Resin gives light therapy device a lift

• Improved flow characteristics
• Accepts special effect coloring

The winter doldrums often usher in a seasonable depression for many people. Called Seasonal Affective Disorder—or Winter Blues—it is caused by the lack of sunlight during the winter months. In an effort to help sufferers combat this illness, The Litebook Company, Medicine Hat, AB, has developed the patent-pending Litebook handheld light source. In addition to providing light therapy, the device also helps reset the body’s internal clock while traveling using an array of tiny white LEDs rated to last up to 100,000 hours. Product designers wanted to match the device’s application of LED technology with a slick new look, while keeping with their specs for a lightweight finished product. They chose an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and PC alloy resin from GE Plastics, Pittsfield, MA, to do the job.

“CYCOLOY C6200 balances the impact and heat resistance of a polycarbonate resin with the processability of an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, in a non-chlorinated, non-brominated flame-retardant engineered material,” says Eric Luftig, CYCOLOY resin product manager. The material, which features a melt flow rate of 14.5g per 10 min. at a testing condition of 260ºC with weight specification of 2.16 kg and a tensile strength of 9700 psi, is suitable for thin-wall applications, another requirement of the Litebook design. It is also amenable to special-effect coloring, which helped the Litebook team achieve the desired high-tech silver finish it visualized at conception. 

The 4,000 sq.-ft. GE ColorXpress Services facility in Selkirk, NY, analyzed a sample of the precise silver color under consideration. Within 48 hours, Litebook was provided the C6200 pellets it had requested. The Center also helps customers select, develop custom colors and manufacture a prototype part in a short period of time using the VisuaFx special effect platforms in plastics, which were created to simulate the effects of painted finishes such as metallics and pearl. A European roadster inspired Litebook’s metallic silver finish.

For more information:

GE Plastics, Pittsfield, MA. Free info—Circle 175. www.rsleads.com/202df-175