GE's Flame Retardant (FR) Flexible Noryl* Resins

GE Plastics recently announced that various grades of its
flame-retardant Flexible Noryl* resin for wire coating and
insulation have been listed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL)
under the UL1581 reference standard for electrical wires, cables,
and flexible cords, for up to 105 C end-use temperature rating.  
As a result, proposed wire and cable products incorporating
high-performance Flexible Noryl resins only need to undergo
short-term aging testing vs. a 150-day long-term aging test,
speeding time to market.  
    The UL758 safety standard is used by UL to evaluate wire and
cable applications and assign successful constructions an AWM
Style number and descriptive style page.  Each AWM Style Page
provides a set of criteria for an AWM construction that other
manufacturers must adhere to.  Since Flexible Noryl resin was
listed, approximately 30 new AWM Style Pages have been approved
for various products that incorporate the GE materials.  Most
of these applications use Flexible Noryl resins as a replacement
for PVC wire coatings to meet end-customer requirements for
non-halogenated flame retardants.  
    Flexible Noryl resins were introduced in 2005 as part of GE's
ecomagination* initiative to help customers solve tough
environmental challenges.  The materials also deliver
excellent performance properties such as excellent temperature
and flammability, better abrasion resistance than cross-linked
polyethylene (XLPE), excellent chemical resistance, and lower
specific gravity (1.03) than either PVC or PE.  Flexible Noryl
resins are an excellent material candidate for thin- and
ultra-thin-wall coatings that can significantly reduce weight
and mass.