Polycarbonate had earned the tag as the the most suitable material to use from the automotive industry. However, in recent years, Polymethyl Methacrylate, the PMMA polymer or commonly known acrylic plastic, has efficiently risen to the growing demands of the automotive industry in replacing polycarbonate for the most important utilization in the market, namely, automotive glazing.
Long established to use in many different vehicle applications like decorative trim, ambient lighting and door entry strips, automotive glazing is among those fields offering the best growth potential for PMMA.
Related key popular features of acrylic plastic which render it suitable for the whole process of automotive glazing are discussed below.
Light-weight
To produce a comparison over a very basic level, PMMA is half the extra weight and more transparent than glass, thereby providing crystal clear visibility during the situation of fluctuating and unstable temperatures. Due to its molecular structure, thermoformed Acrylic Plastic have become used almost exclusively for car window glazing where every one of the necessary requirements for light-weight materials which are safe, an easy task to process and perform in most weathers are met.
At the top of Scratch Resistance
Another critical requirement for glazing is scratch resistance. Standard PMMA already gets the highest surface hardness of thermoplastics even when uncoated. However, for automotive glazing, there are stringent conditions to be fulfilled to fulfill the best state of scratch resistance. The effective use of a coating thus remains mandatory. Since PMMA is intrinsically UV and also weathering-resistant, a single-step coating is successful. In comparison, thermoplastics which may have low effectiveness against weathering demand a two-step coating system. This ends in relatively expensive for coating.
New design possibilities
PMMA glazing is 40 to 50 percent lighter than conventional glass, which piques a person’s eye of automobile manufacturers. With all the advantages being immediately obvious, PMMA is now seen as the correct fit for automotive glazing. Weight savings apart, the transparency of acrylic plastic as well as its high weathering resistance, pleasant acoustic properties, and exceptional form ability allow freedom enabling entirely new design possibilities.
Less stress birefringence
PMMA exhibits little or no stress birefringence and also this functions as a major benefit over other thermoplastics like polycarbonate, that was primarily employed for glazing previously. Compared with traditional materials like polycarbonate, moulded PMMA, provides a distinct chance of functional integration – reducing recess depth and assembly costs.
Environment-friendly
The modern goal from the automotive companies are to produce clean low fuel consumption vehicles. Because of the awareness and the dependence on eco-friendly initiatives with the current economic general scheme of things, PMMA functions as a perfect replacement for glass from the automotive glazing segment. As vehicle manufacturers push the bounds of design, also is automotive glazing evolving.
SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer offers characteristics that fulfill the latest challenges from the transportation sector. It’s a monumental challenge for auto makers that are looking for to sit in recent environmental requirements and so are contemplating alternatives that reduce greenhouse gas and save fuel. Oahu is the perfect partner in this movement because it helps make cars lighter.
Like a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is happy to assist you to understand its properties and just how it best suited to automotive glazing.
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