Flame Retardant ABS

Overview

Even though plastics have made our lives more comfortable, the widespread adoption of plastics accompanies various problems relating to flammability. To comply with the public’s demands for flame retardant polymers. UNIC & LOTTE Chem. has devoted itself to the development of Starex flame retardant ABS. Even if ABS with its high impact strength, chemical resistance, and good appearance can be used in electric and electronic components (interior and exterior parts), its use in electric and electronic components requires a high degree of heat resistance as well as balanced impact resistance and fluidity. Flame retardant grades of Starex ABS, with its outstanding heat resistance, offers an optimized balance of properties while minimizing the deterioration of its original properties, which can be achieved by adding various flame retardants. Also, with many Starex flame retardant ABS resins to choose from, you can select one that matches your design needs.

Classification

Starex flame retardant ABS can be classified into two groups; The VH, VE-, and non-halogen NH series.

VH- Series

VH-series has improved processability and balanced mechanical properties. Their properties are as follows. VH-0800 : having excellent processability and injection moldability, VH-0800 is the most popular 1.5mm V-O rated grade for computer monitors. VH-0815 : 1.5mm V-O, 2.0mm 5V. VH-0816 : with improved heat resistance and flow characteristics, 1.5mm V-1 % 2/0mm 5V rated VH-0810 grade reduces production cost.

VE Series

As a substitute for engineering plastics, the most essential properties needed for a flame retardant ABS are weather resistance and heat resistance. With these characteristics, the product’s marketability and quality will be enhanced. With this in mind, the VE-series adopts different additive system for stability through an advanced technological process, so that it would work better. If used with other resin grades, thermal stability deterioration can be easily observed. As an intermediate resin between flame retardant ABS and engineering plastics, the VE-series provides excellent processability and cost-effectiveness in comparison to flame retardant engineering plastic. It also displays superior weather and heat resistance properties in comparison to flame retardant ABS. VE-0812: 1.5mm V-O grade with high weather resistance and heat resistance. VE-0856: 1.5mm V-O, 2.0mm 5V rated grade with super weather resistance and high heat resistance. VE-0819F: 1.5mm V-O, 2.0mm 5V grade with for large size applications.

NH Series

Halogen-free flame retardant series is the main environmental requirement of current electronic and electrical products. Starex NH series are halogen-free environmentally friendly high heat-resistant series, such as NH-0825 series (0.75mm V-2) and NH-0927 (1.0 mm V-2) . Their characteristics include High heat resistance and ease of molding. It is often used in 3C product housings.

Properties

As explained in the previous section, flame retardant ABS may have some disadvantages compared with general ABS except for flame retardance. However, a careful grade selection through the understanding of those features will guarantee the user’s maximum satisfaction.

1) Thermal stability Since the self-extinguishing properties of flame retardant ABS may result from the thermal decomposition of flame retardants during burning, flame retardant ABS can have poor thermal stability in comparison with general ABS. In particular, since flame retardants can possibly decompose when molded at a temperature of 230oC or above, molding at lower temperatures than required with general ABS is recommended. LOTTE Chem. has developed the technology to produce Starex flame retardant ABS with excellent thermal stability and flame retardancy. Starex flame retardant ABS, especially VH-0853 and VH-0800, is useful for geometrically complex molds.

2) Weather resistance Since ABS contains butadiene to enhance impact strength, it can be discolored if exposed to sunlight for a long time. And this prevents its usefulness with such O.A. appliances as computer monitors, printers, and photocopying machines. As one of the leading companies in the production of ABS resin. LOTTE Chem. has made the effort to solve these problems, and it has successfully produced a flame retardant ABS series with excellent weather resistance. Among the series, VE-0812，VE- 0856 can be the best choice for applications demanding weather resistance.

3) Blooming and plating-out During injection molding, flame retardants can diffuse out to the surface and cause mold contamination. Since this phenomenon becomes worse with darker colors, it is recommended not to use flame retardant ABS grade resins with dark color shades. However, blooming is not observed while using all Starex flame retardant ABS grade except-0853. Starex flame retardant ABS grades with their excellent qualities allow for flexible product designs.

4) Heat resistance implies that the product is not prone to deformation while being exposed to a wide temperature range. The excellent heat resistance of Starex flame retardant ABS makes it possible to increase the reliability of injection molded products. However, care must be taken to select the proper grade of Starex flame retardant ABS for final use. For cost reduction and improved injection productivity, the VE-series can be the best choice as an engineering plastics substitute, while the VH-series is suitable when processability is a more important design factor than heat resistance.

5) Flammability Generally, flammability can be rated according to UL-94 VB standards. LOTTE Chem. produces various flame retardant ABS’s with varying flammability levels to meet the requirements of specific applications. LOTTE Chem. Starex flame retardant ABS has obtained UL-94 flammability ratings of V-2, V-1, V-0, and 5V.

6) Flame retardants PBDE is one of the most popular compounds used as an additive to promote the flame retardance of plastics. There was a trend to restrict PBDE’s use as a flame retardant compound because of the possibility that PBDE could induce toxic dioxin or difuran derivatives at an elevated temperature condition. Even though it has been speculated that PBDE is not so dangerous, most electric and electronic companies still avoid using PBDE as a flame retardant. Starex flame retardant ABS resins do not contain such controversial flame retardant compounds. Therefore, Starex flame retardant ABS can be used for exterior applications.