LANXESS expands range of flame-retardant plastics for home appliance design

● LANXESS expands its range of flame retardant plastics

● Glow wire testing on end products for VDE certified materials

● High flame retardancy provides greater freedom in component design

● Possibly applicable to electric vehicles

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, sales of technical consumer goods rose in 2020, according to a study conducted by the Nuremberg Association for Consumer Research (GfK)
.
Demand for home appliances also remains strong, as many consumers increasingly invest in their homes
.
The result is an increasing demand for flame-retardant plastics that comply with the international fire protection standard IEC/EN 60335-1, for use as components in unattended household appliances such as dishwashers
.
In response, LANXESS is expanding its range of flame-retardant compounds to include modified materials that offer a high degree of flame resistance in glow-wire tests conducted according to the standard
.

The latest in the series is the halogen-free flame retardant Durethan BKV30FN34, which is aimed at users who, for safety reasons, prefer to conduct glow-wire testing of their end products in accordance with the stringent conditions and requirements of household appliance standards (Glow Wire End Product Testing, IEC 60695-2-1 )
.
Alexander Radeck, Flame Retardant Plastics Specialist in the High Performance Materials (HPM) business unit, said: "This polyamide 6 compound offers a huge safety margin due to its high flame retardancy
.
This provides greater flexibility in the geometric design of the part.
freedom
.
"

High creepage resistance and elongation at break

The glow-wire resistance of this new polyamide 6 has been certified by VDE Pruef- und Zertifizierungsinstitut GmbH (German Association for Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Information Technology) with a GWIT value of 775°C (glow) for wall thicknesses between 0.
4 and 3.
0 mm.
wire ignition temperature, IEC 60695-2-13)
.
Another advantage of this material is its high tracking index (CTI A, relative tracking index, IEC 60112) of 600V, which reduces the risk of short circuits and defects caused by creepage currents
.
This enables designers to make electrical and electronic modules more compact, thereby reducing the size of the final product
.
The plastic is reinforced with 30% short glass fibers and also has a high elongation at break
.
"This means, for example, that a fastener that is slightly thicker for visual reasons won't deform and break before engaging," Radeck said
.

Another PBT compound with excellent glow-wire resistance

Another compound designed for glow wire testing of final products is Pocan TFN4230
.
This PBT+PET (polybutene/polyethylene terephthalate) blend has been used in a range of applications and is VDE certified with a GWIT of 775°C (0.
4 to 3.
0 mm)
.
The material not only has high tracking resistance, but also has excellent dimensional stability
.

Application potential in automotive battery charging systems

"We would like to see these two compounds used in housings, microswitches and connectors for appliances such as washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers," Radeck said
.
However, we are also seeing a range of electrical and exciting potential in electronic components - especially in battery charging systems
.
"