Case study / BMW X3 30e

The charging cap the libraries missed.

A BMW X3 30e needed protection on its fender and charging cap. No pattern library had the pattern for this plug-in hybrid variant. The job needed a custom template.

See the templates See the fitting

Vehicle: BMW X3 30e
Variant: Plug-in hybrid
Missing coverage: Fender + charging cap

The actual charging cap · film fitting in progress

01 The missing pattern

The right model. A different panel.

The car was an X3, but the job was specific to the 30e: the fender and its charging cap needed their own pattern. For this job, no pattern library covered that combination.

That small panel carries several details the template has to respect: its curved outline, the raised M badge and the edges where the film will stop or wrap. The charging-cap files and workshop photos below show those details being worked through.

02 The template work

One cap. Three edge treatments.

The template can be tailored to how the installer wants to work: flush edges, wrap allowances or corner relief cuts, each with an opening around the badge.

01 / SVG

Flush edges

The film stops inside the cap edge, with an opening around the badge.

Inspect the SVG

02 / SVG

Flush and wrap edges

Selected edges extend beyond the face of the cap, leaving film to turn around the edge.

Inspect the SVG

03 / SVG

Wrap with relief cuts

Relief cuts divide the wrap allowance at the corners. Dashed lines show where the film folds.

Inspect the SVG

03 In the app

The badge opening, measured.

The same cap scan in PPF Engine. The badge is found on the scan, measured where it meets the paint, and cut out at the gap you choose.

The charging-cap scan in PPF Engine, with the M badge and a small dimple highlighted in violet. — 01 / Found on the scan Raised details on the cap scan glow violet: the M badge, and a small dimple the film can cover.

The M badge on the scan with a dashed green cut line 2 mm outside it, labelled 2.0 mm gap. — 02 / An even gap The cut line follows every notch of the badge, 2 mm from where it meets the paint.

The Emblems panel: a 55.5 by 19.2 mm badge drawing, a 2.0 mm clearance slider and the Follow, Soft and Hull cut shapes. — 03 / Set the clearance A to-scale drawing of the badge and its cut. Pick the gap, then how closely the cut follows the notches.

04 On the part

The details, up close.

Two edge treatments on the actual cap: template 03 with relief cuts, and template 02 with flush corners and material left to wrap the edges.

Template 03 fitted to the charging cap, showing relief cuts in the film around the corners. — Photo 01 · SVG 03 / Relief cuts around the corners.

Close-up of template 02 on the charging cap, with flush corners and extra material along the edges for wrapping. — Photo 02 · SVG 02 / Flush corners, with material left to wrap the edges.

Wider view of the same template 02 fitting, showing flush corners and material extending past the edges for wrapping. — Photo 03 · SVG 02 / The same cut as photo 02, seen from further away.

Your next missing pattern

Start with the part in your bay.

A library gap does not change what the customer wants protected. PPF Engine gives installers a way to turn a 3D scan into a custom pattern, then refine the edges and cutouts for the job.

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