Plastics for Smart Electrical and Electronics!

TAGS:  Automotive      Electrical & Electronics    

The use of smart electrical and electronic (E&E) plastics focuses on performance in terms of high heat capability, maintaining physical properties, chemical resistance, halogen free flame retardance, and all of the preceding aspects combined in one material package.

Let's stay updated on the latest advances in advanced E&E plastics technology to identify where the true potential and new opportunities exist for you and make better R&D decisions.

Lanxess’ Colorfast PA 6 Compounds for High Voltage Electronics

To begin with, the use of the color orange identifies Electric Vehicle (EV) plastic-molded and extruded parts, but maintaining long-term color stability is a challenge. Lanxess has met development success here and provides a wide range of orange-colored PolyAmide (PA, Nylon) 6 compounds for high voltage EV applications. These compounds are colored in the highly vivid RAL 2003 pastel orange color shade.


In a cost-cutting advantage for their molders and extruders, Lanxess offers Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Yellow Card certification for orange and other colored PA6 compounds, thus eliminating extensive time delays for these products in use. These compounds maintain colorfastness for 1,000 hours at 130°C to as high as 150°C.

Specific Lanxess colorfast PA6 grades include Durethan® BKV20FN01, BKV30FN04 and BKV45FN04, which are 45% glass reinforced, halogen-free flame retarded, easy melt flowing, and are the highest class UL V-0 rated at 0.4 millimeters thickness. They are targeted at EV battery components like:

• High voltage connectors, and
• Battery frames/endplates

They possess high voltage tracking resistance such as in the orange Durethan® BKV30FN04 PA6 grade, with a high comparative tracking index of 600 Volts.

Avient’s TPEs for 5G High-frequency Signal Transparency

Next, the 5G telecommunications revolution is about to transform everything from individual mobile phone users to entire industries. We’re at a historic technological juncture where seamless connectivity will become our everyday norm.


Avient has developed a novel, patentable Versaflex™ CE 3140 ThermoPlastic Elastomer (TPE). 5G high-frequency signal transparency through this TPE is the key benefit here. Also, it can be over-molded to thinner-walled PolyCarbonate (PC), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), PC/ABS, and COPolyEster (COPE) material systems.

It is application targeted because of its high millimeter Wave (mmWave) frequency transparency at consumer electronic device covers and housings in mobile phones and notebook computers. This signal transparency speeds up data transfer between electronic devices, where its higher frequency range nullifies any traditional interference from here-to-for lower 2-3G obstacles such as windows, trees, even electronic device casings. Overall, there is less signal degradation, higher data capacity, and extremely shorter data transmission times.

KH's Injection Mold Tooling for Automotive Seat Belt Buckle

Continuing, German molder Kunststoff Helmbrechts (KH) has technically advanced unique injection mold tooling for manufacturing the Audi A7 illuminated automotive seat belt buckle. It also incorporates a three-dimensional, center interior, white light panel, accompanied by a circumferential, one-micrometer thick chrome finish edge.


KH’s challenge in manufacturing the belt buckle was that the PolyCarbonate (PC) optical light fiber had to be surrounded by an inner and outer frame of PC/ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) without any shadow being created by the connectors. The KH tool-making team developed:

• A twin-turn tool in which the moveable and the (usually) fixed side turns, and
• A hot-runner system which is self-guided by means of individual plates and swiveled on a rotary axis.

Related Read: Autodesk's Timeless Moldflow® Cost Saving Automation in Injection Molding

Covestro’s PC or PC/ABS Blends for Automotive Headlamps 

Delving further, Covestro has pioneered a unique automotive headlight concept made completely in different types of PolyCarbonate (PC) or PC/ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), apart from a siloxane scratch-resistant coating, comprising three primary components and two secondary ones. The headlight incorporates no fewer than nine novel technologies in materials, processing, and design. The concept facilitates assembly and also disassembly since only the electronics need to be removed before the thermoplastics can be recycled altogether into new PC-based blends.


The outer PC lens is laser welded to a frame made in a Bayblend® PC/ABS blend, thus eliminating any traditional adhesive bonding that is a normal part of two-component molding, the other component being the housing/reflector in a thermally conductive compound. All electronics are placed either in or on the housing/reflector, so heat is conducted directly into the conductive material, eliminating aluminum heat sinks.

One electronic LED (Light Emitting Diode) chip is, for example, insert molded into place. The compound is not as conductive as aluminum, but it can keep the LEDs within two degrees of where it would be with aluminium. In turn, this leads to a reduction of 40% in weight and a 20% cost reduction.

The use of novel molding technologies means that far fewer assembly stages are required than in current headlamps. The headlamp incorporates around 70 small LEDs, not counting the larger LEDs used for the main beam.

Related Read: High Performance Polycarbonates for LED Applications

Ascend's Vydyne Portfolio for Electrical & Electronics

Finally, Ascend Performance Materials considerable PolyAmide (PA, Nylon) 66 resources are going into expanding their Vydyne portfolio of PA66 grades for connectors, working together with connector producers and electronics end-users to develop improved solutions, especially in terms of safety.

Many applications, most notably unattended appliances, require finished parts to pass the Glow Wire End Product Test (GWEPT) at 750°C. Ascend set out to exceed that performance level. For example, Vydyne® FR350J, an unreinforced flame retardant grade, enables parts to achieve a GWEPT rating of over 775°C to 800°C, exhibiting no flame ignition.


Vydyne® ECO366H, which is a non-halogenated unfilled FR PA66 responds to the trend for thin-walling in connectors with improved electrical performance. This grade achieves:

• A UL94 V-0 rating at 0.2mm, and
• Also has a Relative Thermal Index (RTI) electrical rating of 150°C

This, together with a Comparative Tracking Index (CTI) of over 600 Volts (V), makes it unique among unreinforced PA66 types. Vydyne® ECO366H is also being used in electrical terminal blocks.

In the automotive electronics area, there is rapid growth in the use of sensors as cars accumulate “smart” functionality. PA66-based solutions, unfilled and glass-reinforced, fit well here.

Growth is also expected in PA66 for battery systems in fully electric and hybrid power systems, where there will be a need for materials combining flame retardance and protection against higher voltages namely, 48-60V rather than traditional 12V units. Also anticipated are 1,000V chargers for fast charging in household garage spaces.

Polymers for Electrical and Electronics

View all the commercially available polymer grades for electrical & electronics, analyze technical data of each product, get technical assistance or request samples.

Smart Electrical & Electronic Plastics: What's New in 2021?

Join Dr. Donald Rosato to get expert insight to run parallelly with the climbing advancements of electronics market catering to the consumer demands and this new decade's industry standards.