By Anthony Clark, Plastics and Rubber Weekly
The Woodlands, Texas -- Huntsman Polyurethanes has developed a fire-retardant, halogen-free TPU, Irogran A95P5003DP, which complies with current safety standards for cable jacketing materials used in the IT and consumer electronics sector, including the European RoHS directive and the US VW1 standard.
The material will be launched at Wire 2010 (12-16 April in Dusseldorf, Germany), the international wire and cable exhibition.
Irogran A95P5003DP can be extruded at high speeds on conventional PVC processing equipment and has a good surface quality. According to the manufacturer, this makes it ideal for use in both cable power systems and injection moulding for electronic devices including plasma screens, mobile phones, MP3 players, digital cameras and laptops.
Franz Michel, TPU account manager, Mid-Europe at Huntsman Polyurethanes, said: "The European cabling market is evolving rapidly. New legislation is impacting on the materials and manufacturing techniques used in many sectors. In consumer electronics, many of the larger equipment producers have publicly committed to the elimination of vinyl plastic (PVC) and brominated flame-retardants (BFR) from cables.
"These changes are driving manufacturers to develop long-term partnerships with trusted raw material suppliers that understand the challenges and can offer compliant, high-performance products that meet new mechanical, safety and environmental standards."
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