Lightweight construction, food industry, power electronics - new materials

The compounds portfolio has been substantially extended over recent months. New products include materials designed for the food and electronics industries, as well as granulates with integrated hollow glass microspheres.

Plastics offering weight benefits

TECACOMP LW (short for low weight) is a thermoplastic material whose low specific weight makes it ideal in lightweight construction applications, helping to save both costs and valuable resources. Hollow glass microspheres known as bubbles are added to the polymer matrix to reduce the density of the material. The glass bubbles, which are manufactured by Ensinger’s co-operation partner 3M in Neuss, have a diameter of just a few microns and feature a stable but extremely thin glass wall. They form a permanent bond with the polymer matrix, reducing the weight of the plastic. With glass bubbles making up 40 per cent of the weight of the material, for instance, a density of around 0.85 g/cm³ can be achieved for PA6 and 1 g/cm³ for PEEK. Compared to previous types of reinforcement, e.g., with glass fibres, weight savings of up to 43 per cent are possible using TECACOMP LW.

Depending on the plastic type used and the specific project requirements, adding the glass microspheres can actually improve a material’s mechanical properties. TECACOMP LW is less susceptible to warping and has a tangibly lower coefficient of expansion, meaning that temperature changes cause only minimal dimensional alteration. The reduced processing shrinkage, isotropic properties and volume-related cost benefits are all additional positive effects for injection moulding companies.

Thanks to its low specific weight and good mechanical properties, this technically sophisticated material is ideal for use in a whole host of applications, including the aviation, transport and automotive industries.


Safety for food processing applications

Because of their low weight, durability and easy-clean properties, plastics are a highly popular option for use in food processing plants. But no matter how high the quality of the material is, it is never possible to completely eliminate any risk of fragments infiltrating the food products and this type of foreign body entering the food chain can have severe consequences. Using detectable plastics, this type of risk can be prevented. The new compound TECACOMP ID is produced by the addition of metallic fillers to the base polymer. If a component made from this material should ever break, all plastic residues can be reliably identified using metal detectors within the framework of basic standardized process controls.

As the amount of filler is kept to a minimum, the essential properties of the Ensinger ID materials comply largely with the profile of the basic polymers used. All popularly used engineering plastics (including PP, PA66, POM and PEEK) can be equipped with metallic fillers. On request, preparations are possible which are suitable for contact with food (in conformity with FDA requirements, Directive 2000/72/EC and EU Regulation no. 10/2011).

In co-operation with Rondotest, a specialist in impartial testing and validation of the entire infrastructure, Ensinger develops custom-tailored compounds for special applications.

Compounds for cooling solutions

Thermally conductive plastics are ideally suited for cooling assemblies used in the field of power electronics. The thermally conductive Ensinger plastic TECACOMP TC can be freely formed by injection moulding which opens up a whole new degree of creative freedom for the design of effective cooling elements or insert moulding of complete assemblies with a sturdy, heat-dissipating enclosure. Depending on the fillers used, the components provide thermal conduction of between 5 and 20 W/(m•K).

Unlike metals, thermally conductive plastics can also be customized to provide electrically insulating properties – combining several functions in one. By adding the right ceramic fillers, a single plastic element can fulfil a whole range of functions, for instance fixing, cooling or electrically insulating several electronic components at the same time, as well as providing protection against environmental influences.

Ensinger offers a wide selection of thermally conductive compounds, for example based on the polymers PA, PC, PP, PPS and PEEK. By using ground-breaking new additives, it is possible to reduce the degree of filling to minimize any impact on the original properties of the starting material.

For special applications, Ensinger also adds graphite or carbon fibres to the granulate, or uses plastic-metal hybrids. This allows the manufacture of materials which offer both thermal and electrical conduction.

 

For more information:

Ensinger Compounds

A division of
HP Polymer GmbH

Werkstraße 3
A - 4860 Lenzing

office@ensinger-compounds.com

Austria: Telephone +43 (0) 76 72 / 7 01-23 72

Germany: Telephone +49 (0) 70 32 / 8 19 785