Leading specialty chemicals company LANXESS has teamed up with the German Hella Hook Group to develop a new composite called Pocan AF4130 that can be used as a component in electric vehicle batteries. This new composite material can be used as a battery management unit (BMU) and as a housing material for a centralized management unit (CMU) for battery modules.
Pocan AF4130 is a mixture of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate copolymer (ASA) containing 30% (by weight) glass fiber and a halogen-based flame retardant package. According to Marc Marbach, head of E&E's sales division at LANXESS's High Performance Materials (HPM) business unit, the key benefits offered by this material are its remarkable low warpage and shrinkage, as well as its high flame retardancy. The company believes that it has great potential as part of the precision components of automotive battery systems.
LANXESS developed this composite in just two and a half years, from the initial concept to extensive testing to full production.
Hella produces automotive battery systems for a leading German company and is involved in the production of BMUs and CMUs. Currently, the company is producing tablet devices for lithium-ion battery systems for compact cars in Germany.
Low deviation
The outer shells of BMUs and CMUs have large, flat surfaces and complex geometries along the edges and interior. As a result of its innovative design, it is cost effective to manufacture this part using injection molding technology. When the housing is mounted on a printed circuit board, the contact ends of the connectors should not be bent, which is very important. Therefore, the spatial distance tolerances of the connector housing and the contact end cutout are very close. Marbach explained that the size stability of the Pocan AF4130 has considerable advantages in this respect.
Listed with UL 94 5VA and UL f1
According to the specifications required for the application, LANXESS claims that the UL 94 flame rating test of Underwriters Laboratories confirms that the Pocan AF4130 has achieved the best V-0 (0.75 mm). Further, the material listed on the UL yellow card is UL 94 5VA (1.5 mm). Such performance is destined for the injection molding of the product to be used in the flame-retardant housing assembly. At the same time, the material has received UL f1 (US outdoor UV protection) certification for outdoor applications, including exposure to UV light and water. Marbach said: "Therefore, our composite materials are also likely to be used in electronic components such as photoelectric plugs and sockets."
LANXESS says the new composites are highly resistant to media commonly used in automobiles, such as fuels, oils, detergents and car care products. This is evidenced by LANXESS' extensive media storage test for Hella, which meets the supply specification LV 124 used by automotive manufacturers.
