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Toyota Window Loses 50% of Weight with SABIC Materials 14591Toyota Window Loses 50% of Weight with SABIC Materials

Ann R. Thryft

July 22, 2016

3 Min Read
Toyota Window Loses 50% of Weight with SABIC Materials

The last time we told you about SABIC's lightweighting polycarbonate (PC) glazing materials they were reducing the weight of the rear side windows in Ford's Fusion-based Lightweight Concept vehicle by 35%. Now they've appeared for the first time in a production car: the rear quarter window of Toyota's special edition 86 GRMN sports car, where they're saving 50% of its weight compared to conventional glass.

If you haven't heard of this car, that's because the special edition 86 GRMN is a model sold only in Japan. It was debuted earlier this year at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2016. The rear quarter window is injection molded of a material combination devised by SABIC Innovative Plastics. It consists of LEXAN PC resin coated with the EXATEC plasma coating. In addition to saving weight, it's also extremely durable.

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About the Author(s)

Ann R. Thryft

Ann R. Thryft has written about manufacturing- and electronics-related technologies for Design News, EE Times, Test & Measurement World, EDN, RTC Magazine, COTS Journal, Nikkei Electronics Asia, Computer Design, and Electronic Buyers' News (EBN). She's introduced readers to several emerging trends: industrial cybersecurity for operational technology, industrial-strength metals 3D printing, RFID, software-defined radio, early mobile phone architectures, open network server and switch/router architectures, and set-top box system design. At EBN Ann won two independently judged Editorial Excellence awards for Best Technology Feature. She holds a BA in Cultural Anthropology from Stanford University and a Certified Business Communicator certificate from the Business Marketing Association (formerly B/PAA).

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