General Plastics Manufacturing Company will debut its new fire/smoke/toxicity (FST)-compliant polyurethane foam cores attheAircraft Interiors Expo 2014in Hamburg, Germany. This is the company’s first appearance at this event, which attracted 1,000 airline buyers from 75 countries in 2013.
General Plastics will present its LAST-A-FOAM® rigid and flexible polyurethane foam aerospace products,as well as its production and testing capabilities, at Stand 1D46.
General Plastics’LAST-A-FOAM®FST-3800Performance Series offersa lightweight, rigid foam core material that satisfies fire, smoke,toxicity (FST), and heat release requirements for commercial aircraft interiors. Used in conjunction with other materials, it can contribute to improve aesthetics and reduce costs while maintaining fire safety requirements.
“We are very excited to introduce our FST-approved performance foams to the industry at the largest global event devoted to aircraft interior design and cabin management systems,” said President Bruce Lind. “Our LAST-A-FOAM® FST-3800 seriesrepresentsour next generation of composite cores, developed in conjunction with our OEM customers to satisfy their imperatives.”
At the Hamburg show, General Plastics will also showcase its high-temperature tooling boards, molded parts capabilities, and testing services:
LAST-A-FOAM® FR-4700 High-Temperature Tooling Board Series – These high-density Epoxy-Urethane tooling boards withstand peak temperatures up to 400° F (200°C) and continuous-use temperatures up to 350° F (177°C). Affordable and dimensionally stable, this rigid foam board is ideal for prototype machining, high-temperature curing prepregs, vacuum forming, pattern making, master model making and monolithic or large-mass tools where traditional metal dies are cost-prohibitive.
Molded partsprogram– General Plastics’ unique flexible and semi-rigid foam formulations, proven pattern-to-print capabilities and high-capacity production facilities enable it to scale production from small runs of specialty parts to ongoing, high-volume OEM parts programs.It fabricates and machines custom-molded parts to customer specifications from its flame-retardant, self-skinning flexible and semi-rigid polyurethane foam materials.
Testing services – A dedicated Testing Services Group offers a wide range of flammability, physical and developmental tests in General Plastics’ on-site testing laboratories.These include an FAA-approved burn-testfacilityand local access to FAA Designated Engineering Representatives. All tests are conducted using calibrated equipment that is traceable to NIST.
“Beyond depending on our consistent foam formulations and scalable production services, our aerospace partners know they can trust General Plastics for innovative flyaway solutions to their evolving needs,” Lind said. “We look forward to demonstrating our capabilities and discussing project needs at the industry’s premier global event.”
About General Plastics Manufacturing Company
Tacoma, Washington-based General Plastics has been a leading innovator in the plastics industry for more than 70 years. The company develops and manufactures rigid and flexible polyurethane foam products, which include its signature LAST-A-FOAM® brand series and build-to-print composite parts. Through its network of distributors, General Plastics exports products to 25-plus countries for the aerospace and defense, nuclear containment, composite core, prototype and modeling, construction, dimensional signage, testing, marine, and renewable energies industries. General Plastics is certified to ISO 9001:2008/AS9100C and meets such demanding quality systems as NQA-1, Mil-I-45208A and Boeing Company D6-82479. Visit www.generalplastics.com.