LANXESS at Light + Building

Specialty chemicals company LANXESS will present new tailor-made plastic compounds for home and building automation as well as for lighting, electrical and security technology at the Light + Building. The leading international trade fair for lighting and building technology will be held at Messe Frankfurt from October 2 to 6, 2022. “Light + Building provides the proper setting to personally present our latest material developments to customers from one of our most important sales markets,” says Marc Marbach, head of the E&E sales segment at the High Performance Materials business unit. “Our focus will be on materials that have already been tested in line with common standards of the electrical and electronics industries and listed accordingly. Compared to standard materials, they have improved properties in terms of flame retardancy, processing and electrical behavior, for example.”

Low warpage, stiff and easy flowing

One innovative material for applications such as switches in smart home systems is Durethan BG60XXF. This polyamide 6 compound is reinforced with 60 percent glass fibers and glass microbeads by weight and is therefore particularly strong and stiff. Its melt flows very easily when injection-molded, despite the high filler content. The material has only a slight tendency to warp. “With this compound, the switches can be designed particularly flat, planar, and dimensionally accurate and can be either flush-mounted or surface-mounted,” says Marbach.

Designed for short cycle times

With Durethan B30SFN31, LANXESS is presenting an unreinforced, halogen-free flame-retardant polyamide 6 that passes the UL 94 flammability test of the US testing organization Underwriters Laboratories Inc. with an excellent V-0 rating at a test specimen thickness of 0.4 millimeters (Yellow Card). Its melt shows an increased crystallization rate and, thus, solidifies quickly. “The material is designed as an economical alternative to polyamide 66 compounds. It is particularly well suited for thin-walled components such as terminal blocks that are manufactured in large quantities with short cycle times,” explains Marbach.

Highest insulation class

Another highlight at the LANXESS booth will be the new PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) compounds of the Pocan E series. They offer excellent tracking resistance and score the best possible rating of 600 in the CTI A test (Comparative Tracking Index – IEC 60112), matching the highest insulation class corresponding to IEC 60664-1. Potential applications include high-voltage and miniature plugs. Compounds reinforced with 10, 16, or 30 percent short glass fibers by weight are available. The Pocan E series also includes two hydrolysis stabilized compounds.

High hydrolysis resistance with plenty of extras

Another thematic focus of LANXESS is its new Pocan XHR product range, which boasts exceptional hydrolysis stability. These compounds are particularly suitable for overmolding metal components that are subject to rapid changes in temperature. “Thanks to the high elongation at break and thermal resistance of our plastics, the risk of stress cracks in the event of sudden temperature changes is minimal,” says Marbach. Furthermore, the engineering materials offer a melt flowability around 35 percent better compared to standard PBT types and exhibit greater long-term thermal resistance, even in dry surroundings. Potential applications include busbars, connectors and plug connectors.

You can find more detailed information about the LANXESS product range for the electrical and electronics industries at www.durethan.com and www.pocan.com.