ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC | MATERIALS


In line with several other polyamide suppliers,


Radici recently launched electrically neutral grades of non-flame-retardant Radilon that minimize the risk of corrosion in electrical contacts. This is a family of materials containing an organic stabilisa- tion package in place of the more traditional inorganic types, but which provide the same levels of performance, even at constant high tempera- tures. “This is our answer to a lot of requests we have received from the industry,” says Spini. RadiciGroup has an eye on applications requiring high performance at high temperatures too. “We want to be more active, for example, in applications requiring resistance to lead-free soldering tempera- tures,” Spini says. For this, the company now offers Radiflam Aestus T2 HF, a polyphthalamide (PPA) that once again is HFFR and red phosphorus-free. Radici launched its PPA family at K2016.


Electric vehicles Spini expects the trend towards electric vehicles to provide further growth in polyamides. “Plug-in hybrids will certainly have a positive effect, since they will still have an internal combustion engine [which uses numerous parts in PA] and many battery system components can potentially be in a high-performance polyamide. “On pure EVs, the loss of the IC engine will


mean 10-12 kg less PA, but parts related to the electric drive provide potential for more than 15 kg more. Lightweighting in EVs is even more important than in cars with IC engines because of the limited range they have, so car makers need to put more emphasis on metal substitution. We are arranging our offering according to the new trend.” The need, especially in automotive, to reduce the space taken up by PCBs (printed circuit boards) while improving their quality, is helping steer PCB assembly technology towards reflow soldering, says DSM. “A reliable and versatile reflow capable material is the key enabler of effective and fast design and efficient production of the next genera- tion automotive electronic components,” it says, adding that its ForTii portfolio of PPAs based on PA4T offers a full range of reflow capable materials with flame retardance ranging from HB to V-0. Components such as connectors and over-mould-


ed lead frames in ForTii are less likely to blister during reflow than other PPAs, DSM says. HDTs of over 300°C ensure high pin retention in connectors, high weld-line strength prevents cracking of


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Heat ageing performance of polyamide compounds containing various stabiliser types Source: Radici


over-moulded metal lead frames, and high CTI (Comparative Tracking Index) and DS (Dielectric Strength) enable pitch sizes to be


reduced. ForTii and ForTii Ace (which has a higher


proportion of PA4T) offer much better mechanical performance in terms of elongation at break and weld-line strength than LCPs, DSM says. Their 600V CTI compares with LCP’s 175V. The DSM materials are said to offer the best blistering


resistance in the PPA family, either V-0 grades or HB grades. V-0 grades obtain higher than JEDEC MSL 2


ratings on all connector and components designs, which


means they have a shelf life of at least one


year without packaging. Parts moulded in HB grades can achieve the highest rating, JEDEC MSL1, which means shelf life without packaging is unlimited


Heavy glass loadings Over the course of the last 12 months, Lanxess has introduced several reinforced polyamide grades for E&E applications, with and without flame retardance packages, as well as halogen-free, flame-retardant PBT compounds. One innovation among various highly reinforced polyamide grades from Lanxess unveiled at last year’s Plastics in E&E Applications conference, hosted by Süddeutsches Kunststoffzentrum (SKZ) in Würzburg, Germany, was the halogen-free and red phosphorus-free, flame-retardant Durethan BKV 45FN04. This free-flowing PA6 with 45% glass fibre content achieves a UL 94 V-0 rating at 0.4 mm. “In the even tougher UL 94-5V test, the compound


March 2018 | INJECTION WORLD 31


Left: EV plugs and sockets are a growing market for polyamides


PHOTO: RADICI


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