Aerospace transparencies group of PPG Industries has announced that commercial manufacturing of Opticor advanced transparency material has been started at the Sylmar plant. The company’s pilot operations were moved from the PPG Glass Business and Discovery Center located near Pittsburgh, in order to increase the high-performance plastic production for use in lightweight aircraft windows.
According to PPG’s Global Director for new business development and innovations for transparencies, Anthony Stone, the company developed Opticor transparency material and the availability of this material has been increased in order to fulfill the rising maintenance and efficiency challenges that are experienced by international customers, who create and run aircrafts.
Anthony Stone added that the aircraft windows are lightweight, as they are made using Opticor advanced transparency material, and can resist against crazing in order to maintain optical transparency. The material has been manufactured in various thicknesses and the company is planning to specifically develop a technology to make complex shapes of this material.
Stone further commented that the Gulfstream G650 business jet’s passenger-cabin windows use Opticor advanced transparency material for its outboard surface. PPG’s own plastic has been laminated to extended acrylic for better stiffness and assembled by means of an inboard coated glass panel, which is heated for antifogging. Window fabrication is being carried out at the company’s Huntsville facility.
The company is exhibiting a cabin window for use in the G650 business jet during the Farnborough International Airshow, which will be held from July 9 to 15, 2012.
Source: http://www.ppg.com/