LANXESS expands customer service for the electrical and electronics industry

Besides the automotive industry, the electrical and electronics (E&E) industry is the most important application area for LANXESS thermoplastic compounds Durthan (polyamide 6 and 66) and Pocan (polybutylene terephthalate)
.
The specialty chemicals company expects demand for these flame-retardant plastics to rise sharply due to factors such as e-mobility and increasing digitalization in all areas of life
.
Processors of these plastics are supported by extensive technical services such as demolding and flow analysis
.
LANXESS has recently expanded its range of services in this field
.
The company has developed an experimental injection moulding mould for applied parts in its own polymer processing technology laboratory at the Dormagen plant
.
The mold reflects typical challenges encountered during injection molding of flame retardant polyamide and polyester compounds
.

Katharina Schütz, project engineer in the Polymer Processing Laboratory of the High Performance Materials (HPM) business unit, explains: "We want to use this mold for practical analysis of new flame-retardant and hydrolytically stable materials
.
First of all, our goal is to identify them in advance special processing characteristics so that we can adjust the formulation as needed during the product development phase
.
Second, we want to provide our flame retardant plastics processors with specific processing recommendations for mass production
.
”

Reproduce and solve client challenges in a practice-based manner

Most flame retardant thermoplastics have a narrower processing window than standard products due to the use of additives
.
If the process parameters are not selected ideally, it may lead to deposits on the mold or surface defects of the part
.
Suboptimal processing also often compromises the mechanical properties of the compound
.
"This experimental mold allows us to reproduce these challenges in a practice-based way and find ways to improve," says Katharina Schütz
.

Developed by HPM plastics experts, the injection moulding mould is a powerful housing-like demonstration part that integrates many aspects from different application areas
.
Its complex geometry exhibits abrupt changes in wall thickness, openings, larger planar sections, ribs and rough "fakes" of plug connections
.
Different geometries of snap-fits (similar to snap-fits on terminal blocks) are also integrated with different diameter screw bosses
.

Material analysis testing on components

"Palm-sized components can also be used for mechanical, electrical and flame retardant testing to evaluate the performance of materials based on a variety of process parameters and actual geometries," explains Sarah Luers, electrical and electronic application development specialist
in the HPM business unit.
Tests performed by the Parts Test Center include drop tests, tracking resistance measurements in accordance with UL 746A (Comparative Tracking Index, CTI) or glow wire tests in accordance with IEC 60695-2-11 to IEC 60695-13
.

HiAnt: a cost-recovery service offering

All of these services for project partners are part of the HiAnt brand, which encompasses the broad expertise offered by the HPM business unit in materials, applications, processes and technology development
.
This support covers all stages of application development - from conceptual design, material optimization, mechanical and rheological simulations to the start of series production
.

Stress Crack Analysis of Overmolded Metal Parts

HPM is continuously expanding its processing toolbox so that it can continue to provide effective support to customers in the E&E industry
.
In the future, experimental molds for plastic-metal hybrid parts will also be used
.
"Plastic parts with overmolded metal inserts are prone to stress cracks when exposed to large temperature fluctuations
.
We hope to use the new hybrid mold to investigate and improve the crack resistance of the materials we have developed specifically for these applications," Sarah Luers said
.
The business unit also plans to use tooling to validate simulation models to predict stress cracks based on factors such as material, part geometry and machining parameters
.