WIRE AND CABLE | TECHNOLOGY
HFFR demands drive cable innovation
Halogen-free flame retardant compounds aim to meet a raft of new regulations in industries ranging from construction to automotive. Mark Holmes reports on new developments
Demand for wire and cable compounds is high and requirements are becoming increasingly challeng- ing across industries as diverse as construction, automotive, electrical and electronic, and telecom- munications. Wire and cable compounders are looking for flame retardant solutions that are halogen-free while continuing to meet the stringent regulations applied in these sectors. Meanwhile, productivity in cable production remains a top priority and solutions are being introduced that allow streamlining of manufacturing processes. This is particularly evident in the growth area of crosslink- able halogen-free flame retardant compounds. Wire and cable is an important application sector for Swiss compounding machinery maker Buss. Despite a 2020 slowdown — almost exclu- sively attributable to Covid-19 — the company reports that it is now observing strong growth in demand for its kneader extruder machines in the field of halogen-free flame retardant (HFFR)
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materials, especially for crosslinkable compounds. “The steady expansion of photovoltaic technol-
ogy, as well as electric mobility, are contributing to the increasing demand for crosslinkable HFFR cable compounds. Construction Products Regula- tion (CPR) or specifications for automotive cables always require high performance materials. In turn, this drives further development of better perform- ing compounds and more efficient compounding technologies,” says François Loviat, Head of Process at the company. “Several applications require the use of
crosslinked materials, for example, where superior temperature, wear or oil resistance is demanded. This is typically the case in the automotive and photovoltaic industries. The main drawback of most crosslinked polyolefin-based cable materials is that they have a tendency to ‘drip’ when burning. This contributes to the spread of fire and limits the performance of crosslinkable compounds during
May 2021 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 15
Main image: Flame retard- ance – increas- ingly using halogen-free systems – is a key growth area in cable applications
IMAGE: TOLSA
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