What do plastic lenses for glasses and PET bottles have in common? Both are made of plastic, light in weight and unbreakable and in many situations are preferred to glass. To obtain maximum benefit for plastics in these applications, however, a number of properties need to be improved. Plastic lenses should be scratch resistant; PET bottles need a better barrier against oxygen and carbon dioxide to preserve the quality of a number of important food and beverage products. To maximize the benefits without sacrificing any of the fundamental properties, plastics are frequently used in combination with other materials, often another plastic, in blends, mulltilayer structures or by applying a coating to the plastic surface. SCHOTT HiCotec, a division of SCHOTT Spezialglas AG is a specialist company in the field of coatings initially developed for glass. More recently this same coating technology has been successfully applied to enhance the properties of a number of commercially important plastic materials. The company’s program includes the complete development of the required technology – from first sample to industrial-scale production, as well as the design and construction of coating machines. To read more, please visit: www.schott.com/magazine/english/info103/si103_06_hicotec.html?so=uk&lang...
