SABIC Innovative Plastics completes its portfolio of Valo...

SABIC Innovative Plastics completes its portfolio of Valox™ SHF resins, enabling electrical & automotive part manufacturers to go with the flow

Today electrical/electronic part designers are pulling their hair trying to shoehorn more functionality into ever-smaller spaces and reduce system costs. One way to do both is to relax and go with the flow. Super High Flow resins enable thinner-wall parts that accommodate more capabilities. They also speed up processing and cut costs while maintaining good mechanical and heat performances. SABIC Innovative Plastics has raised the bar with a complete portfolio of glass filled Super High Flow Valox* SHF resins offering twice the flow length of standard glass filled polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). With this comprehensive PBT product family, electrical and automotive part manufacturers have many choices when molding thin-wall parts such as connectors and excess voltage cut-off switches.

“More than ever, our customers are under tremendous pressure to rapidly produce electrical components with less weight and mass, and at a lower price,” said Arthur van Dijk, industry manager, Electrical and Lighting, SABIC Innovative Plastics. “Our full line of Super High Flow Valox resins relieves the stress by providing greater design flexibility and increased productivity and capacity compared to other PBT resins. Now that we’ve added new grades featuring enhanced hydrolytic stability, low warpage, and better weathering, Valox SHF resins can be used even more widely – in warm, moist under-hood environments and for small, highly precise connectors, for example.”

Many Potential Benefits from One Resin Family
By doubling the flow performance of traditional glass-filled PBT resins, Valox SHF resin grades offer several important benefits:

• Thinner-wall parts and more-complex designs (part consolidation) than were previously possible.
• Reduced part stress, resulting in better dimensional stability and performance.
• Reduced system costs by eliminating short shots (scrap), minimizing tool maintenance due to lower injection pressure, and reducing the amount of resin required.
Also, because Valox SHF resin can be processed at a lower temperature than conventional PBT resins, less energy for heating/cooling is needed.
• Reduced cycle time by up to 25 percent due to faster injection rate and reduced cooling time, leading to more parts per min.

A Broad Range of Properties
The Valox SHF resin portfolio offers customers both flame-retardant and non-flame-retardant grades. Glass fiber levels range from 15 to 40 percent. And there are low warpage and hydrolytically stable choices available. All grades offer best-in-class performance, beginning with superior flow properties combined with chemical resistance, mechanical and heat performances.

In addition to replacing traditional glass-filled PBT resins, Valox SHF resin grades can be substituted for liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) in applications where higher heat is not needed. The SABIC Innovative Plastics’ materials offer comparable flow but are much easier to process than LCPs and are significantly less expensive.