Vialis Uses BASF Specialty Plastics in Traffic Signals
January 24 , 2006
Greater design freedom and better energy balance - for Netherlands-based traffic systems manufacturer Vialis these are excellent reasons to use plastic housings instead of conventional aluminum housings. Development staff at Vialis selected BASF's Luran®S for the ViaLina traffic signal - the winner of the iF Gold Award 2005. This material provides the high-quality appearance and stability demanded, alongside good weathering resistance. Luran S is an acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate (ASA) copolymer - part of the PlasticsPlusTM line from BASF's styrenics.
Functionality and energy efficiency
"Design of traffic signals hasn't changed in the last 40 years, so the time had come to modernize the appearance of our products," explains Hans Dirkze, who heads traffic engineering at Vialis. Dutch processor HSV searched for a material that combined design freedom with good processability and the necessary mechanical properties. "Test programs showed that Luran S has substantially better flow properties than conventional materials such as ABS and polystyrene and is more suitable for ViaLina's complex shape," says Luc Gysels from market development at BASF Specialty Polymers. The material also met every requirement relating to UV resistance, paintability, and impact resistance.
Previous traffic signal housings were designed for conventional incandescent lamps, but new-design traffic signals have energy-saving LED lamps which need slimmer, less bulky housings. "This housing uses a flame-retardant grade of Luran S with V 0 classification. Its guaranteed minimum performance level is that all flame is extinguished within 10 minutes after outbreak of any fire," says Ronald Kersten from Research and Development at processor HSV.
Another motivator for using plastics was the energy balance study carried out by Intron institute in the Netherlands on traffic signals made from plastics and from aluminum. Taking into account the costs of raw materials, production, and transport, together with recycling factors, plastics have significantly better energy efficiency.
Vialis and HSV
Vialis is a member of the Dutch VolkerWessels group and is Benelux's market leader in traffic and mobility systems. The company now has 1000 plastics-based traffic signals installed in the Netherlands. HSV Technical Moulded Parts bv is a leading company in the design and production of molded packaging, insulation materials and engineered components. It also develops and produces molded products from thermoplastics using the low-pressure injection molding process.
iF Award
The iF Award has been inaugurated in 1953. With annually over 1800 participants from more than 30 different countries, the iF Award is one of the world's key design competitions.
PlasticsPlus™
PlasticsPlus is BASF's name for a specialty plastics line that includes high-performance styrenics, biodegradable materials, and foams. Wherever exacting requirements have to be met, the experts and products from PlasticsPlus supply a particularly high level of diversity, reliability, partnership, and innovation.
