BASF's Ultramid® range of engineering plastics has a long and successful history of replacing metals. BASF polyamides (PA) enable lightweight, high-performance parts to be used in many fields, including automotive, electrical and electronics, mechanical engineering, and consumer goods. In recent years, plastic parts in these areas are facing great challenges due to the following trends: further miniaturization of parts and systems, accelerated development of electric transportation and electrification, increased contact with chemicals, and rising complexity of flame retardant systems. This places higher demands on the functional integration of the product. The market desperately needs new plastics that can be used in harsh conditions, enabling customers to develop new parts for future applications.
As this fundamental market challenge cannot be solved with a single material, BASF has launched several new polyphthalamides (PPAs) over the past four years. BASF has a very unique market position and can provide customers with a state-of-the-art product portfolio based on four PPA polymers, consisting of more than 50 composite specifications. The PPA portfolio includes Ultramid® Advanced N (PA9T), Ultramid® Advanced T1000 (PA6T / 6I), Ultramid® Advanced T2000 (PA6T / 66), and Ultramid® T KR (PA6T), which BASF has been selling since the 1990s. / 6). Supplemented by the excellent simulation tool Ultrasim® and rich application experience, BASF's PPA product portfolio is spread all over the world. With BASF's tailored application portfolio, customers can find the right materials for parts and designs.
Abdullah Shaikh, head of the global PPA team, said, "During the centralized development of PPA with customers from multiple industries, we feel that customers not only need the right materials, but also development partners who can accelerate innovation and increase feasibility. Meeting increasingly complex application requirements with high-quality products and services. With a deep understanding of polyamides and their applications, we leverage the PPA product portfolio to empower customers with innovation and understand new trends. We are committed to further customizing polymers Modification to continuously develop the product portfolio to expand and improve the adaptability and performance of the product. "
Custom Ultrami Advanced product portfolio specifications include injection and extrusion specifications for simple and stable processes, specifications with or without flame retardants, from colorless specifications to laser-markable black specifications, short fibers, long fibers, and carbon fiber reinforced specifications , And specifications containing different thermal stabilizers. Due to its partially aromatic chemical structure, all Ultramid Advanced products exhibit excellent mechanical strength at high temperatures. The hydrophobicity allows it to withstand high humidity and maintain strength when exposed to irritating media. The low water absorption guarantees high dimensional stability of plastic parts in humid environments. They maintain their strength during lead-free soldering and are increasingly used in the electrical and electronic industries.
Ultramid Advanced N: Engineer's Superhero
PA9T-based Ultramid Advanced N maintains mechanical strength at up to 100 ° C (glass transition temperature: 125 ° C), and has excellent chemical resistance, low water absorption, and excellent abrasion resistance . Ultramid Advanced N has a wide machining window and short cycle times. It enables customers to design lighter, smaller and stiffer plastic parts. Ultramid Advanced N addresses a wide range of applications: small connectors and feature-integrated housings for white goods, consumer electronics, and mobile devices. It can be used for components and structural parts near automobile engines and transmissions, as well as gears and other wearing parts. When other materials reach their limits, customers can choose from more than 20 Ultramid Advanced N specifications available today to develop complex parts that can handle harsh environments.
Ultramid Advanced T1000: Any thousand tasks
In the Ultramid series, the Ultramid Advanced T1000 (PA6T / 6I) product portfolio has the highest strength and stiffness, and its mechanical properties are stable at temperatures of 125 ° C (dry) and 80 ° C (conditions). It has extremely high moisture and corrosion resistance, which is superior to traditional polyamides and many other PPA materials on the market. It is used in the automotive industry, especially for components that must be kept strong and rigid when exposed to harsh environments. In addition, it is also found in all other industrial applications that require humidity or chemical resistance, such as thermostat housings and pumps, fuel circuits and selective catalytic reduction systems, automotive actuators and clutch components, coffee machines, Furniture joints and construction applications such as manifolds, heating systems and pumps. BASF offers about 10 specifications to the market, from standard specifications of glass fiber reinforcement with different stiffness, strength and toughness values, to special specifications with improved hydrolysis resistance, to long-fiber reinforced highly thermally stable composites.
Ultramid Advanced T2000: Excellent mechanical and insulation properties
Ultramid Advanced T2000 is the latest PA 6T / 66-based PPA composite product portfolio launched by BASF at the Chinaplas 2019. It exhibits excellent mechanical properties and dielectric strength at high temperatures. This is a particularly desirable combination of properties for connectors in the electrical and electronics industries. Ultramid Advanced T2000 is the ideal solution for parts that require stable high strength, heat and humidity resistance, and flame resistance over a wide temperature range. Compared with standard PA66, T2000 shows better impact strength, and lower water absorption guarantees higher dimensional stability. The high melting point of 310 ° C and the heat distortion temperature (HDT-A) of more than 280 ° C make it an ideal material for lead-free soldering without worrying about deformation. As a result, it can be used to make precision flame-retardant connectors, structural laptop parts, switches, and miniature circuit breakers. With more than ten different specifications, the Ultramid Advanced T2000 is also a generalist for metal replacement of auto parts, which can replace water valves, pumps, fuel system components, actuators, transmission sensors and clutches.
Ultramid T KR: one of the first PPAs on the market
Ultramid T KR was originally launched at the K show in 1989 and was one of the first PPAs on the market. In the past few decades, the product portfolio has been further developed and expanded to 15 specifications including fiberglass filled specifications, flame retardant specifications, and unfilled specifications and food contact specifications. PA6T / 6 has a melting point of up to 295 ° C and can still be easily processed. Its stiffness and strength are very high, especially in wet conditions; at the same time, it is also the toughest PPA. It has excellent heat resistance: The 0.4mm thick Ultramid T KR4340 G6 has a relative temperature index (RTI) of 160 ° C, which is one of the highest relative temperature indices in the entire polyamide market. It also has excellent flame retardancy with a flame retardancy rating of UL94 V-0. It is therefore ideally suited for electronic and electrical applications such as quick connectors, switchgear or relays, as well as electrical control units or vehicle sensors.
Use Ultrasim simulation tools to design precision parts for PPA materials and gain detailed application expertise
BASF's Ultrasim simulation tool can be used for part design in all industries. BASF has further developed calculation tools with custom models that allow parts manufactured to Ultramid Advanced specifications to also be simulated. Ultrasim simulation tools can predict the physical behavior of parts based on manufacturing parameters, fiber anisotropy, and load direction or speed. Mathematical component optimization can further provide the best design under given conditions. As a result, Ultrasim is a unique tool that can participate in customer part optimization at an early stage to ensure parts can handle the highest loads. With these accurate predictions, the costs and time associated with structural design and abrasive tool modification can be minimized.
With extensive experience and technical and material expertise in engineering plastics, BASF can achieve challenging applications and provide the most effective technical solutions for PPA applications in all industries. In the emerging market trend, centralized joint discussions and learning are needed to meet the challenges. BASF experts work with relevant experts from manufacturers, manufacturers and original equipment suppliers to provide extensive information on materials, new application development consulting and processing technology services.