Vehicle-grade projection lifting screen, why "every inch of land is gold"?

Since its launch on December 26, 2023, the panoramic smart flagship SUV Wenjie M9 has set a record of more than 70,000 units in just three months, and as a 500,000-level luxury model, it is already far ahead. At the same time, Hongmeng Zhixing's April sales data shows that the sales volume of the M9 reached 13,391 units, beating many luxury brands and topping the monthly sales list of the Chinese market regardless of energy form, model structure, and market segments of more than 500,000. The M9 is equipped with the industry's first automotive-grade projection giant screen, which has also set off huge waves in the projection industry, which not only sets a new milestone for the in-car entertainment system, but also marks the perfect integration of automotive technology and high-end viewing experience.

M9 automotive-grade projection giant screen

This large liftable screen created by Guangfeng Technology (688007.SH), the first batch of listed companies on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, has overcome many technical problems that ordinary consumer-level projection can imagine, and only a lifting screen is expensive, which can be described as "every inch of land". In this article, we interviewed the R&D representative of the project's curtain, Engineer A, and from his perspective, let's take a look at how the R&D personnel "rushed through the hurdle with wisdom and bravery" and polished the industry's first vehicle-grade projection lifting curtain.

How difficult is it to be "auto-grade"?

The price of automotive electronic products is generally expensive, and the most important reason is that automotive components need to meet higher standards in order to "get on the car", that is, the vehicle specification level.

Common components are generally graded according to the use temperature, radiation, anti-interference, etc., from low to high: consumer grade, industrial grade, automotive grade, military grade, aerospace grade. The working temperature range of consumer-grade components is 0°C~70°C, which is the most common type on the market. The working temperature of automotive-grade passenger compartment components is required to reach -40°C~85°C, and they need to be maintained in normal use in extremely cold or ultra-high temperature working environments.

In terms of service life, the standard requirements for consumer and automotive grades are also very different. The basic life requirement for consumer grade is 2~3 years, while the entry requirement for automotive grade is 10~15 years.

In addition, there are many test contents that are unimaginable for ordinary consumer products, including:

1) Shock test: The car will produce vibration and shock during driving, and these forces may cause damage to the components. Vibration tests simulate the vehicle's driving on bumpy roads, while impact tests simulate the effects of sudden collisions or sudden braking on components;

2) Salt spray test: For vehicles in coastal areas or winter salt-sprinkled roads, the salt spray test evaluates the resistance of the element to salt to ensure that it will not be damaged by corrosion;

3) Flame retardant test: The components inside the car must have certain flame retardant properties to reduce the risk of fire. Flame retardant testing evaluates how components react when exposed to an ignition source to ensure that they do not burn rapidly or contribute to a fire;

4) Mist test: It can also be understood as a humidity and mold test, cars will face different humidity conditions in different regions and seasons, which may lead to mold growth and corrosion. Humidity and mold testing ensures that the materials and coatings of components are resistant to moisture and mold, maintaining long-term reliability;

5) Odor test: an important part of the safety performance evaluation of automotive interior materials, it is necessary to ensure that the air quality in the car is harmless to the health of drivers and passengers;

……

More than 50 reliability, electrical performance and EMC test items need to be cleared one by one in order to obtain the access pass of the car company.

The biggest R&D challenge: starting from scratch

"The projection giant screen 'gets on the car', because the standards are completely different, so the experience of consumer-grade products cannot be reused, and it cannot be simply pretended." Engineer A said. In order to solve this problem, the screen development team moved quickly and conducted in-depth research on more than a dozen screen materials on the market, but unfortunately, they could not find any material that could fully meet the strict standards of vehicle regulations.

Faced with this dilemma, the curtain team did not back down, but chose an innovative path, determined to develop a completely new curtain from scratch. They quickly engaged in intensive research and development, and after hundreds of scheme designs, tests and optimizations, and hundreds of material selections, they finally succeeded in applying an innovative special elastic material to the screen. This special elastomeric material has excellent resistance to hydrolysis and salt spray, is stable under extreme temperature and humidity conditions, and is less prone to peeling or sticking, even under salt spray. At the same time, it has excellent anti-aging ability, and after a long period of ultraviolet exposure and weathering tests, it can still maintain bright colors and structural integrity, almost impeccablely meeting the high standards of automotive regulations.

The team didn't have time to bask in the joy of the newly developed curtain material, as a new challenge was imminent—the design of the motor and the seismic structure needed to be solved.

These challenges are similar to the development of screen materials, which have never been more demanding in the mature consumer projection screen market. Specifically, the motor had to be designed to be extremely compact in order to fit into the limited space of the roof and at the same time require a long service life. The curtain needs to show strong vibration resistance during the vehicle's driving to ensure that passengers can enjoy a stable and comfortable visual experience when viewing. These requirements not only test the team's ability to innovate, but also push them forward on the road of technological innovation.

In the end, the R&D team handed over the answer sheet: an ultra-small motor that meets the requirements of vehicle regulations, and has passed the 20,000 times lifting durability test; A set of completely self-developed, innovative X-screen connection structure, as well as a unique motor locking method, make the projector's seismic resistance to the extreme.

Thanks to the X-shaped curtain structure, even when the vehicle is driving at a speed of 80 km/h and all the windows in the car are open, the projection screen is still stable and shaky-free, which significantly improves the viewing experience in the car. In this way, the overall vehicle-grade lifting curtain scheme has passed the eye comfort certification of TUV Rheinland and SGS anti-motion sickness certification of Switzerland, ensuring that long-term viewing does not hurt the eyes and does not cause motion sickness.

The whole set of solutions has passed the cyclic impact test of -40°C and 85°C of cold and heat required by vehicle regulations; Nearly 100 hours of salt spray environment test; 1m height bare metal drop test; Shock test to meet 50G peak acceleration; The whole machine life test of more than 1000 hours of work at 85°C; Meet the 25-day gas lamp test, simulating the solar radiation test in the full solar band; Low pressure test at an altitude of 4850m equivalent......

R&D representative A shared: "We have invested more than a year in this curtain project. The requirements of vehicle regulations are far higher than expected. We started almost from scratch and crafted our solutions step by step, with each step accompanied by hundreds of rigorous tests. In the end, our efforts were recognized by the customer, and the project was successfully accepted. We are extremely proud to be unveiled alongside the M9 to bring a new in-car entertainment experience to drivers and passengers. ”

A 32-inch automotive-grade projection giant screen can operate normally in a working environment as low as -40 °C extreme cold and up to 85 °C ultra-high temperature, after 20,000 lifting durability tests, through more than 50 strict vehicle regulations, R&D and innovation from 0, the ultimate demand for driver and passenger experience, this is the secret of the giant screen "every inch of land".