Dow announces availability of CALIBRE™ polycarbonate (PC) resin for extruded sheet used in LED applications

Date Announced: 16 Dec 2009New PC resin provides excellent balance of light transmission, light diffusion and whitenessHOUSTON — The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) has announced the availability of CALIBRE™ 302V-6 LD extrusion-grade polycarbonate (PC) resin, the premier PC offering from Dow for extruded sheet used in the LED signage and lighting marketplace. Developed with Dow’s proprietary diffusion aid technology, the new resin will allow customers to utilize PC more efficiently in LED back-lit sign face and channel letter market applications. “LED signage is the emerging option for business owners to brand their companies, as LED lighting provides long life, energy efficiency and low maintenance costs,” said Federico Montaner, PC and Compounds and Blends product manager for The Dow Chemical Company in the Americas. “We are excited to bring CALIBRE 302V-6 LD Resin to the marketplace and expect this new technology will serve as a value-added product, providing an excellent balance of whiteness, light transmission and diffusion for LED signage and lighting applications.” CALIBRE 302V-6 LD Resin is Dow’s initial offering of light-diffusing PC resins and builds upon Dow’s line of PC and compounds and blends products that already provide solutions for a number of lighting technology applications. The technical service team at Dow has developed modeling capabilities to be able to quickly formulate resins to meet specific customer performance characteristics for each application.“The technical knowledge of our team is especially beneficial during the development process, as we work directly with customers to customize PC formulations that will best suit their needs. Dow continues to add functionality to its products and looks to introduce a variety of resins in this product family that are tailored to its customers’ unique requirements,” Montaner added.CALIBRE™ 302V-6 LD represents a balance of the performance characteristics that the marketplace looks for in materials used with LED lighting. The excellent light-diffusing characteristics, combined with the inherent toughness of PC, offers customers the opportunity to use thinner PC sheet as an alternate to thicker light-diffusing acrylic sheet. The result is a cost-effective, durable sign face or channel letter that protects the costly LED lighting and provides the desired aesthetics.Key characteristics of the new CALIBRE 302V-6 LD Polycarbonate Resin include:•Excellent light diffusion, providing brightness uniformity and the elimination of “hot spots” from the LED light source•Excellent light transmission to improve lighting efficiency•Bright white color in reflected light•Need for additional diffusion films eliminated•UL V-2 rated down to 1.5 mmFor more information about CALIBRE 302V-6 LD Polycarbonate Resin, visit plastics.dow.com or contact your Dow Sales or Technical Service representative.

Contact
Dow Chemical Company

E-mail:***

Web Site:plastics.dow.com