India, May 9, 2016 – Solvay Engineering Plastics, a world leader in polyamide-based performance materials, has unveiled at this year’s Chinaplas an advanced PA6.6 polymer technology to offer the possibility of further miniaturisation and enhanced aesthetics to the consumer electronics market in Asia – home of industry’s largest manufacturing base. This innovative solution combines the characteristics of halogen-free flame retardancy with high flow and low migration, while reducing corrosion during the injection process.

“Driven by increasingly sophisticated consumer demands, many of our Asian customers in the consumer electronic industry do not only need to meet stringent flammability regulations for their exports worldwide, but also face the challenges of further miniaturization and long lasting surface aesthetics for their product development,” said Wilson Chan, Global C&E (Consumer & Electrical) Market Director for Solvay Engineering Plastics. “Our new generation halogen-free flame retardant PA6.6 provides the right solution for these challenges and bring significant environmental benefits compared to halogenated flame retardant polyamide materials.”

The new series of products significantly strengthens Solvay’s existing range of Technyl® ‘60’ halogen-free flame retardant materials which span from high-flow Technyl Star PA6 to high-performance Technyl One product grades. A breakthrough feature of the new formulated polymer Technyl A 60SX is to help customers solve the aesthetics problem caused by the migration phenomena, which may lead to the formation of deposits or causing vents to clog. “For consumer electronics that require optimum surface aspect, this aesthetic problem is intolerable,” added Wilson Chan. “Our unique technology helps to keep migration on the part at a very low level to ensure an attractive appearance over the long term.”

Solvay’s world-class polyamide chemistry also opens wider windows for designers and molders thanks to its excellent flowability. It can particularly address the wall thickness challenges facing most of the connector makers for consumer electronics. This upgraded portfolio of Solvay Engineering Plastics’ halogen-free flame retardant Technyl materials are also perfect solutions for application in electrical protection devices, which require excellent flame retardant properties, minimized tooling corrosion, and optimum surface aspect.

“In addition, cost competitiveness has always been a challenge for our customers in Asia.” Said Wilson Chan. “Our new halogen-free PA6.6 grades reduce corrosion of the injection machine during processing thus greatly reducing the maintenance cost of manufacturing equipment and increasing the productivity of moulders.”

The first grades to leverage this superior chemistry are available with a glass content of 25 or 30 percent, and have full UL Yellow Card certification, including a 5VA flame class rating at 0.8 mm thickness. “Custom-tailored Technyl solutions can be compounded at our Asian facilities to the same exacting standards of quality and consistency as in Solvay’s European and American plants,” said Jonson Xing, C&E Global Marketing Manager for Solvay Engineering Plastics. “And our capabilities for developing customer-specific material compounds also extend to YAG1 and UV laser-markable versions of our high-flow and halogen-free flame retardant Technyl PA6.6 materials for the electrical and consumer electronics market.”

Solvay Engineering Plastics’ halogen-free flame retardant technology is backed by dedicated UL laboratories in Europe and Asia, fully equipped to evaluate and document all flammability, thermal (RTI) and electrical (CTI) material properties in line with Yellow Card specifications. In addition, Solvay supports its customers with a comprehensive package of design, prototyping and testing services.