PHILIPS USES SPECIALITY PLASTIC TERLUX IN ITS NEW ELECTRIC SHAVER
09 December 2004 - BASF Aktiengesellschaft

Philips, the Dutch manufacturer of electric products, has just started to market its Philishave Coolskin, an electric shaver that owes its extraordinary appearance in part to the selection of Terlux, a transparent plastic developed by BASF.

Terlux is a transparent ABS, based on methyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene (MABS), and it is one of the speciality products in BASF's range of styrenic plastics.

Coolskin, manufactured by means of two-component injection moulding, is a product that combines polycarbonate and MABS for the first time. The housing is made of polycarbonate that is then covered with a casing of the transparent Terlux. Philips designers turned to this BASF material for two reasons. On the one hand, the transparency of Terlux allows the user to see inside the device. On the other hand, the Terlux casing also enhances the functionality of the polycarbonate housing. After all, the housing is precisely where the improved chemical resistance of Terlux, compared with polycarbonate, comes to the fore. The reason behind this property is the high content of acrylonitrile in the MABS.

'This increases the polarity of the plastic, thus making it more resistant to media than standard plastics, comparable transparent ABS grades or other plastics such as PMMA,' explains Luc Gysels, who is BASF's market development manager responsible for styrenics.

In addition to its good resistance to chemicals, Terlux has also proven to be considerably more impact-resistant than other transparent plastics such as SAN. Moreover, according to Philips, the decisive factor was the good adhesion of this material to the housing made of polycarbonate. By combining polycarbonate with MABS, Philips enters into a completely new territory.

Coolskin, which Philips sells around the world, was developed at Philips' Design Center for Electric Appliances in Drachten, The Netherlands. Philips is one of the world's largest electric and electronic corporations. Its sales reached EUR 29 billion in 2003. This company is the world's market leader in lighting, diagnostic imaging systems, electric shavers, television sets, one-chip TV products and patient-monitoring devices.

http://www.basf.com.

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