Daikin Industries, Ltd, has developed two grades (EP-546 and EP-526) of NEOFLONTM ETFE*1 fluoropolymer used in electrical wire insulation that exhibit exceptional high-temperature durability along with another grade (EP-506) that allows greater mold processability. These new products are scheduled to go on sale from the start of September of this year.
Even among fluoropolymer excelling in electrical insulation properties and resistance to chemicals, NEOFLONTM ETFE fluoropolymer features ease in processing and is strong to bending and twisting. For this reason, it has become the material of choice for insulating electrical wiring used in electrical systems of industrial robotic equipment, which is subject to extreme vibration and movement, along with electrical systems of automobiles and aircraft.
These recently developed two grades of NEOFLONTM ETFE (EP-546 and EP-526) are particularly durable to high temperatures and improve high-temperature durability*2 to more than 2.5 times that of conventional products. Exposure to constant stress from such factors as heat, bending, and twisting often becomes a cause of material degradation for general plastic material, but through this new improvement in durability to high temperatures the level of reliability and safety is further raised for electrical system devices incurring heat and vibration. Because electric and hybrids automobiles necessitate higher electrical voltages than conventional gasoline models, expectations are high for insulating material that withstands the large amount of heat generated by high voltage.
Moreover, the grade (EP-506) with high processability has surpassed conventional Daikin products prioritizing production efficiency with a wire insulation thickness of around 100 microns (0.1 millimeters) to achieve thinner electrical wire and enable a thickness of approximately 30 microns (0.03 millimeters). Use of this grade in the internal wiring of mobile devices such as personal computers and mobile cell phones will contribute to further miniaturization and weight reduction of the main body of devices.
In using the fluorine technology cultivated for many years that maintains such characteristics such as strength against bending and twisting, Daikin has performed molecular designs that improve both high-temperature durability and mold processability and has succeeded in commercializing these products. Sales are to be expanded globally and include various uses such as surface coating film of solar panels and material for electrical wire insulation for devices with internal sensors that are seen increasing from now. In fiscal year 2012, sales of approximately 5 billion yen are foreseen.
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