26 Jun 2006
GE Plastics’ New LiteDesign* Online Toolbox Offers Automotive Lighting Designers Signature Surfaces* Solutions
GE’s Re-Energized Lighting Program Innovates with Self-Service Predictive Tools to Streamline Design Optimization and Material Selection
BERGEN OP ZOOM, THE NETHERLANDS — June 26, 2006 — With increasing consumer demand for differentiated vehicles, GE Plastics’ Automotive Lighting division today launched its new LiteDesign* (http://www.geplastics.com/gep/eng/automotive_tools.jsp) Web resource for Signature Surfaces*, the company’s newest offering for advanced exterior surfaces. The self-service LiteDesign resource offers eight online tools and calculators that can help simulate resin colors and effects, predict thermal performance and flow characteristics, and estimate the cost difference between two alternative materials. GE Plastics is currently the only engineering thermoplastic supplier to offer its customers predictive engineering design tools.
LiteDesign aims to help automotive lighting designers quickly evaluate thermal, visual, cost, and kinematic factors that drive material selection. Making well-balanced material choices early can significantly streamline design optimization and scale-up processes.
Jim Wilson, global market director for GE Plastics’ Automotive Lighting division, said, “The key to differentiated styling is to design in the material first rather than struggle to force-fit a material to the design. We recognized that if lighting designers had the tools to approximate material costs and performance early in the design process, they could save a tremendous amount of time, effort, and cost to create more innovative solutions. This is a great example of how GE provides added value to our customers.”
GE Plastics’ easy-to-use LiteDesign website now serves designers with the following tools:
To help further support its lighting program, GE Plastics will soon introduce its new Xtreme Heat portfolio of Lexan* XHT polycarbonate (PC) resins. Not only do the new Lexan XHT resins deliver excellent resistance to deformation and color shift under high heat conditions, they also surpass competitive materials such as thermosets in their density, flow characteristics, and recyclability potential.
Reader enquiries
GE Plastics, Automotive
Plasticslaan 1
4600 AC Bergen op Zoom
Notes for editors
About GE Plastics
GE Plastics (www.geplastics.com) is a global supplier of plastic resins widely used in automotive, healthcare, consumer electronics, transportation, performance packaging, building & construction, telecommunications, and optical media applications. The company manufactures and compounds polycarbonate, ABS, SAN, ASA, PPE, PC/ABS, PBT and PEI resins, as well as the LNP* line of high-performance specialty compounds. GE Plastics, Specialty Film & Sheet manufactures high-performance Lexan sheet and film products used in thousands of demanding applications worldwide. In addition, GE Plastics’ dedicated Automotive organization is an experienced, world-wide competitor, offering leading plastics solutions for five key automotive segments: body panels and glazing; under the hood applications; component; structures and interiors; and lighting. As a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Games, GE is the exclusive provider of a wide range of innovative products and services that are integral to a successful Games.
* LiteDesign, Signature Surfaces, Visualfx, Lexan, and LNP are trademarks of General Electric Company.
Related images
IMAGINE IT Visualfx* Special Effects Resin Simulator Tool on GE’s New LiteDesign* Web Resource - Sports Blue
With the increased demand from consumers for differentiated products, GE Plastics’ re-energized Automotive Lighting division today launched its new LiteDesign* web resource for Signature Surfaces* solutions. The IMAGINE IT Visualfx* Special Effects Resin Simulator, for example is an easy-to-use digital image tool that provides a visual simulation of various GE resin colors and special effects available for both bezels and lens surrounds. Users simply click on the tool and select the preferred resins and special effects and visualize customized simulated headlamps, fog lamps, and tail lamps.
Tools on GE’s New LiteDesign* Web Resource for Signature Surfaces* Solutions
GE’s new LiteDesign* Web resource offers eight online tools and calculators that can simulate resin colors and special effects, predict thermal performance and flow characteristics, and estimate the cost difference between two alternative materials. GE Plastics is currently the only engineering thermoplastic supplier to offer application-tailored online predictive engineering design tools to its customers. The new self-service website aims to help automotive lighting designers quickly evaluate thermal, visual, cost, and kinematic factors that drive material selection so that material characteristics can be considered early in the design’s optimization. Making these early, well-balanced material choices can make the entire design and scale-up processes easier and more efficient.
Editorial enquiries
Anne Clement
GE Plastics, Automotive
Tessa Vroegop
Marketing Solutions NV