Award-Winning F-150 LED Headlamps Molded With Bayer MaterialScience Polycarbonate

Pittsburgh, PA - While the 2015 Ford F-150 has made headlines for its ground-breaking lightweight design, less known is that lighting the way are LED headlamps made with a special optical grade of polycarbonate from Bayer MaterialScience LLC.

The F-150 is the first application of a single-collimator, all-plastic molded lens for both low- and high-beam LED headlamps. Makrolon LED 2245 polycarbonate is used in the lens for optical efficiency. Additional benefits of polycarbonate include a new level of design freedom compared with a traditional multi-lens design, as well as reduced cycle times and cost compared with glass.

This LED lens recently received a Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Automotive Innovation Award in the “Process, Assembly and Enabling Technologies” category.

“It’s gratifying to see that our Makrolon polycarbonate is helping the 2015 Ford F-150 light the way in LED headlamp advances that improve optical efficiency and design freedom,” said Michael George, market development - program manager, Automotive Lighting, Bayer MaterialScience LLC.