Friedrichshafen, Germany —Lanxess AG was trying to push the boundaries of some of its materials at the Fakuma 2015 show, unveiling new thermally conductive polyamides for lighting applications and a polypropylene composite for automotive weight reduction.
The Cologne, Germany-based firm said new grades of its Durethan polyamide 6 compounds can achieve a thermal conductivity high enough to provide more freedom in design for applications like LED components, said Hartwig Meier, head of global product and application development in the company's High Performance Materials business unit.
The material has a thermal conductivity of up to 3 watts per meter degree Kelvin, still well below aluminum, but enough for certain applications where the material needs to both remove heat and provide flame retardant protection, the company said.
As well, the company was showing grades of its Tepex continuous fiber-reinforced PP composite, providing a honeycomb structure that Lanxess said can replace glass fiber or polyurethane spray foam in passenger cars components, eliminating the need for manufacturers to have to work with potential dangerous chemical systems.
“They would no longer have to deal with reactive chemical systems and could eliminate considerable costs for equipment and safety,” said Martin Klocke, manager for lightweight construction business development.
Lanxess was also showing new halogen free flame retardant PA 6 materials for circuit breakers and electrical switches, under its Durethan name. The materials are glass fiber reinforced.
Finally, the company said it had developed new grades of heat stabilizing polyamides that can handle continuous service temperatures up to 200° Celsius, an improvement of 60 degrees.
The Durethan XTS3 material uses metal-free stabilizers and is aimed at electronics and under the hood automotive applications.
“The material grades… are ideal for manufacturing plastic parts that are subjected to high thermal loads and come into direct contact with metal components,” said Thomas Linder, a researcher in the company's product and applications development unit.