Cologne – As in previous years, the specialty chemicals company LANXESS is participating in the “fuse box meets dryer – Plastics in E&E Applications” conference organized by the Süddeutsches Kunststoffzentrum. The focus of the company’s appearance is on halogen-free, flame-retardant polyesters and polyamides as well as heat-stabilized polyamides. The latter is also the topic of a talk that will held by an expert from the LANXESS High Performance Materials (HPM) business unit. Another focus is on the special services that support customers from the electrical and electronics industry (E&E) along the entire component development chain. “Our broad product range meets worldwide standards of the electrical and electronics industry. Our customers also benefit from our development expertise. Together with them, we are working on new materials and technologies that will help current E&E trends to break through,” explains Marc Marbach, head of the E&E sales segment at HPM.

Extremely flame-retardant and at the same time, thermally resistant to heat aging

The Pocan BFN series of halogen-free, flame-retardant polyesters specifically designed for E&E applications now includes an unreinforced version and several reinforced products with up to 25 percent glass fiber by weight. All achieve the best classification of V-0 (0.4 millimeters) in flammability testing pursuant to the UL 94 (Underwriter Laboratories Inc.) standard. In addition, they also exhibit excellent heat aging resistance. As such, their relative temperature indices pursuant to UL 746B measure at least 140 °C. Further strengths include high stability against UV light, high tracking resistance, and a low tendency to corrode when in contact with metals. Despite its halogen-free flame retardancy, the unreinforced Pocan BFN2502 exhibits a high strain at break of over seven percent. “This easy-flowing material is particularly suitable for components that need to maintain dimensional stability while providing permanent electrical insulation,” explains Alexander Radeck, application developer at HPM. An additional highlight is a reinforced compound that achieves excellent results both on test specimens in glow wire tests pursuant to IEC 60695-2-13 and on finished parts in tests pursuant to IEC 60695-2-11. The development product has the potential to pass the more stringent glow wire tests pursuant to IEC 60335-1 for unattended household appliances (“no flame”).

Easy to color – flame retardant packages without red phosphorus

The halogen-free flame-retardant polyamide 6 and polyamide 66 compounds (PA 6 and 66) in the Durethan FN04 series contain 25 to 45 percent glass fiber by weight. They exhibit long-term thermal stability and particularly high tracking resistance. Their flame retardant packages do not contain red phosphorus, making them easy to color. An outstanding example product is the polyamide 6 Durethan BKV45FN04, which is reinforced with 45 percent glass fiber by weight and has achieved V-0 (0.4 millimeters) classification in UL 94 flammability tests. The easy-flowing construction material exhibits excellent high-voltage tracking resistance. According to Mr. Radeck: “Its exceptional strength and rigidity make it the ideal material for structural components and an excellent substitute for thermosets and die-cast metals.”

Talk on heat-stable PA compounds

In his talk entitled “Durethan Polyamide Compounds for High Temperature Applications,” Thomas Linder, specialist in polyamide product development at HPM, will first describe the differences between PA 6 and 66 compounds in high temperature applications. He will then present heat stabilization systems for Durethan such as XTS3, which have been specially developed for E&E components. These systems do not require metals and halides, which minimizes contact corrosion in components in contact with metals. The third part of his talk will be devoted to the new XTS2 stabilization system, which makes the continuous use of PA 66 compounds at temperatures up to 230 °C possible. Mr. Linder will give his talk on June 5, 2018 at 11:20 a.m.