This is a LED-based “light pipe,” an acrylic tube that transmits lighting to specific areas. One application of this technology from Tyco Electronics is on the running boards of the Nissan Quest. It can also have interior applications, as it is said to provide no distracting glare as is common with typical lighting systems.

Given the drive toward greater vehicular differentiation, Tyco Electronics (www.tycoelectronics.com) has developed the means by which there is linear light distribution, such as along the running board of the Nissan Quest minivan. Called the AMP Light Guides, these are based on LED-produced light running through acrylic pipes. According to Mario Di Iorio, president, Ensinger-Plastifab (Montreal, Quebec; www.plastifab.ca), which produces the pipes from a material produced by CYRO Industries (Rockaway, NJ; www.cyro.com), “We used ACRYLITE H12 polymer because it provides consistent processing parameters, and the material has excellent transparency, weathering stability, and light transmission.” The polymer pipe is said to provide 94% light transmission. Tyco Electronics integrates a reflective strip onto the pipe to help direct the beam. The pipes can be bent; used on the interior as well as exterior; and incorporate red, green or other LED colors.