Quote:
Originally Posted by Shepherd777
I believe it would have to be a vacuum mold, so the warm Lexan is actually pulled into the mold for the best optical clarity.
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This is how tempered glass parts are done. It gives greater control over the shape of the part.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shepherd777
Secondly, AFAIK, raw Lexan is not DOT approved for automotive glass. So even if one had a perfectly shaped Lexan windshield for their project, it would still have to be hard coated. And a DOT emblem would have to be added to the lower passengers side corner to certify the approval to the authorities.
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So does this render it impossible to build your own truck?
I'm not sure whether the DOT has different windshield rules for trucks than they do for cars, but as far as I know if you are building a "kit car" for personal use and not selling it to anyone the rules get pretty soft.
Now if you want to start selling your truck to others at a profit, I think that might be another story.
Based on the look of your scale model, that windshield is HUGE with a very deep profile... I wouldn't be surprised if it wouldn't fit in a traditional windshield production line. For production you may find you need to make it in two pieces, with a seam in the middle. If there's any aero benefit to styling the truck with a sharp leading edge instead of a fully rounded profile, a split windshield would work well.
If you are not thinking ahead to volume production then keeping the single piece design might be possible.