy of the sun, visible light accounts for 47%; infrared accounts for 46%; ultraviolet accounts for 7%. Spectral selective barrier window films matured in the 1980s.
Market status: Domestic window films account for 76% of the domestic market. Unfortunately, they are all in the mid- to low-end market, accounting for only 30.5% of total domestic sales.
Quality status: In recent years, nano-dispersion technology has matured, and the heat-absorbing insulation film has developed to the same quality as imported films. In addition, various series of products are still at the level of the 1970s abroad.
Technical status & technical barriers
In 2016, the technology of domestic window films could reach 70% of the level of imported products, but there has not been much progress since then.
Color fastness and clarity cannot be achieved on the basis of existing materials.
Technology trend: Scientific heat insulation to ensure color fastness and clarity---deep dip dyeing film, polyurethane composite glue, nanomaterial dispersion and other combined processes
Quality trend: high barrier (barrier below 380nm ≥ 99%, reflection plus absorption barrier above 760nm ≥ 90%), good weather resistance (≥ 5 years), low haze (front barrier ≤ 1.0%; side and rear barrier ≤ 1.5%) , high definition (≥99.5%), glue pattern ≤20.
Market trends: With the popularity of automobile skylights and building panoramic windows, the market demand for sunroof insulation films and building insulation films is huge.
