PEEK Polymers withstand lead-free soldering processes.
Press Release Summary:
VICTREX® 90 PEEK products are designed for injection molding thin-walled, intricate components and highly filled compounds. They can replace thermosets, ceramics, and metals in electronic, surface-mount technology and fluid handling applications. Available unfilled or reinforced with glass or carbon fibers, VICTREX 90-based products enable molding of sections thinner than .008 in. Fiber loadings up to 60 wt% are possible without sacrificing surface finish or cycle time.
Original Press Release:
New High-Flow Victrex® Peek For Injection Molding Thin Walled Components
Greenville, SC < (May 11, 2005) < The company has introduced the VICTREX 90 family of high flow VICTREX® PEEK products designed for injection molding thin-walled, intricate components and highly-filled compounds without sacrificing ease of processing. These new products are engineered to replace thermosets, ceramics and metals in electronic consumer, surface-mount technology and micro-fluid handling applications.
VICTREX 90-based products have a lower molecular weight than other VICTREX PEEK polymers and offer equivalent mechanical, thermal, chemical, and electrical properties. They are available unfilled (powder or pellets) or reinforced with glass or carbon fibers. Fiber loadings up to 60 wt% are possible without sacrificing ease of processing, surface finish or cycle time. The higher filler loadings produce substantial improvements in modulus, toughness, and coefficient of thermal expansion.
VICTREX 90-based products enable engineers to design components previously only possible with lower performing, lower viscosity polymers like LCP, PPS, and epoxy thermosets. The spiral flow at 2 mm (0.08 in) depth is more than double that of standard flow VICTREX 450-based products. VICTREX 90-based products enable the reliable molding of sections thinner than 0.2 mm (.008 in). According to Andrew Ragan, Product Manager, Victrex USA, "We¹ve had very positive response from connector manufacturers having difficulties with highly filled, high flow PPS and LCP products."
A promising new area for VICTREX 90-based products is the lead-free soldering processes [260°C (500°F) used in the electronics industry. Explains Ragan, "Traditional polymeric materials such as PBT, Nylon and PPS fail because they distort or melt under lead-free solder conditions. In contrast, high temperature resistant VICTREX PEEK readily meets the demands of the most rigorous lead-free solder processes. Moreover, the polymer's high flow characteristics are ideally suited for the complex shapes required by the electronics industry to make devices smaller and more lightweight."
VICTREX USA Inc., a division of Victrex plc., is the sole manufacturer and supplier of PEEK polymer worldwide. For more information on the properties and performance advantages of VICTREX® PEEK polymer, please call (800) VICTREX or visit the Victrex website at www.victrex.com.
