ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC | MATERIALS
New electro-mobility applications are making increasing demands on plastics for electrical and electronic components. Mark Holmes finds that new resins and compounds for the injection moulder are meeting this challenge
E-mobility drives up performance of plastics
Current plastic electrical and electronic compo- nents require more than good antistatic or conduc- tive properties. They need ever higher levels of heat stabilisation and flame retardancy, while maintaining good mechanical properties and water and chemical resistance, in a lightweight material. Resin manufacturers and compounders are developing new plastics for injection moulders for the electrical and electronic (E&E) sector that are meeting these increasingly stringent demands. In particular, the rapid growth of electro-mobility applications for electric vehicles is requiring enhanced properties in high voltage situations, as well as improvements in long-term colour stability for identification purposes. The High Performance Materials (HPM) business
unit of Lanxess has developed a wide range of new products relating to electric mobility. “Our objective with our materials is to help the various types of drive system involved in electric mobility to break through on the market,” says Michael Zobel, head of HPM. “We are focusing on a series of different technologies, from mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid to electric-only vehicles. Our developments are also aimed at additional mobility trends such as autono- mous driving and digital connectivity.” New HPM materials include orange, heat-stabi- lised compounds for high-voltage applications; materials that prevent electrical corrosion upon contact with live metal parts; and halogen-free flame-retardant materials for components such as battery cell holders and cover plates.
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The use of the colour orange to identify live, plastic-sheathed components is becoming well- established in electric vehicles, but it is a challenge to develop orange compounds that exhibit high colour stability over the long term. Lanxess has developed a wide range of orange-coloured polyamide and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) compounds for these high-voltage applications. The products will be coloured in the highly vivid RAL 2003 tone. Another colour variant is almost ready to be introduced. The compounds will be available both in a standard formulation and with thermal stabilisation, which will help to improve colour stability when the component is exposed to heat. “We want to provide a Yellow Card listing from the US testing organisation Underwriters Laborato- ries for all the compounds we offer, which means that the moulders will not have to colour the product themselves nor to undergo the time-con- suming UL certification process,” says Julian Haspel, manager of the e-Powertrain team, which has recently been established in the Lanxess HPM business unit. “They can deploy the compounds instantly, which helps to cut costs.” The standard versions of the compounds still
exhibit sufficiently high colour stability after 1,000 ageing hours at 130°C. “The thermally stabilised material settings even have the potential to withstand 1,000 hours at 150°C without the orange colour changing significantly,” adds Haspel. Among the first product types to feature the new colour are the glass-fibre-reinforced, halogen-free
October 2019 | INJECTION WORLD 17
Main image: Thermoplastics need higher levels of heat stabilisation and flame retardancy in demanding e-mobility applications
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
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