Thermal management | electrical & electronic
The trend to more compact electronic devices is driving demand for improved thermal management. Peter Mapleston and Chris Smith review recent developments in thermally conductive additives and compounds
Engineering cool solutions
Increasing use of electrical components with high energy density has heightened the need for materials that provide effi cient dissipation of the heat produced. LED lighting, applications for which are growing at a dramatic pace, provides the most obvious example of this trend. But numerous other electronic and electrical components can also benefi t from the use of thermally conductive plastics that can be moulded cost-effectively into shapes that maximise their potential. The LED lighting market alone is expected to grow
annually at a rate of 34% from 2010-2016, according to PolyOne, and the market will amount to a value of almost US$94 billion by 2020. One of the big areas of development for producers is cost reduction; LED lamp costs are expected to drop by 55% by 2017 and lumi- naire prices by 30%. Heat sinks will be one area of attention as in many cases current aluminium designs are over-engineered, claims Philippe Chabanne, market manager for electrical & electronics at PolyOne Engineered Materials Europe. “While the thermal conductivity of a specialty plastic is signifi cantly lower than aluminium, with proper design it can still manage heat just as effectively as aluminium.” Chabanne says PolyOne continues to see opportuni-
ties for manufacturers to replace metal in electronics applications requiring thermal management. “The advantages for the manufacturer include an ability to reduce weight and structural complexity, to control more of the logistics and value chain, to create new designs, and ultimately to lower total cost to manufacture while maintaining application performance,” he says. PolyOne is collaborating with others to develop and
test new grades of its Therma-Tech thermally conduc- tive plastics to replace thermosets and metal for functional heat sink printed circuit boards. “These specialty plastics must combine fl ame resistance, dielectric properties and resistance to high tempera- tures so that they can withstand lead-free refl ow soldering in surface mount technology (SMT) during assembly of electronics components,” Chabanne says.
www.injectionworld.com
They also have to effectively manage heat build-up generated by higher-heat producing electronic compo- nents, and act as a heat dissipater in assembled systems. Excess temperature is a major cause of failure in electronic systems.
Better than metal Another major compounder, RTP Company has developed specialty compounds with thermally conductive and EMI shielding properties, also intended for replacement of metal housings used in various E&E applications. “Our newest compounds actually exceed the thermal conductivity of stainless steel,” says Neil Hardwick, conductive products marketing manager. He says the company offers compounds containing metal
March 2015 | INJECTION WORLD 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74