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WINDOW IS OPENING FOR POLYCARBONATE AUTOMOBILE WINDOW GLAZING
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from the US Department of Transportation has now confirmed that the polycarbonate automotive window glazing system Exatec 900 can be used for all non-windshield glazing, provided it fulfills all the existing automobile glazing requirements. Independent laboratory certification demonstrates that the system can meet the NHTSA’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard for automobile glazing. Exatec LLC, a joint venture between Bayer MaterialScience AG and GE Plastics, was founded in 1998 to develop glazing solutions for the automotive industry. “This confirmation paves the way for polycarbonate glazing not only in the USA, but worldwide,” says Volkhard Krause, head of the Automotive Glazing Team at Bayer MaterialScience. “With the exception of the windshield, Exatec 900 meets all the current requirements for use in automobiles.” The trend to polycarbonate window glazing is taking hold in Europe, where Bayer MaterialScience is the leading supplier of plastic to the market. The company’s Makrolon polycarbonate, such as the Makrolon AG 2677 grade developed especially for automotive glazing, is used in the quarter windows of DaimlerChrysler’s Smart Fortwo and Smart Roadster Coupé, and in the side window and roof of its Smart Forfour. Other series applications include the transparent rear panel of the Mercedes C-Class Coupé and the lamella roof of the Mercedes A-Class and B-Class models. “Increasingly, the automobile industry is recognizing the distinct advantages of polycarbonate window glazing over glass,” says Volkhard Krause. “The most important are perhaps the increased design freedom and flexibility. But because it weighs so much less than glass, polycarbonate also provides better fuel efficiency and when used in roof modules it provides greater stability by lowering the vehicle’s center of gravity.” http://www.bayermaterialscience.com
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