Sekisui Polymer Innovations LLC, on Sept. 25 announced the release of Kydex T-LW, a new addition to their family of innovative thermoplastics.
Kydex T-LW is the next generation of Kydex T. It is a light weight alternative to fire rated polycarbonate sheets for applications including aircraft and mass transit interiors, medical products, and equipment and kiosk housings.
Lightweight requirements and materials are becoming more in demand as industries such as mass transit and airlines reduce fuel costs. Although the product maintains flammability compliance and appearance quality of the industry-leading Kydex T, it features a ten-percent weight savings compared to common polycarbonate sheet materials.
The weight savings in Kydex T-LW comes from a proprietary additive, Advancell Em a Sekisui Chemical Co. technology used in a wide range of industries and applications. While some weight-reducing additives can be negatively affected during production by atmospheric conditions, Advancell Em utilizes chemistry that is climate independent, which ensures the product performance is consistent between production runs, providing security and consistency of material performance in a finished component.
Kydex T-LW is a fire-rated thermoplastic sheet that has the flammability characteristics of a PVC/PMMA alloy. Kydex T-LW meets a wide range of fire safety standards including FAR 25.853(a) vertical burn, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 302 and UL 94 V-0. It is available in virtually limitless custom colors, P-1, P-3 and P-C textures, and thicknesses from 1.19mm ( 0.047”) to 6.35mm (0.250”).
