As a design engineer in the electronics industry, you are aware of the demand for sustainable plastic parts with high quality mechanical properties and aesthetic appeal. As an innovation partner, we offer material solutions that meet all your needs and fosters the sustainable development of resource- and climate-friendly material cycles — the new fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites under the Tepex® brand. This polycarbonate matrix consists of recyclates from reusable water bottles.
As a design engineer in the electronics industry, you are aware of the industry’s demand for sustainable plastic parts made of materials with high quality mechanical properties and aesthetic appeal. As your innovation partner, we offer material solutions that foster the sustainable development of resource- and climate-friendly material cycles — the new fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites under the Tepex® brand. This polycarbonate matrix consists of recyclates from reusable water bottles.
In this new composite range, half of the matrix consists of recyclates originating from reusable polycarbonate water bottles. These bottles are manufactured using high-purity and high-transparency food contact approved polycarbonate and therefore constitute a defined waste stream.
The composites are primarily for applications, such as laptop covers or housings for smartphones, tablets, e-books or cell phones. There are great opportunities for use in electrical and electronic applications for megatrends, such as 5G, smart homes, driver assistance systems and electromobility. By launching this product innovation, Envalior is addressing the strong demand for such sustainable materials, in which the electronics sector, among others, is aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and conserve resources.
The new product range is derived from Tepex® dynalite, which is established in the mass production of mechanically highly loaded structural components for lightweight automotive design, such as front ends, underbody panels and brake pedals. The reason for this is its high stiffness and strength combined with low weight. The new composites offer the same advantages for the electronics industry. For example, they can be used to produce large and flat components such as laptop covers, which are very stiff with low wall thicknesses.
With our product innovation, we offer a robust, lightweight alternative to energy-intensive die-cast aluminum that is easy and safe to process. The composites can be processed via hybrid molding to produce highly complex, rework-free components in which numerous functions such as mounts, fastenings or guides are directly integrated.
The new composites include a material variant with a core of glass fiber fabric and cover layers of continuous carbon fiber fabric. It is already used in series-produced housing parts for laptops.
A second material type contains not only the matrix made from recycled polycarbonate, but also a randomly oriented fiber core of recycled carbon fibers made from post-consumer and post-industrial waste. This composite produces excellent surface qualities, too, and is therefore a good choice for laptop covers. Both products are ideal for applications where, in addition to high-quality mechanical properties, an appealing decor is important.
Despite the recycled content, the new products do not need to shy away from comparison with corresponding virgin material – their mechanical properties are at the same high level. The flexural strength and stiffness are 530 mega- and 45 gigapascals respectively. The processing behavior is also equally good. A further strength of the new composites is their high fire resistance. With their halogen-free flame retardant package, they achieve the best classification V-0 in the UL 94 flammability test of the U.S. testing institute Underwriters Laboratories Inc. with wall thicknesses of just 0.4 millimeters. These materials contribute significantly to the safety of electrical and electronic assemblies.
The new product range benefits from the excellent quality of the polycarbonate recyclates used for its matrix. This is because the reusable water bottles are made of high-purity and highly transparent polycarbonates that are approved for food contact applications. The transparency pays off in visible components, for example, in which the very regular arrangement of the reinforcing carbon fibers is used as an aesthetic decorative element.
Envalior is working on adding more sustainable products to the Tepex® portfolio. The focus is on both the composite matrix and the reinforcing fibers. For example, we are offering composites with a matrix made from bio-based polyamide 10.10 or PLA, which are reinforced with flax fibers. These construction materials are completely bio-based.
19 August 2024
