Four major modification trends of engineering plastics

Foreword

Engineering plastics refer to a class of plastics that can be used as engineering structural parts because of their low density, high specific strength, excellent wear resistance and low coefficient of friction, high heat resistance, electrical insulation, chemical stability, acid/alkali resistance, and With obvious advantages such as free coloring, easy modification, and good processability, it has been widely used in the fields of automobiles, electronics, electrical, communications, transportation, aerospace, machinery, etc., and has become one of the important symbols to measure a country's industrial development level. Modification of engineering plastics Due to the limitation of the performance of a single resin, and people's requirements for low cost, high performance and diversified performance of materials are getting higher and higher, and various modified engineering plastics have emerged as the times require. Engineering plastics can be realized through physical, chemical or a combination of physical and chemical methods, including blending (alloying), copolymerization (grafting), and filling reinforcement. Modification can significantly improve the performance of engineering plastics. In addition, one polymer matrix can be used to produce a variety of products with different uses. The production operation is flexible, and it is easy to realize one machine with multiple functions, and realize the serialization and specialization of products.

Introduction to engineering plastics

Engineering plastics refer to plastic materials that can withstand mechanical stress as structural materials, and can be used in a wide temperature range and in harsh chemical and physical environments. Engineering plastics can be divided into general engineering plastics and special engineering plastics. General-purpose engineering plastics usually refer to five kinds of plastics produced on a large scale and with a wide range of applications, namely polyamide (nylon, PA), polycarbonate (PC), polyoxymethylene (POM), polyester (mainly PBT ) and polyphenylene oxide (PPO). Special engineering plastics refer to some plastics that have more excellent and unique properties, have not yet been mass-produced or produced on a small scale, and have relatively narrow uses, such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyimide (PI), polysulfone (PSF ), polyether ketone (PEK), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), etc. Engineering plastics have excellent performance and can replace metals as structural materials, and are widely used in the fields of electronics, transportation, mechanical equipment, and daily necessities.

Application fields of engineering plastics

At present, engineering plastics are mainly used in vehicles, mechanical equipment, electronic appliances, home appliances, building materials, medical equipment, military equipment, films, etc. Since 2005, engineering plastics have been widely used in the automotive, electronic and electrical industries.

The automobile industry is developing in the direction of focusing on environmental protection, safety and health. Energy saving and environmental protection have become two major issues in the automobile industry. Lightweight, comfortable, and energy-saving are the latest trends in the development of automobiles, and this trend has accelerated the process of plasticization of automobiles.

With its light weight, large design space, low manufacturing cost, excellent performance, and wide range of functions, plastics have finally made more breakthroughs in lightweight, safety, and manufacturing costs for automobiles, thus becoming the best choice for the automobile industry in the 21st century.

At the same time, the processing level of domestic auto parts is rapidly improving, and new processing equipment and processing technology are widely adopted, so that the application level and consumption of engineering plastics can be continuously improved.

Electronic appliances have always been the main application fields of engineering plastics, and their consumption accounts for more than 40% of the total consumption.

With the increasing export volume of China's electrical products year by year, the consumption of engineering plastics is on the rise. Due to cost pressure, the market's requirements for localization of materials are becoming more and more obvious, which provides broad application prospects for engineering plastics.

Modification Trends of Engineering Plastics

The trend of modification of engineering plastics lies in:

1. General plastic engineering.

Thermoplastic general-purpose plastics have large output and low cost. In order to improve mechanical properties and heat resistance, technologies such as reinforcement, filling and alloying can be used to achieve high performance, and can replace engineering plastics in certain occasions while reducing costs. In particular, PP composite materials and alloys have become the most widely used plastic varieties in the automotive field due to their high cost performance.

2. High performance of general engineering plastics.

General-purpose engineering plastics have been greatly improved in mechanical properties, heat resistance, and durability through copolymerization, blending alloying, and composite materials, and can replace special engineering plastics in some occasions. In addition, through modification, endowing engineering plastics with functions such as magnetism, electricity, and antibacterial is an important direction for high performance in the future. Especially with the maturity of high-performance carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes, and graphene preparation processes, the high-performance and multi-functional engineering plastics are more promising.

3. Low cost of special engineering plastics.

Due to the high market price, the application of special engineering plastics is often limited to military products, and only after the cost is reduced can the large-scale promotion of civilian products be realized, thereby expanding the scope and field of application.

There are several ways to reduce costs. One is blending, alloying, filling, and reinforcement with general-purpose plastics and general-purpose engineering plastics; the other is low-cost paths from monomer sources; and the third is mass production.

4. Environmental protection of raw materials, processes and products.

With the increasing awareness of environmental protection in the whole society, engineering plastics from renewable resources and green technology are the safe products that meet the expectations of the public, and the demand for degradable and renewable products is becoming more and more urgent. Future engineering plastics can not only be recycled, but also be green in raw materials and processes.

Conclusion

Experts believe that the development trend of engineering plastics in the future will be high performance and low cost. Some high-performance engineering plastics with high temperature resistance, wear resistance, electrical conductivity, and electromagnetic shielding functions will gain rapid development.

In addition, in the design and manufacture of engineering plastic molecules, special attention will be paid to the concepts of environmental protection and reuse. Application of engineering plastics Engineering plastics are mainly used in the fields of automobile, electrical and electronic, machinery, transportation, construction, chemical industry, national defense and military industry.

For every 100kg weight reduction of the car, the fuel consumption per 100 kilometers can be saved by 0.3-0.5 liters, and the CO2 emission per kilometer can be reduced by 8-11 grams. In addition, the purpose of plasticization of auto parts is to improve the function of parts, simplify the manufacturing process, improve the comfort and safety of the car, reduce production and maintenance costs, and give a higher degree of design freedom. From the perspective of applied parts, whether it is exterior decoration parts, interior decoration parts, or functional and structural parts, engineering plastic parts can be seen everywhere.

With the continuous improvement of the properties of engineering plastics such as hardness, strength, and toughness, plastic windows, doors, frames and even all-plastic cars will appear, and the plasticization process of cars will be further accelerated.

Nanjing Haisi Extrusion supply professional twin screw extruder machine for engineering plastic compounding and modification.