Sabic Innovative Plastics has introduced the new Lexan XHR6000 (extremely low heat release) sheet with the aim of helping aircraft manufacturers meet safety, aesthetic, and performance requirements in business- and first-class seating and other interior components, while at the same time improving passenger comfort.

This new product fully complies with the Ohio State University (OSU) 65/65 standard and flame/smoke toxicity regulations, avoiding the need for waivers, and providing better weight-out for fuel economy than traditional polyvinyl chloride (PVC/acrylic) sheet products,” the company said in a statement.
“The new Lexan XHR6000 sheet strengthens Sabic Innovative Plastics’ commitment to provide aviation industry customers with unique and leading-edge solutions that enable their success.”
The move to enlarge seating/sleeping areas on some aircraft has caused additional interior components to fall under the OSU heat release standard, which applies to parts larger than two sq ft. New planes and retrofitting existing ones feature fresh designs and aesthetics, requiring materials that can provide excellent colourability and creative design freedom. Lexan XHR6000 sheet not only meets these requirements but also enables lower-cost tooling and ease of forming, according to Sabic Innovative Plastics.
“We understand that our aviation customers face multiple, often contradictory, pressures to increase safety, lower costs, and improve their customers’ flying experience, and we made sure that our new Lexan XHR6000 sheet addressed all of them,” said Tammy Rucker, the company’s global product manager for opaque sheet. “With this material, it will be easier for OEMs and suppliers to produce attractive, lightweight, and compliant interiors for the next generation of aircraft while keeping costs down.”
Potential applications for Lexan XHR6000 sheet include seating, cockpit linings, windows surrounds, door shrouds, and other interior components. The material is available globally.
The OSU standard for heat release is evolving. Today’s 65/65 standard is gradually being tightened. Because Lexan XHR6000 sheet is fully compliant with the current standard as well as the upcoming 55/55 requirement, manufacturers can be prepared for the future. The material also meets FST regulations. “With full compliance in both areas, Lexan XHR6000 sheet spares manufacturers and suppliers the time-consuming process of obtaining waivers from OEMs and airlines for non-compliant materials,” Sabic Innovative Plastics said.
“Lexan XHR6000 sheet offers designers many new options for creating unique and elegant aircraft interiors. The opaque material provides excellent colourability, including popular bright whites, and can be formed into deep draws, crisp angles, and thin walls.
“In addition to enabling thin-wall forming for weight reduction, Lexan XHR6000 sheet is inherently lighter than competitive materials: it has a specific gravity of 1.34 vs 1.47 for OSU compliant PVC/acrylic, for example.