14 Apr 2010
SABIC Innovative Plastics’ Materials Portfolio Lights High-Tech Way at Tokyo Film Technology Expo with New High-Performance Lexan* Films
BERGEN OP ZOOM, The Netherlands – April 14, 2010 – Here at the Highly-Functional Film Technology Expo, in booth F10-43, SABIC Innovative Plastics is prominently showcasing its latest cutting-edge materials that use its resin surface texturing, extrusion and coating technologies for the production of high-performance plastic film and sheet. The company’s new non-brominated, non-chlorinated flame-retardant (FR) Lexan* EFR film, launched here today, joins this exclusive line-up of sophisticated materials as a top-choice environmental solution for a variety of electrical insulation parts. These new developments spotlight SABIC Innovative Plastics’ commitment to its global electrical/electronics (E/E) and display customers with a fast-expanding portfolio of value-added specialty materials, application support and worldwide service, that will also be highlighted at the company’s booth.
“Today’s growing number of film applications with specific and increasing functionality in high-tech electronics calls for innovation, not tradition. SABIC Innovative Plastics continues to successfully meet these challenges by using it’s Lexan, Ultem*, and Noryl* resins technologies, processes and coating development competencies to create innovative, new film products,” said Lennard Markestein, global marketing director for Specialty Film & Sheet, SABIC Innovative Plastics. “We are dedicated to meeting our customers’ ever-changing needs with our unique high performance film products to offer a range of enhanced properties such as flame retardency, light transmission, light diffusion, abrasion resistance, formability and puncture resistance, and have enabled many OEMs to reduce system costs and create innovative designs with better functionality.”
Non-Halogenated FR Lexan Film Promotes Environmental Responsibility
A highlight of the SABIC Innovative Plastics exhibit is the company’s new non-halogenated, flame-retardant Lexan EFR film. This new film delivers non-brominated, non-chlorinated flame retardance at thinner gauges than flame-retardant polypropylene (FRPP), enabling designers to create flatter, lighter-weight notebook PCs and other devices while reducing material costs. Lexan EFR film is polycarbonate-based andoffers flame retardance without the use of materials that can be harmful to the environment, thus meeting the requirements of the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE 2006) directives. Further, all grades have a full listing in the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) yellow card system.
SABIC Innovative Plastics’ Lexan EFR film delivers a V-0 performance above 380 microns and a VTM-0 flame resistance performance down to 125 microns for translucent and 100 microns for opaque materials. It also complies with TCO-99 eco label requirements for insulation for printed circuits, printed circuit boards, disk drives, keyboards, inverters and adaptors, die-cut spacers, labels and overlays.
Technology Innovations for a Variety of Applications
SABIC Innovative Plastics’ portfolio of high-performance Lexan and Illuminex* films will be on display showcasing the company’s advanced coating and texturing technology.
High-performance Lexan film products offer exceptional resistance to chemical damage and abrasion, making them excellent candidates for an array of applications, including flat membrane switch overlays for lenses for cell phones and other handheld devices; anti-reflective computer screens and display windows for audio/video equipment; labels for washing machines; and anti-fog lenses for goggles, eyewear and gauges.
Illuminex* films – manufactured in a clean room environment, combining SABIC Innovative Plastics’ proprietary resins, surface technologies, and film processing – can be found in a wide range of applications such as automotive GPS navigational display units, PC notebooks, monitors and TVs. These films provide excellent optical performance by combining diffusion and collimation using patented lens technology on a monolithic structure. The film provides an ideal balance between luminance performance and hiding power capability.
Further, by eliminating coating traditionally used on diffuser films, Illuminex film minimizes end-use abrasion that occurs between coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) diffusers and its adjacent film or plate, and avoids any coating defects. Illuminex film also delivers improved waving performance in ultra-slim and LED TVs, enhances scratch performance, and reduces system cost through optimization of stack configuration. It improves yields by eliminating defects and exhibits superior high heat and humidity capabilities.
Lexan SD films are leading-edge materials for long-lasting, compromise-resistant electronic identification cards used for drivers’ licenses, e-passport data pages, border crossing cards, residency permits, green cards and identity cards for government employees, and military and police personnel. The Lexan SD films use heat and pressure to join all film layers into a card that cannot be pulled apart, as compared to hybrid cards that require adhesives, which increase the likelihood that the card will be disassembled. A second major advantage is these new films deliver very narrow gauge tolerances.
Another new SABIC Innovative Plastics technology on display here is Lexan DMX film, with improved hardness for portable electronics applications such as cell phone and laptop A, B and C covers, palm rests, and keypads. Lexan DMX films feature a proprietary layered construction for enhanced performance, aesthetics, durability, and processing to accommodate a wide range of laptop and handheld device designs. Key properties of Lexan DMX film include pencil hardness rating of 1H, easy formability, high impact resistance and fabrication ease for insert mold decoration (IMD) graphics.
For more information on SABIC Innovative Plastics’ electronic film products, please visit the company website at www.sabic-ip.com.
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Notes for editors
About SABIC Innovative Plastics
SABIC Innovative Plastics is a leading, global supplier of engineering thermoplastics with a 75-year history of breakthrough solutions that solve its customers’ most pressing challenges. Today, SABIC Innovative Plastics is a multi-billion-dollar company with operations in more than 35 countries and approximately 9,000 employees worldwide. The company continues to lead the plastics industry with customer collaboration and continued investments in new polymer technologies, global application development, process technologies, and environmentally responsible solutions that serve diverse markets such as automotive, electronics, building & construction, transportation, and healthcare. The company’s extensive product portfolio includes thermoplastic resins, coatings, specialty compounds, film, and sheet. SABIC Innovative Plastics (www.sabic-ip.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), one of the world’s top five petrochemicals manufacturers.
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* Trademarks of SABIC Innovative Plastics IP BV.
Media Note: The proper name of the company is SABIC Innovative Plastics, and excludes any abbreviations or variations when referring to the company. As an acronym, SABIC should be all caps whenever it appears in print.
