In recent years, with the growth of mobile and portable demand, consumers have higher and higher requirements for product appearance quality, and with the promotion of new technologies such as 5G and the Internet of Things, lightweight, stylish, and intelligent have become important trends in the development of consumer electronics . And how to meet the thin and light design while taking into account performance and design? In addition to further improvements in structural design, the choice of materials is also very important.
1. Application advantages of CFRTP materials in the field of consumer electronics
Continuous Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites (Continuous Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic composites, CFRTP) are based on thermoplastic resin, continuous fiber as reinforcing material, through resin melt impregnation, extrusion and other processes to form high strength, high rigidity, high toughness, New recycled thermoplastic composite materials.
CFRTP application advantages in the consumer electronics field:
●Lightweight and high-strength, the strength is comparable to metal, but the weight is lighter than metal, meeting the trend of light and thin design;
●Good impact resistance, strong energy absorption capacity, improve product safety performance;
●Good design flexibility, easy processing and forming, and can be combined with other processes to achieve functional integration;
●The material has good fatigue and corrosion resistance, which can extend the life of the product;
●Carbon fiber material has good thermal conductivity and electromagnetic shielding performance;
●It can achieve high-quality surface finish and good appearance effect;
●The material is environmentally friendly and recyclable.
2. The layout and some application cases of CFRTP material companies in the consumer electronics field such as laptops
Laptop is a small, mobile and portable device. As technology changes, thinness and lightness have become an important trend in the development of laptops. The shell is the protective structure of the pen motor body, and it also affects the heat dissipation, aesthetics and weight of the pen.
The continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite material with light weight, high strength and good processing performance can meet the requirements of thin and light laptop structure. The performance of the sheet can be adjusted according to the strip lamination design. Through the integration of molding and injection design functions, cost-effective batch processing can be realized .
In addition to laptops, CFRTP materials are widely used in the shells of electronic products such as mobile phones and tablets.
1. Toray carbon fiber composite materials are used in a variety of laptop shells
As early as 2013, Sony cooperated with TORAY to use unidirectional carbon fiber composite materials to create thin and light laptop casings, and launched a variety of laptop products with carbon fiber composite casings, such as the VAIO SX14 in the past two years.
In addition to VAIO, HP Spectre 13 Ultrabook D-cover also uses TenCate Cetex®TC920 PC/ABS carbon fiber woven laminate to help achieve a lightweight, thin profile, and heat dissipation performance. The HP Spectre bottom case is first thermoformed, and then overmolded to achieve details such as closures and brackets.
Unlike metals, this innovative design provides the advantages of composite materials (light weight/high strength) while minimizing radiant heat.
2. Covestro has developed a continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite computer case
Covestro's Maezio® continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite material combines the advantages of high-quality appearance, light weight, high strength, multiple processing methods, and recyclability, and can be widely used in automotive transportation, electronic and electrical, sports and leisure, consumer goods and other fields .
Compared with the traditional aluminum-magnesium alloy, the laptop casing made of Maezio® can be lightened by about 15%. Compared with the metal material, the composite material casing has similar good bending and torsional rigidity.
Covestro's Maezio® continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite material is applied to the laptop case
Covestro Maezio® continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite material applied to the back cover of mobile phone
3. LANXESS Tepex continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites are used in laptop, tablet and mobile phone shells
Typical applications of LANXESS Tepex continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites in the IT industry include covers for laptops, tablets and smartphones. LANXESS has also developed a new series of Tepex materials from reusable polycarbonate water bottles, which can be used in the shells of consumer electronics such as laptops.
4. Development and application of SABIC carbon fiber composite polycarbonate in 1mm thick laptop casing
The feasibility study conducted by SABIC involved the use of two thermoplastic composite materials (carbon fiber reinforced polycarbonate tape laminate and short glass/polycarbonate-copolymer compound) to produce a laptop/tablet shell with a thickness of 1 mm. Meet all relevant mechanical and aesthetic requirements.
Research shows that hybrid thermoplastic composite design may be a viable solution for the challenging consumer electronics market.