Case Studies: High-Temperature Plastics

Challenge:

Upgrade product so it can withstand harsher and more demanding operating conditions.

Solution:

Evaluate and select a high-temperature resin whose electrical properties exceed those of the engineering grade resin currently being used and can withstand the harsher environment.

Steps:

• Evaluate operating environment
  
  - Operating temperature
  - Exposure to solvents
  - Electrical environment
  - Mechanical stresses
  
  
• Evaluate Resin Properties
  
  - Electrical
  - Mechanical
  - Thermal
  - Chemical
  - Flammability

For this application High-Temperature Plastics were evaluated due to their superior properties. Some of those properties are as follows:

• High-temperature resistance, operating temperatures as high as 500°F.
• Excellent electrical properties
• High-radiation resistance
• Excellent water/chemical resistance
• High-wear resistance
• Good fire resistance without additives

For this application electrical resistance was the key criteria. Consequently a polyetherimide was chosen that had a dielectric strength of 710 volts/mil. This compared well against the engineering resin (polycarbonate) previously being used that had a dielectric strength of 380 volts/mil.