This week’s Automotive Interiors Expo Novi has seen a treasure trove of components that consumers don’t tend to think about but strongly contribute to the general feel of quality in the interior. One company offering components for interior features that really lift the experience is Reell, which has used the show to debut a range of hinges and rotary dampers.
One of its latest products is intended to give storage lids a high-quality feel. Senior global product manager Horace Beale explains, “People like that when they open an armrest lid, it stays up even when opened only just past halfway – but they also want to be able to release it, for it to then soft-close. What we have done is we’ve combined our torque insert – which has lower torque so it will start to fall from halfway – with a viscous device from Cultraro to provide the soft-close functionality.”
Another signature product Reell has on its booth is an input engaging clutch, which has an independent input and output. It is ideal for use on motorized tailgates and doors to avoid damage from the user going against the motion of the motor. The device is already used on the Tesla Model X’s falcon doors and will soon feature on an upcoming Cadillac model’s soft-close doors.
