MOSCOW (MRC) -- ABB, a world leader in power and automation technologies, has chosen Solvay Engineering Plastics’ Technyl One for a new contactor application, as per Solvay's press release.
Technyl One is an innovative generation of polyamide (PA) resins addressing major challenges in electrical equipment for energy management and building automation, such as safety, miniaturization and increased productivity.
With its high-flowability and high-temperature matrix, as well as excellent electrical properties and halogen-free fire performance, Technyl One has successfully demonstrated its suitability for demanding applications within the electrical protection segment. Targeted applications include Miniature Circuit breakers (MCBs), Moulded Case Circuit Breaker (MCCB) and contactor parts requiring high amperage and thermal resistance performance.
"The ease of processing of this Technyl One grade, combined with its high functionality, has been a determining factor for ABB during the development phase of our new contactor application. We observed during the electrical overload test, that the material exhibited a high retention of surface properties,”states Jacques Dumoux, ABB Plastic Material Manager (Low Tension). "For short durations, during this critical test, the connections of the new contactors are exposed to significant overloads - up to ten times the normal amperage which generates very high temperatures, to which the surrounding plastic parts must resist."
Continuous product miniaturization together with an increasing functionality is a constant challenge for the E&E industry. "Further, in the last decade the EU directives RoHS and REACH (SVHC) have had a significant impact on flame retardant technologies. These directives impacted a global market shift towards halogen-free plastics for the E&E industry," says Dr. James Mitchell, Global EE Market Director at Solvay Engineering Plastics.
"However, specifically for glass fibre filled polyamide and PBT, the adoption of the most efficient halogen-free flame retardant technology has also been associated with drawbacks in terms of physical properties and processing issues like tool corrosion. The superior rheological behaviour of Technyl One helps reduce the level of corrosive degradation during processing, which is beneficial to the tooling equipment as well as process and product consistency overall, thereby addressing both safety demands and meeting OEMs economic and processing needs," Dr. Mitchell added.
Technyl One J 60X1 V30 grade from Solvay Engineering Plastics is a halogen-free flame-retardant material. In addition to a fully compliant yellow card, Technyl One J 60X1 V30 also fulfills the new European standard EN 45545-2 that will come into force by 2016. This material offers the highest level of low-smoke performance being classified HL3 under R22 and R23. The current offering includes as stand natural, grey and black grades.
As MRC informed earlier, in early July 2015, Solvay and INEOS announced the start-up of their Joint Venture INOVYN, a world-class competitive player in chlorovinyls, following European Commission approval. The INOVYN Joint Venture combines two businesses with a strong heritage in the chlorovinyls industry.
Headquartered in London, INOVYN has pro-forma sales of more than EUR3 billion, with 4,300 employees and assets across 18 sites in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Governance of the Joint Venture is equally split between the partners.
MRC