Aerospace
During the Second World war, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was widely used in military aviation as an alternative to glass for airplane windows.
PMMA has many advantages over glass: allows for the design of complex shapes, requires few metal supports that can block the field of vision, prevents optical distorsions, makes the final product substantially lighter.
ALTUGLASTM PMMA sheet can be found on all types of airplanes (gliders, recreational/commercial/military aircraft):
- cockpits
- portholes
- windshields
- exterior lighting
- helipcopter windscreens
The long list of advantages of ALTUGLASTM PMMA makes it the preferred product for aerospace windows:
- Good long-term mechanical peformance
- Resistance to chemicals, heat, cracking, shock, weather and temperature fluctuations
- Superior surface quality (minimum impurities)
- Hardly any optical distortion or deviation
In sectors where safety is a top concern, both the mechanical and optical quality of ALTUGLASTM PMMA and the reproducibility of its characteristics have to be flawless.