Last Thursday, at the 5th Home Appliances / 3C Electronic Plastics Technology Forum, Li Wei, a technical manager from WACKER Chemical, shared with the audience "Innovative Applications of WACKER Silicon Materials in 3C and Wearable Devices." Li Wei mentioned that in recent years, with the development of 5G, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and other technologies, consumer electronics products represented by 3C and wearable devices have become continuous growth points in the consumer field. As product performance continues to upgrade, consumers want them to be lighter and more comfortable to wear, while keeping their online value.
Unlimited market potential for silicone materials
Due to the unique silicon-oxygen backbone molecular structure of the silicone material, it has excellent mechanical and high-low temperature resistance, and has excellent hydrophobicity, low flammability, dielectric properties, biocompatibility, and weather resistance, ozone resistance, and resistance. Radiation capability, etc., silicone elastomer materials are also gradually being widely used in 3C and wearable devices, such as headphone jackets, speaker bases, wristbands, VR lenses, and waterproof seals for electronic products. Statistics show that the demand for silicone rubber in the global electronic and electrical market reached 167,000 tons in 2018, and is expected to reach 250,000 tons by 2025, with an average annual compound growth rate of 5.9%.
Excellent waterproof sealing performance
The uniqueness of electronic products determines that the core part of the integrated circuit board cannot be exposed to water, otherwise it will cause irreversible damage to the product. In order to cope with a variety of use environments, such as underwater or high humidity environments, the waterproofness of electronic products is particularly important.
Reliable elastomer sealing materials are the basis for waterproofing. WACKER provides many different specifications of LSR materials for the preparation of silicone parts, assembly for waterproof sealing, or bonding with rigid composite materials (such as plastic, metal, glass, etc.) directly after the primer coating process to ensure long-term and reliable Sealing performance.
ELASTOSIL® LR 3003 series: a wide range of hardness (Shore A 3 ~ 90), with excellent pressure change performance and resilience performance, low VOC level can be achieved in one hour after secondary vulcanization.
ELASTOSIL®LR 3038 K1 CN series: hardness range from Shore A 20 ~ 70, with excellent tear resistance
Compact design for lightweight wear
The compact design of consumer electronics products requires higher and higher dimensional accuracy, and the width is narrower and narrower, which makes the cost pressure of single component materials relatively small. MIPG (2K LSR) technology is applied to the sealing of plastic and metal shells, and a multi-functional design concept is achieved through a single injection molding.
WACKER's self-adhesive silicone materials address the design trend of "compactness." Self-adhesive silicone can bond most thermoplastic materials and metal substrates, and does not adhere to the hardened steel mold of the inner surface of conventional molds. It can be processed by co-injection molding. It is very suitable for hard / soft composite applications and can be widely It is used for waterproof sealing and structural parts of consumer electronics products, realizing precise molding, no primer treatment, simplifying procedures, improving production efficiency and product reliability.
Low friction material for comfortable feel
The wearing feel of 3C and wearable devices has also attracted much attention as consumers' demand for quality has risen. Structural materials that feel smooth and easy to clean and dust are also increasingly welcomed by the market. In response to this market demand, WACKER offers special low friction coefficient LSR materials, which can be widely used in wristbands, earphone jackets, and shell coatings to improve product feel and quality.
Representative features of low-friction grade materials-ELASTOSIL® LR 3066-made parts are distinguished by:
50-70% lower coefficient of friction compared to standard silicone
No silicone oil oozing out of molded parts, no need for oil treatment
Can maintain long-lasting surface smoothness and excellent touch
Anti-fouling and dust-proof, easy to clean
Has excellent mechanical properties