30 Nov 2004
GE ADVANCED MATERIALS SHOWCASES NEWEST PRODUCT INNOVATIONS FOR RAIL INDUSTRY AT RAILWAY INTERIORS EXPO
COLOGNE, GERMANY – GE Advanced Materials, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), is showcasing its latest product innovations for the rail industry here at the Railway Interiors Expo in booth C135. Heading the list of products on display in the GE booth is the company’s growing flagship family of products that are sold and marketed under the ULTEM* resin and sheet brand. The company is also exhibiting a range of other high-performance resins, its large-part thermoforming capabilities, and an impressive array of thermoformable sheet materials.
“We are exhibiting at the Expo with a full portfolio of rail industry compliant products that deliver outstanding performance in a range of critical areas,” said Melanie Cook, marketing director, Transportation, GE Advanced Materials. “The rail interiors industry is increasingly calling for safe, tough, and versatile products that enhance all aspects of the application development process, and we are committed to helping meet these demands.”
ULTEM resin is an amorphous polyetherimide (PEI) thermoplastic offering excellent flame, smoke, toxicity, and heat-release performance. This highly heat-resistant product is an excellent material option for interior rail applications, as well as for the aircraft segment where exceptional strength, aesthetics, and chemical resistance are required. It also provides superior UV resistance and color stability vs. alternative products such as polyphenylene sulfone (PPSU). ULTEM resin‘s balance of high-performance properties and excellent processability provides designers and engineers with outstanding design flexibility and freedom.
ULTEM resin – also available in sheet form – is an inherently flame-retardant (FR) material with low smoke emission. It is a good candidate to replace polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in many interior rail applications. ULTEM resin and sheet grades for rail applications are not only FRA-compliant, but they also help customers meet the stringent industry requirements of TCO99, Blue Angel, and White Swan while meeting the fire safety criteria of Underwriters Laboratories (UL®), Inc.
A number of unique interior products utilizing ULTEM resin and sheet are featured at GE Advanced Materials’ booth. In addition to being British Rail Standard BS6853 (476 part 6 & 7, Class II, or Class I Y) code-compliant, these products reflect the structural, aesthetic, and other high-performance benefits that can be achieved by using these workhorse GE product families, which are making significant inroads against traditional materials, such as metal, fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) materials, and sheet-molding compound (SMC) in several application areas.
Another key product is AZDEL* Rail-Lite* composite – a thermoformable, lightweight composite sheet material, introduced here today, that exhibits excellent flame, smoke, toxicity, and heat-release performance in large semi-structural panels for trains, aircraft, and other segments.
Another high-performance FR product on display at GE Advanced Materials’ booth is the company’s LEXAN* sheet. This exceptionally tough material is based on GE’s LEXAN polycarbonate (PC) resin and meets the rail interiors industry’s standards for superior impact strength, outstanding dimensional stability, aesthetics, and stiffness for a wide range of applications.
LEXAN sheet also offers the rail interiors industry excellent high-heat, flame, and UV resistance; great dimensional stability at elevated temperatures; and a broad color palette. The material is available in resin and film versions for select applications.
Rounding out GE’s product showcase at the Railway Interiors Expo are:
LEXAN MARGARD* sheet – A GE Advanced Materials PC sheet product offering maximum toughness, mar resistance approaching that of glass, and excellent weatherability, clarity, durability, light weight, and graffiti resistance for train components;
LEXGARD* laminates – Composites of LEXAN sheet, or LEXAN sheet and acrylic sheet, laminated together with an interlayer film and a MARGARD surf
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About GE Advanced Materials
GE Advanced Materials (http://www.geadvancedmaterials.com) is a world leader in providing materials solutions through engineering thermoplastics, silicon-based products and technology platforms, and fused quartz and ceramics. Among its businesses are:
• Plastics – which is a global plastics materials supplier and distributor, serving customers in a variety of industries including aerospace, appliances, automotive, building and construction, data storage and optical media, medical, electrical and electronics devices, telecommunications, computers and peripheral devices, outdoor vehicles and devices, and packaging (http://www.geplastics.com).
