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Optimizing Plastics – Increasing Safety
When it comes to safety, cyclists in particular rely on Bayer MaterialScience and the high-performance plastic Makrolon®. Take bicyclists for instance. Many of them put their trust in helmets with an outside shell made of an extremely strong Makrolon® film (Makrofol®), regardless of whether they're participating in the Tour de France or out for a Sunday ride with the family. Motorcyclists are another example. For them, a stone on the road, thrown up by a passing car, can become a dangerous projectile. But it doesn't have to, if they wear helmets with visors manufactured from Makrolon®.
This durable polycarbonate is just as popular in other sports as well. Most eyewear for winter athletes is made of Makrolon®. The material is used for visors that protect the faces of ice-hockey players and bobsledders from injury. Even the glazing that shields spectators from the action at sporting events is usually made of Makrolon®.
"Impact resistance" is the term developers use for the property that has turned this polycarbonate into such a sought-after material. To put it simply, Makrolon® is virtually indestructible.
However, high impact resistance is just one quality criterion. The proven plastic from Bayer MaterialScience is further characterized by the freedom it gives designers to be creative, without compromising safety. To illustrate this advantage, Bayer researchers proudly point out innovations in the design of automotive headlights: before Makrolon® became an established material, headlights were more or less round disks. Today, the lenses extend around the fenders, giving cars that familiar dynamic appearance. The high-tech polycarbonate from Bayer is what made such a change possible in the first place.
New developments of this kind are all the more remarkable when you consider that the plastic is already over 50 years old – an eternity in the industrial age. A Bayer chemist submitted the patent application back on October 16, 1953 . It was a milestone in Bayer's history: like none other before it, the material became a resounding success and found its way into an ever-increasing number of new applications. Apart from being used in safety helmets and protective eyewear, it is also found in automotive engineering, architecture, sports, medical equipment and consumer goods.
Scientists at Bayer strive daily to add new chapters to this success story, because they know the importance of innovative strength for a business in today's world.
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