“PLEXIGLAS® makes your design shine. Every day.”

• Röhm showcases the diversity of PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds for extraordinary and sustainable product design
• Exhibits from the automotive, lighting, kitchen and medical technology sectors on display at the trade fair booth
• PLEXIGLAS® proTerra containing recycled material demonstrates high optical clarity

An extremely varied design show awaits visitors to Röhm’s trade fair booth at Fakuma, being hosted in Friedrichshafen from October 15 to 19. “PLEXIGLAS® makes your design shine. Every day.” is the theme under which the company will spotlight the inspiring design potential of PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds. Numerous examples of high-quality, sustainable product design using Röhm’s brand polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) will be on display.

“Our PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds offer almost limitless design freedom for products in many areas of daily life, from striking automotive lighting to unusually shaped luminaires and surface enhancement for kitchen appliances,” says Siamak Djafarian, Head of Molding Compounds at Röhm. “Vibrant and pleasant to the touch, especially in combination with light, PLEXIGLAS® meets the highest standards of form, function and aesthetics.”

Visitors to the international trade fair for plastics processing will be able to see for themselves at booth 5306 in hall B5. Well-known manufacturers from the automotive, lighting and kitchen appliances sectors have provided objects and components that showcase the versatility, formability, functionality and quality of PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds.

PLEXIGLAS® for eye-catching automotive design

The large, two-part rear light of the Mercedes E-Class is turning heads on the street and at the PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds trade fair booth, with its star-shaped signature lights unmistakably inspired by the Stuttgart-based automotive manufacturer’s logo. Valeo produces the rear lights with a cover made from a PLEXIGLAS® molding compound in signal red and a light-scattering PLEXIGLAS® molding compound for the illuminated stars in both components.

On the front of the vehicle, exterior and lighting designers are increasingly using light strips to create distinctive signature front lights. Lining the lower edge of the hood across its whole width, like a razor-sharp illuminated contour, the light strip on the Lucid Gravity electric sedan demonstrates in impressive form just how long and slim a light guide made from PLEXIGLAS® molding compound can be. Eisenach-based REBO Lighting & Electronics produces the component from the light-scattering special molding compound PLEXIGLAS® Softlight. Röhm’s brand PMMA is ideal for these coast-to-coast components in vehicle lighting, offering extraordinary light-guiding properties and the processing characteristics required for injection molding of large components, such as favorable flow properties and a good heat deflection temperature.

At the trade fair booth, Röhm will also present further use cases for PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds in automotive engineering, including illuminated emblems and brand logos with light-scattering PLEXIGLAS® Softlight and exterior body parts made from PLEXIGLAS® Hi-Gloss in special jet-black coloring for elegant, glass-like class A surfaces.

PLEXIGLAS® proTerra containing recycled material proves itself in high-quality designs

In contrast to the spectacular PLEXIGLAS® applications in automotive design, the extraordinary features of products in the lighting industry are often invisible to the naked eye – and that is just as it should be. In an application study on a light strip by RIDI, transparent PLEXIGLAS® proTerra M5 containing 30 percent recycled material stands out thanks to its high optical clarity. With the aim of producing lighting components more sustainably and reducing their carbon footprint, the technical luminaire experts and their processing partner BWF Profiles opted for this resource-saving PLEXIGLAS® product variant.

Röhm offers two PLEXIGLAS® proTerra molding compounds that combine a reduced carbon footprint with proven performance: PLEXIGLAS® proTerra M5 contains mechanically recycled PMMA, while in PLEXIGLAS® proTerra 8N, fossil resources have been replaced with raw materials certified under ISCC PLUS (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification).

Molding compounds for TIR lenses and multi-lens arrays with maximum light efficiency

PLEXIGLAS® and the significantly more heat-resistant PLEXIMID® are proven materials for the lighting industry. The lenses and luminaires on display at the booth demonstrate the materials’ outstanding optical quality. Polish company Lena Lighting has provided a specimen of its highly energy-efficient Tiara LED Pro road luminaires. The multi-lens array is made from PLEXIGLAS® Optical HT, a special molding compound for higher continuous operating temperatures. Its extraordinarily high luminous efficiency remains undimmed for many years, with the material withstanding not only thermal aging, but also UV exposure and weathering.

Also on display are various highly intricate lenses, such as TIR lenses for ceiling spotlights, injection molded with maximum reproduction accuracy, and lenses for outdoor luminaires and bicycle lights. A rear light from Chinese manufacturer Magine Technology, featuring customizable symbols, shows the individual designs possible in bicycle lighting when national road traffic laws allow. The cover is made from PLEXIGLAS® Resist AG 100 in signal red – a molding compound that combines enhanced impact resistance with permanent UV and weather resistance and excellent optical properties.

Playing with light at the PLEXIGLAS® light table

Wherever you look, product designers are playing with light. Light and color are the perfect way to add emotion to design. As technology becomes ever more compact and efficient, LED modules are easy to integrate into components. And PLEXIGLAS® facilitates this trend, given that its extraordinary transparency, light-guiding and light-distribution properties make it an ideal material for all kinds of lighting applications.

The light table at the trade fair booth provides plenty of inspiration and visitors can explore the diverse range of lighting effects for themselves.

Household appliances with high-gloss surfaces and black panel displays

The black panel effect is now also being used in displays for white goods, as well as in the design of household appliances, in line with the trend for black housing. An impressive example is a yogurt maker from Arçelik, one of the market leaders in Turkey and Europe. Using impact-resistant PLEXIGLAS® Resist in a neutral gray color, the design team has developed a robust, glossy black housing with a seamlessly integrated black panel display.

Manufacturers of household appliances have also been using PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds for surface finishes for many years. With co-extrusion processes or multi-component injection molding, elegant, high-gloss surfaces can be created that are resistant to both impact and chemicals. One of the most popular examples is Vorwerk’s Thermomix kitchen aid, the housing of which is enhanced with a layer of transparent PLEXIGLAS®.

CYROLITE® molding compounds for medical technology

Röhm’s portfolio of molding compounds also includes CYROLITE® – a transparent, acrylate-based special plastic for medical technology. It can be sterilized using a multitude of procedures and is biocompatible, chemical-resistant and free from bisphenol A. CYROLITE® molding compounds are used not only for standardized disposable components like Y connectors and filter housings, but also for bespoke components in innovative medical devices. Some of these products are on display at Röhm’s booth in hall B5, including a device for almost entirely pain-free local anesthesia in dental treatment. Manufacturer Milestone Scientific has been producing the handpieces from CYROLITE® for more than 25 years. The German medical start-up TissueFlow, meanwhile, is leading the way in the improved treatment of bone damage with its innovative surgical suction handle made from CYROLITE®.