• Silicones – which includes GE Toshiba Silicones in the Pacific region and GE Bayer Silicones in Europe, offering silanes, specialty silicones, urethane additives, adhesives, sealants, resins, and elastomers for a variety of industries such as personal care, automotive, tire and rubber, construction, healthcare, electronics, household and institutional, agriculture, textiles, appliances, bedding and furnishings, foam control, and consumer (http://www.gesilicones.com).
• Quartz – which provides high-purity quartz and advanced ceramic materials for the semiconductor, telecommunications, lighting, electronics, personal care, water purification, and various other industries (http://www.gequartz.com).
GE (NYSE: GE) is a diversified technology, media, and financial services company dedicated to creating products that make life better. From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, medical imaging, television programming, and plastics, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.ge.com.
About GE Advanced Materials Specialty Film & Sheet
GE Advanced Materials’ Specialty Film & Sheet business is a leading supplier of high-performance engineering film and sheet products to global industry. Through this business, GE Advanced Materials offers a variety of film materials for display films, graphic films, coated products, electrical and electronics applications, specialty products, and a range of others. The company’s sheet product line includes an array of high-performance structures – from single- and multi-wall sheet, corrugated materials, and coated sheet products to laminates and combinations of each – to serve customers in several key global sectors.
About AZDEL, Inc.
AZDEL, Inc. is a joint venture of GE Advanced Materials and PPG Industries. The AZDEL business was established in 1972 by PPG, and the 50/50 joint venture was set up with GE in 1986. AZDEL is a global leader in the manufacture and supply of high-performance composite materials serving a wide variety of markets and industries including automotive, transportation interiors, large truck, materials handling, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), and building and construction.
* ULTEM, LEXAN, MARGARD, LEXGARD, X GEN, NORYL, LNP, VERTON, THERMOCOMP, AND LUBRICOMP are trademarks of general electric company.
* AZDEL and Rail-Lite are trademarks of AZDEL, Inc., a 50/50 joint venture of General Electric Company and PPG Industries.
® UL is a registered trademark of underwriters laboratories, inc.
Related images
GE’s ULTEM* R16SG29 sheet forms the entire interior of train cars – from floor to ceiling – on Siemens’ S70 Platform line of passenger trains for the U.S. cities of Houston, Texas, and San Diego, Calif. Formed in a thickness of three millimeters, the material not only meets Siemens’ demand for exceptional cleanability, durability, and vandal-resistance, but also meets the following flame, smoke, and toxicity requirements of the rail industry: U.S. FRA 49 CFR Part 238 flammability and smoke emissions standards for train passenger cars and locomotive cabs; toxicity standard Bombardier SMP 800C; Germany’s DIN5510, Part 2 (S4/SR2/ST2 rating); and French NF P 92-501/5 and NF F 16-101 (M1,F1 rating). Use of ULTEM R16SG29 sheet is growing in train window masks, cladding, walls and seating, and other interior parts.
GE’s ULTEM* R16SG29 sheet is used to form this window panel for new passenger trains from Siemens. In fact, the GE material is used to form the entire interior of Siemens’ S70 Platform line of passenger trains for the U.S. cities of Houston, Texas, and San Diego, Calif. GE’s ULTEM R16SG29 sheet meets Siemens’ demand for exceptional cleanability, durability, and vandal-resistance, and meets the following flame, smoke, and toxicity standards of the rail industry: U.S. FRA 49 CFR Part 238 flammability and smoke emissions standards for train passenger cars and locomotive cabs; toxicity standard Bombardier SMP 800C; Germany’s DIN5510, Part 2 (S4/SR2/ST2 rating); and French NF P 92-501/5 and NF F 16-101 (M1,F1 rating). Typical applications for ULTEM R16SG29 sheet include train window masks, cladding, walls and seating, and other interior components.
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