Additives | thermally conductive
LED lighting is one of many potential application areas for thermally conductive plastics. Peter Mapleston takes a look at some of the additive technologies available to compounders aiming to develop thermal management solutions
Lights on but heat off
Whether it’s for E&E applications, automotive, or other branches of industry, the demand for thermally conductive plastics is cranking up as end users begin to appreciate how such materials can score over metals in terms of down-sizing, complex geometries, lightweight construction, improved functional integration, part consolidation, and more cost-effi cient production. And aside from replacement opportunities, these new polymer materials may also create totally new markets. Lighting is one key market and a variety of com- pounds, mostly based on polyamides and thermoplastic polyesters, have been developed for LED lamp and luminaire applications. According to at least one polymer compound supplier, there has been a particu- larly sharp rise in demand for thermoplastic materials that meet specifi c thermal conductivity requirements from the lighting sector and further afi eld. The reasons for this include the continuing reduction in size and increase in power of electronic devices and assemblies, which results in the generation of increasing amounts of heat that must be dissipated in a controlled manner. In the case of LEDs, for example, effective cooling is essential to prevent declining brightness or lifespan. At compounding company Lehmann & Voss,
Customised Polymer Materials Global Product and Marketing Manager Thomas Collet points to a recently developed product, Luvocom 1800-9333/WT. This
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PET-based compound offers high thermally conductivity – 8 W/mK – but remains electrically insulating, thanks to the use of a new boron nitride (BN) from 3M. Collet says that to demonstrate the possibilities that
can be realized with this and other Lehmann & Voss products, the company worked in cooperation with 3M and also injection moulding company RF Plast and circuit board producer Häusermann in Germany on a project to develop an innovative high performance, highly integrated LED torch. The torch features a fully integrated circuit board, which is over-moulded with the Luvocom compound. As the polymer compound is bright white it also functions as a refl ector for the LED light. The high power LED lamp produces light equivalent to a traditional 40 Watt light bulb. Using a conventional polymer material for the torch body would result in the temperature rising up to 150°C around the LED, Collet says, causing it to overheat. “Thanks to the highly conductive material the temperature around the LED is only 73°C,” he says. At the housing, the temperature reaches no more than 40°C. The developers say the high-performance torch is reliable, durable and light, and because of the functional integration, costs are relatively low. The project used 3M’s Boron Nitride (BN) Cooling
Main image: LED lighting is a key area of interest for thermally
conductive compound producers
Above:
Lehmann & Voss collabo-
rated with 3M, RF Plast and Häusermann to develop this LED torch
February 2016 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 43
PHOTO: LANXESS
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