Thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) specialist Kraiburg TPE (Waldkraiburg / Germany; www.kraiburg-tpe.com) is expanding its portfolio with a flame-retardant PA adhesion series. The company says it had tested more than a dozen PA compounds with the standards UL94 V-2 up to V-0, focusing on halogen-free flame-retardant materials.

Its newly developed materials have optimal adhesion at 190°C, which accommodates the temperature sensitivity of the flame retardants. Kraiburg says excellent adhesion to PA can also be achieved with flame-retardant TPEs within a hardness range starting at 60 Shore A.

Two “Thermolast” K compounds – “TC6FPN” and “TC7FPN” – have performed best in the adhesion tests with a wall thickness starting at 3 mm and provide good processing properties in injection moulding, says the company. The colour of the material is natural, but it can also be adjusted to meet customer specifications.

There are a range of multi-component applications made of flame-retardant TPE/PA combinations in E&E. This includes plug-in connectors, relay components, circuit breakers, switch boxes and cable bushings.