ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC | MATERIALS
Polymer producers and compounders are pushing back the boundaries of material performance in order to meet the needs of today’s electrical and electronics manufacturers. By Peter Mapleston
E&E brings out the best in material developers
Demands made by OEMs in the electrical and electronics (E&E) sector for performance from thermoplastics could well be the toughest anywhere – and they are getting tougher. Insulation obviously, tracking resistance, fire performance, strength and stiffness, flow, colourability… the list goes on. Polymer suppliers and compounders are
responding to these demands with a string of innovations, in engineering thermoplastics – poly- amides mostly, but also polyesters and polycarbon- ates – and mid-range materials like ABS. PVC is demonstrating its great versatility too. The E&E segment constitutes about 12% of the
overall market (by volume) for polyamides, thanks to their high electrical and thermal resistance, says Domo Engineering Plastics. “Increasingly strin- gent fire codes and flammability requirements, both in building materials and home appliance production, are keeping demand for flame retard- ants steadily high,” it says. “The electrical industry is amongst the most demanding in terms of safety, reliability and functionality requirements.” Domo Engineering Plastics (which acquired the Engineering Plastics business unit of the Italian Aquafil Group, a leading player in PA6, in 2013) offers a broad portfolio of flame retardant grades to serve this market. It says its Domamid UL-listed products are used in applications that include
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industrial switches, fans, electrical fuses, plugs and sockets. The company offers halogen-free flame retardant (HFFR) types, as well as grades using halogenated and red phosphorous-based flame- retardant systems. At the beginning of the year, Domo added another UL-listed family, Domamid FR 6G15- 30GT96M. These are based on PA6, reinforced from 15 to 30% glass fibre, achieving a Glow Wire Flammability Index of 960 and a UL94 rating of V-2. Target applications include electric switches and miniature circuit breakers, MCBs. The products are available in all colours and can be made laser- markable with YAG and UV technologies. Laser marking can be obtained both with light marking on dark colour and dark marking on light colour. Domo has also extended its Econamid range derived from pre-and post-consumer waste such as carpets and textiles, with three new flame retardant materials.
More HFFRs Noting that thermosets have been widely used as insulation and safety materials in electrical applica- tions for decades, Italian compounder Lati says that “modern markets, however, require simpler, safer and more flexible solutions during the converting process, which also offer recycling
March 2018 | INJECTION WORLD 29
Main image: PolyOne says PVC is one of several options for various components in LED lighting systems, including housings, reflectors and optics
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