From simple cables and household appliances to smartphones and Blu-ray players, many of the latest devices created in the Electrical & Electronic sector capitalize on new generation plastics.
Designers of electrical and electronic applications rely on plastics because of their unique features. These include :
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Resource-efficiency: Polymers can help storing energy for longer, while LCD (liquid crystal display) flat screens made of liquid crystalline plastics use over 65% less power than ordinary screens with cathode ray tubes. |
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Light weight: Touch-sensitive screens on tablets and smartphones are created with films of polycarbonate In small appliances like smartphones and MP3 players, the use of plastics has increased along with the number of different polymer types being used. Smaller, lighter handsets are made possible thanks to plastics. |
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Resistance: The insensitivity of plastics to electromagnetic radiation, combined with their resistance to mechanical shocks, stress resistance, flexibility and durability, makes them ideal for vital applications such as safe, reliable and efficient power supplies. |
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Reduced size: While most plastics in electrical and electronic equipment are visible, the latter also contain many plastics components you cannot see. Nearly half of all the plastics used in this sector are used in sheathing for cables and in electronic components. |
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| Fire safety: In the electrical and electronic equipment sector (EEE), where a fire can be ignited from electrical sources, flame retardants offer a large range of solutions for inhibiting ignition and are in widespread use. In most cases, a given polymer requires a specific formulation for each possible application. |
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Innovation: Thanks to ambitious research programmes, plastics in the electrical and electronic sector are constantly evolving. Lithium batteries, for instance, can now be made from recycled plastic bags. Plastic batteries made from conductive polymers have the significant advantage of offering high power with low weight. But plastic-related innovation also comes from their optical properties. With polymers used in optical switching, the flow of data can be facilitated over long distances between one chip and another. |
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