1. As we all know, traditional materials generally choose to use phosphorus-nitrogen modified materials as flame retardants. In doing so, red phosphorus can interfere with plastic coloring. In shades, only black or red can be achieved with red phosphorus. In addition, its side effects can affect processing, and it is highly corrosive when used in high temperature and humid environments. In addition, most of the commonly used inorganic flame retardants are based on aluminum and magnesium hydroxides, and the dosage is relatively high, which not only severely limits the processing performance of plastics, especially injection molding, but also affects the parts produced. mechanical properties. The main representative of nitrogen-based flame retardants, melamine cyanurate, can only be used for unfilled polyamides.
The insulating properties of plastics meet the increasing demands of manufacturers. However, when the film wall thickness of plastic products is thinner, it needs to be confirmed whether they have higher dielectric strength. Usually manufacturers will achieve weight reduction and cost reduction through miniaturization and high functional integration. Due to the high demands of the associated structural shapes and increasingly thin thicknesses, a corresponding melt flow index also needs to be achieved and guaranteed.
In addition to "traditional" flame retardant modified materials based on halogen, red phosphorus and melamine or their mixtures, many material companies have developed non-traditional flame retardant systems without halogen. These halogen-free engineering plastics also have higher mechanical and electrical properties. The use of halogen-free flame retardant plastic products has almost no flame retardant precipitation on the surface, because they do not contain any substances that react at low temperatures, so the process parameters are very similar to those of unprotected materials.
2. Halogen-free engineering plastics
More and more companies are now replacing halogenated materials with new materials containing modern flame retardants, and actively developing and utilizing halogen-free materials for existing and new components. The mechanical and electrical properties of these materials must at least meet the performance indicators of high-temperature materials using traditional fire retardants, and the operation must also be efficient.
In addition, the quantity requirements for certain materials vary greatly: some color-specific parts require fewer operations, with monthly material requirements measured in kilograms, while standard high-volume machining material requirements are ton meter. Guaranteed supply in every case - and also to meet certification requirements over the years.
Electronic products have strict requirements and high performance, but sometimes require very tight tolerances for complex geometries, and the trade-off between the two requires a certain flexibility.” Compared with the high temperature or standard flame retardant materials used in the past, halogen-free flame retardant plastics, It can better meet the requirements of safety, strength, design, etc. Simple operation can be replaced, and standard polyamides with different glass fiber content are cheaper, all these advantages can realize cost reduction.
3. Fire protection standards
In addition to DIN standards, halogen-free engineering plastics are also subject to testing required by the U.S. Safety Monitoring Laboratory, Inc. (UL). The latter is the United States' electrical technology product certification organization, and its test methods for plastic products are based on the testing of parts samples of different thicknesses. V-0 corresponds to the highest fire rating, V-1 and V-2 correspond to relatively lower requirements.
In addition, it needs to pass the European standard IEC60335. This standard specifies safety requirements for low-voltage "household and similar low-voltage electrical appliances". The submitted documents must be detailed, such as the dielectric strength and mechanical properties of the device.
