Application Duroplast - indestructible plastics in daily use
Although thermosets have been used for many decades, they are generally perceived as being in the shadows.
Who worries about the electricity distribution box on the edge of the sidewalk that they have been walking past every day for years? This robust box is usually made of a high-strength thermoset composite material. This is where the thermoset material demonstrates its general resilience and strength: in addition to high mechanical stability, its corrosion resistance in particular ensures that the electrics inside the distribution box are permanently protected from rain, wind and dirt. Electrical components themselves are also usually made of thermoset due to their electrical insulation properties and flame retardancy.
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The industry is changing, and this presents manufacturers with various challenges. This also applies to the choice of material used to manufacture their products. Composite materials such as thermosets have rapidly gained in importance in recent years due to certain properties.
This is because, in comparison with thermoplastics, thermosets often perform best in terms of energy efficiency and resistance to temperatures and durability. The ratio between cost and performance is very attractive, especially in the case of thermosets. In most applications, mechanical processing of the component is no longer necessary, as a tooling solution already achieves drawing-compliant tolerances using injection molding processes, for example.
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Because thermosets are neither electrically conductive nor sensitive to heat, they are used in the manufacture of electrical goods, for example for insulators, switch housings or sockets. The material safely encases circuit boards, sheet metal packages, stators and all electronics. In contrast to thermoplastics, the thermoset can encase the electronics very gently using a low-pressure process. The sensitive electronics are thus not damaged and are encapsulated from their environment in a media-tight manner.
Media tightness is a special property of thermoset overmoulding. An extremely good media seal is achieved thanks to the sometimes material-locking adhesion of thermoset to the substrate. Using the injection molding one-shot application, a connector housing and screw-on elements are also injected at the same time in addition to the gentle thermoset coating.
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Thanks to their strength and resistance to high temperatures, helmets and reflectors for emergency services and fire departments are made from thermoset, among other things. In the household sector, Duroplast is used where things get hot, for example as pan and pot handles.
Articles for medical technology can also be made of thermoset, for example very high-quality, scratch-resistant surface components for dental appliances.
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The automotive industry is one of the most important customers for duromers - and not just since yesterday. Even the legendary cult Trabant, affectionately known as the “Trabi”, bumped along the roads of the GDR with an indestructible Duroplast body.
In contrast to the Trabant, which is no longer produced, the synthetic resin from which it was largely made went on to make a small triumphal march in the automotive industry.
Housings, engine covers and interior components are often made of thermoset. Joints between various plastic and metal components or complete components made from thermosets can be found in many cars today.
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As an experienced partner for our customers in the automotive industry, we have manufactured pump covers made of thermosets, for example. Compared to metal solutions, these thermosets have a good price-performance ratio, offer a high degree of design freedom and also have excellent mechanical properties. As these thermoset pump covers retain their geometric stability even in continuous operation in aggressive media and at high temperatures, the material has proven to be the optimum solution here.
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