abic Innovative Plastics has announced that its new ultra-tough, flame-retardant (FR) Lexan F6000 polycarbonate (PC) sheet has been chosen by Plexx AS, a leading Norwegian plastics converter, to thermoform passenger train window frames.

The frames will be used in Norwegian State Railways train cabins. This advanced, tailor-made PC material replaces sheet-moulded composite (SMC) for significantly improved performance and faster cycle times, while avoiding the multiple secondary operations required for SMC.

'Sabic Innovative Plastics is helping customers succeed in the highly competitive transportation sector with advanced solutions that provide high performance, system cost savings and superior end-product differentiation vs thermoset materials,' a company text said.

'We had two main goals in upgrading from SMC to Lexan F6000 sheet: cutting the cost of the window frames and developing a much improved product for market differentiation,' said Arild S Johnson, managing director, Plexx AS. 'With Sabic Innovative Plastics’ help, we achieved these goals and more.'

Johnson said that compared to SMC, Lexan sheet was faster and easier to process, provided greater design flexibility and toughness, and kept its attractive appearance even after heavy use. His company received a customised, high-end polycarbonate grade, enabling it to create a unique product that stood out in the marketplace.