Frankenthal, Germany -- All car manufacturers and suppliers are working feverishly on new technologies such the electric drive, according to BASF SE. But such innovative electric and hybrid vehicles place high demands on cable harnesses and lines, all of which are not comparable to the on-board power supply systems of today, the plastics supplier points out.
With voltages as high as 1000 volts -- and correspondingly high currents -- these cables have to be able to withstand temperatures that are much higher than those encountered by their predecessors.
In response to this, BASF Polyurethanes has developed a new thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), Elastollan 785 A 10 HPM, which it has added to its product line for cable sheathing (HPM = high-performance material).
Since BASF's researchers at Lemfoerde, Germany, had to comply with the more stringent requirements for automotive cables of electric and hybrid drives, they developed a new TPU production method and also turned to proven high-quality materials when it came to selecting the basic chemicals and stabilisers. They achieved a good polymer structure in combination with effective resistance to external influences.
See more on the development of this new material in the automotive feature in the forthcoming issue of Urethanes Technology International.
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