Smart Molding International 2-2022

46 materials smart_molding international 2/2022 T he technical plastics polyamide 6 and polyamide 66 are admit- tedly materials with very simi- lar properties, yet they are frequent- ly in competition to one another. Recently, the tense pricing situation for polyamide 66 and its temporarily limited availability have resulted in it often being replaced with polyamide 6 even in its traditional applica- tions. However, new developments of components that have tradition- ally been made from polyamide 66 are now increasingly being directly implemented in polyamide 6. One current example of this is the cover for an on-board battery char- ger that is used in an all-electric compact vehicle made by a German car manufacturer. It is composed of Durethan BKV50H3.0 from LANXESS, which is highly reinforced with 50 percent by weight of short glass fi- bers. The manufacturer of the sys- tem consisting of the cover and char- ger is Leopold Kostal GmbH & Co. KG, Luedenscheid, Germany, a global system supplier of automotive, in- dustrial and solar electrics as well as electrical connector systems. This large-scale application under- lines the fact that polyamide 6 com- pounds do not necessarily have to be hydrolysis-stabilized to be used in cooling applications with glycol-wa- ter coolants in electric vehicles. “We assume that in the future, polyamide 6 products of this type will become very common in the mass produc- tion of covers and other thermal management components for elec- tric vehicles. That is especially the case for applications such as fluid connectors or control units in the cooling system,” explains Dr. Bern- hard Helbich, Technical Key Account Manager at LANXESS’ High Perfor- mance Materials business unit. Permanently leak tight and resistant Plastic components in the cooling circuit of combustion engines have long been a domain of polyamide 66. This is because the thermoplas- tic is highly resistant to hot cool- ants such as water-glycol mixtures. However, the requirements in the New large-scale application for plastics from LANXESS in electric vehicles • Cover for on-board battery charger made from polyamide 6 • Resistant to water-glycol coolant • Strict requirements regarding leak tightness fulfilled The black cover of the on-board battery charger is made of Durethan BKV50H3.0 from LANXESS, which is highly reinforced with 50 percent by weight of short glass fibers (all pictures: LANXESS)