24 Aug 2004
BOEING, SIEMENS AMONG TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY LEADERS SELECTING GE’S NEW ULTEM® SHEET FOR OUTSTANDING, DEPENDABLE PERFORMANCE
GE ADVANCED MATERIALS PLANS FURTHER EXPANSION OF PEI-BASED SHEET LINE FOR AIRCRAFT, RAIL INTERIORS WITH NEW LOW-GLOSS, ULTRA-LIGHT PRODUCTS
BERGEN OP ZOOM, The Netherlands — Boeing and Siemens are among a growing number of airline and rail OEMs selecting GE Advanced Materials’ ULTEM® sheet for demanding interior applications due to its flame, smoke, and toxicity compliance and the tremendous strength, excellent aesthetics, and other benefits for which this family of GE materials is known. Two grades in particular are making major inroads into this industry segment. They include ULTEM 1668A sheet, a material developed for use in interior aircraft components, and ULTEM R16SG29 sheet, a new product just introduced in 2003 as the first ULTEM sheet material designed for rail interior applications.
Boeing has selected ULTEM 1668A sheet for use in its C17 jetliner. Thermoformed by Texstars, Inc., ULTEM 1668A sheet forms the plane’s entire cockpit. Boeing chose the material primarily for its flame, smoke, and toxicity performance. Another major consideration in Boeing’s selection of the material was its ability to withstand excessive heat build-up from sunlight shining on the cockpit walls. With a heat deflection temperature (HDT) of 200 C, ULTEM 1668A sheet can withstand these temperature demands, while competitive materials can warp.
Adder, a leading aircraft interiors supplier, uses ULTEM 1668A sheet for its new, movable aircraft cabin divider in a Scandanavian Airbus A320 jet. Use of the GE material in this application illustrates its excellent moldability, toughness, and enhanced aesthetics over many traditional materials. The sheet is formed into a single beam, which slides onto luggage bins and integrated rails to cover the entire width of the Airbus cabin interior. In
addition to the required code compliance for such applications, ULTEM 1668A sheet also gives this highly structural component great stiffness and strength in combination with light weight.
ULTEM R16SG29 sheet forms the entire interior of train cars – from floor to ceiling – on a new line of passenger trains from Siemens. The first Siemens train sporting the ULTEM R16SG29 sheet interior was unveiled this year in Houston as part of the city’s new Metro light rail system. Formed in a thickness of three millimeters, the material not only meets Siemens’ demand for exceptional cleanability, durability, and vandal resistance, but also meets the required flame, smoke, and toxicity requirements of the rail industry.
“What we are seeing is rapid, global penetration and growth of ULTEM sheet driven largely by global OEMs striving to quickly transition to fully compliant, highly engineered materials,” said Joe Henderson, product manager, Opaque Sheet, GE Advanced Materials. “They are looking to us because our ULTEM sheet technology addresses a full range of customer needs. ULTEM 1668A sheet, for example, was almost exclusively a U.S. product; now it’s in several European applications and growing. The same is true of our new ULTEM R16SG29 sheet that was only introduced in 2003 and, in roughly one year’s time, is on its way to becoming a very popular rail industry choice.”
GE Advanced Materials’ ULTEM sheet products are based on the company’s ULTEM resin, a tough amorphous polyetherimide (PEI) thermoplastic that is already widely used in most major aircraft interiors. ULTEM 1668A sheet is an inherently flame-resistant material with low smoke emission. It meets commercial aircraft interior requirements, including OSU heat-release rate below 65/65, FAA smoke and flammability testing and complies with toxicity standards BSS7239 and ABD0031.
ULTEM 1668A sheet also offers aircraft OEMs exceptional impact and heat resistance, modulus, and chemical resistance in combination with light weight, exceptional strength, and good surface aesthetics. The product can be thermoformed, pressure formed, twin-sheet formed, or used in flat or cold-formed applications. Paintable and/or available from GE in a range of colors, ULTEM 1668A sheet is finding use in an array of interior aircraft applications, such as passenger service units, seating and flight deck components, galleys, stow bins, and sidewal
Reader enquiries
GE PlasticsPlasticslaan 1
4600 AC Bergen op Zoom
Netherlands
Helen Vandebovenkamp
helen.vandebovenkamp@ge.com
Tel: +31 164 29 20 97
Fax: +31 164 29 10 66
Netherlands
Notes for editors
GE Advanced Materials
GE Advanced Materials is a world leader in providing materials solutions through engineering thermoplastics, silicon-based products and technology platforms, and fused quartz and ceramics. Among its businesses are:
• Silicones, which includes GE Toshiba Silicones in the Pacific region and GE Bayer Silicones in Europe, offers silanes, specialty silicones, urethane additives, adhesives, sealants, resins, and elastomers for a variety of industries such as personal care, automotive, tire and rubber, construction, healthcare, electronics, household and institutional, agriculture, textiles, appliances, bedding and furnishings, foam control, and consumer (https://www.gesilicones.com/gesilicones/am1/en/home.jsp);
• Plastics is a global plastics materials supplier and distributor, which serves customers in a variety of industries including aerospace, appliances, automotive, building and construction, data storage and optical media, medical, electrical and electronics devices, telecommunications, computers and peripheral devices, outdoor vehicles and devices, and packaging (https://www.geplastics.com);
• Quartz produces high purity materials for the semiconductor, fiber optic, lamp making and water purification industries. GE Quartz is a leading supplier of quartz materials to the semiconductor industry (www.gequartz.com/en/index.htm);
• GE (NYSE:GE) is a diversified technology, media, and financial services company dedicated to creating products that make life better. From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, medical imaging, television programming, and plastics, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.
ULTEM is a registered trademark of General Electric Company.
UL is a registered trademark of Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.
SUPERLITE is a registered trademark of AZDEL, Inc., a joint venture of General Electric Company and PPG Industries.
Related images
Boeing has selected GE’s high-heat ULTEM® 1668A sheet for use in its C17 jetliner. Thermoformed by Texstars, Inc., ULTEM 1668A sheet forms the plane’s entire cockpit. Boeing chose the material for its flame, smoke, and toxicity performance and exceptional impact strength. ULTEM 1668A sheet meets commercial aircraft interior requirements, including OSU heat-release rate below 65/65, FAA smoke and flammability testing, and complies with toxicity standards BSS7239 and ABD0031. Paintable and/or available from GE in a range of colors, ULTEM 1668A sheet is finding use in an array of interior aircraft applications, such as passenger service units, seating and flight deck components, galleys, stow bins, and sidewalls.
GE’s ULTEM® R16SG29 sheet forms the entire interior of train cars – from floor to ceiling – on a new line of passenger trains from Siemens. Formed in a thickness of three millimeters, the material not only meets Siemens’ demand for exceptional cleanability, durability, and vandal resistance, but also meets the required flame, smoke, and toxicity requirements of the rail industry. It meets U.S. FRA 49 CFR Part 238 flammability and smoke emissions standards for train passenger cars and locomotive cabs; complies with toxicity standard Bombardier SMP 800C; meets Germany’s DIN5510, Part 2 (S4/SR2/ST2 rating); and is compliant with French NF P 92-501/5 and NF F 16-101 (M1,F1 rating). Use of ULTEM R16SG29 sheet is growing in train window masks, cladding, walls and seating, and other interior parts.
Editorial enquiries
Brigitta de Vries
Marketing Solutions NV
bdevries@marketingsolutions.be
Jim Allison
AH&M Marketing Communications