GE Plastics’ innovative material and application developments for the Electronics industry on Display at Electronica Munich

BERGEN OP ZOOM, THE NETHERLANDS — October 16, 2006 — GE Plastics will be showcasing some of their innovative materials and technologies for electrical and electronic device components at the Electronica exhibition in Munich, Germany from November 14-17, in Hall B1, stand number B1.279. Combining thermoplastics expertise with in-depth knowledge of industry standards, regulations and trends, the GE Plastics business is committed to keeping its customers in the electronic industry at the leading edge of innovative, environmentally responsible materials and processing technology. GE Plastics’ engineering thermoplastics, films, and composites can help fulfill the demanding requirements of these industries, and offer designers higher-quality, increased functionality, exceptional high performance, better aesthetics, and faster “art-to-part” cycles, helping manufacturers to achieve an optimum balance of performance, productivity and quality.

One of the new engineering plastics solutions that will be introduced at Electronica is Lexan* FR25A film that has excellent heat insulation, dielectric strength and ease of crease. Lexan FR25A film’s excellent product features make it a preferred choice for three-dimensional applications for heat/dielectric insulation and EMI shielding and as a replacement for flame retardant polypropylene (FRPP).

Another new material development recently announced by GE Plastics concerns a new white grade of its Ultem* polyetherimide (PEI) film. Responding to customer requests for an opaque, high-performance plastic film that would eliminate the need for surface treatments to achieve satisfactory print contrast in bar code labels, GE Plastics, working in conjunction with their global customers, has developed white Ultem WH217 film. This new film is pigmented for high opacity to ensure bar code labels can be read correctly – the film provides a print contrast ratio of 98 percent out of 100. In addition to helping saving label manufacturers the expense and time required to apply an opaque topcoat, Ultem WH217 film provides flame retardance that is lacking in competitive PEN films, and offers higher temperature resistance and better dimensional stability than polyvinyl fluoride films.

GE Plastics recently developed the new family of transparent Lexan DMX resins to keep electronic devices looking great without the added costs and cycle time needed for hard coating. The keypads, housings, and other wear parts for mobile phones, computers, and digital cameras can take a real beating from constant handling. Lexan DMX resins provide superior abrasion resistance without a coating, resulting in five-time higher pencil hardness than Standard PC. Plus, Lexan DMX resins are available in a wide range of colors for design creativity. These materials are excellent candidates for transparent applications such as soft keys, infrared lenses, bezels, and screens.

Other products that GE will present that are RoHS compliant and serve as a first step for customers to be WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment – directive 2002/96/EU) compliant include, Noryl* modified PPO* resin, flame retardant Cycoloy* PC/ABS blends and Lexan PC resins, LNP* Starflam* polyamide compound and inherently flame retardant Ultem polyetherimide resins/films.

The global electronics industry is in a rapid state of evolution and competition is fierce - and growing. The development cycle for new electronic devices continues to accelerate, narrowing the window of opportunity for OEMs to successfully conceive, create, and deliver new products to market. Consumer and vertical-market demand for electronics offering greater functionality, convenience, and aesthetics, is a huge driver in the development of new electronic devices.

Increasing miniaturization rules the day: as electronics devices are required to do more within smaller, thinner, tougher, more stylized housings (i.e. cell phones, PDAs, laptop computers, etc.), higher performing materials are required to do the job.

GE Plastics’ engineering thermoplastics, films, and composites can address global electronics needs for higher-quality, increased functionality, exceptional high performance, better aesthetics, and faster “art-to-part” cycles, environmentally responsible materials offering a major competitive advantage to electrical and electronic application manufacturers.

Reader enquiries

GE Plastics
Plasticslaan 1
4600 AC Bergen op Zoom
Netherlands

Helen Vandebovenkamp
helen.vandebovenkamp@ge.com

Tel: +31 164 29 20 97
Fax: +31 164 29 10 66
Netherlands

+31 164 29 20 97

helen.vandebovenkamp@​ge.com

www.geplastics.com