Specialty chemicals company LANXESS is expanding its portfolio of halogen-free flame-retardant compounds based on polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and polyamide (PA 6, PA 66).
Alexander Radeck, Application Development and Application Division of LANXESS Performance Materials, said, "In terms of performance and manufacturing process, our new materials are comparable to or better than their counterparts' halogen-free flame retardants. We believe that sales of these products will be in Benefit from future global trends such as 'Industry 4.0', electric vehicles and digital networked construction systems, home appliances and consumer electronics, "
New features in the Pocan BFN PBT product line include Pocan BFN2502, BFN4221 and BFN6410, which previously covered 13%, 25% and 30% glass fiber reinforced materials. Pocan BFN2502 is a non-reinforced material, although its halogen-free flame retardant shows up to 7% elongation at break. It passed the UL 94 series standard fire test of the American testing agency, and achieved the best fire test of V-0 (0.4 mm). Another advantage is its high tracking resistance cti 600v (CTI A, comparable to the tracking resistance index, IEC 60112). Radeck added: "This is undoubtedly a great opportunity for the high electrical insulation performance and high dimensional stability required for flowable material components."
Pocan BFN4221 has a glass fiber content of 20%. Like its "sister product", this compound not only shows low corrosion resistance and high flame retardancy after metal contact, but also has good heat aging resistance and color stability for high contrast laser marking. Window and strong adaptability.
Customized for LED technology
Pocan BFN6410's target applications are lighting and LED technology. Radeck said: "More than 94% light reflectance at 450 nm, which means that when it is used as a housing material, it almost completely reflects LED light." Lightfastness. The material shows its good mechanical properties and low tendency to warp. Best in the UL94 series fire test of V-0 (0.75mm).
The end product glow wire test is good
In addition, PBT compounds currently under development show outstanding results from the glow wire test of IEC 60695-2-10. These tests evaluate the ignition and afterglow performance of plastics after contact with hot or incandescent metal parts. "Our materials prove that halogen and halogen-free flame retardants can be used for good glow-wire resistance in PBT compounds." The new material achieved very good results in the end product glow wire test (end product glow wire test IEC 60695-2-11). "This test is very rigorous because it has complex geometries and metal embeddings, which is usually more difficult than simple sample testing." Radeck explained. New materials under development are likely to pass the more stringent glow wire tests required by unmanned appliances ("flameless") IEC 60335-1 circuits.
High laser transmission
A new product in the halogen-free flame-retardant polyamide 66 grade is Durethan AKV30FN04LT. It is optimized for laser welding, which is increasingly used for welding electrical and electronic components because it is associated with limited thermal loads and is dust-free. Under black conditions, the light transmission of laser welding materials at standard wavelengths still exceeds 50% at a wall thickness of 1.5 mm. This ensures high input and high speed input of thermal energy during the welding process. Faster melting of conjoined areas for more cost-effective production.
"The heat-resistant components of polyamide 66 do not have any tendency to melt, which means that deposits do not actually form on the mold surface during injection molding," Radeck explained. The compound contains an XTS3 thermal stabilization system, so it can be used at higher continuous use temperatures. It passed the L 94 standard fire test with the best classification of V-0 (0.4 mm) and achieved a high electrical tracking resistance of 600 volts in the IEC 60112 test. One of its potential applications is safety switches.