Plastics domestic appliances

Application areas for the new Co-PCs include electrical engineering/elec-tronics, domestic appliances, lighting, automotive engineering, and medical technology. In automotive engineering the headlamp lens will be offered by headlamp manufacturers as the plastics alternative to main headlamps and fog lamps. The best compromise on optical data, mechanical strength, and heat deflection resistance for their application is shown by PC. 

Plasblak . [Ctd>ot Plastics Ltd.] Carbon or furnace black masterbatt widi polyethylene, EVA, polypropylene, polystyrene, or SAN carriers black mast atch for molding and extrusion of articles for pkg., electronic equip, cases, radios, TVS, domestic appliances, pipe and sheet, film, cable sheathing. 

Sobral. [Scott Bader] Alkyd, acrylic, acrylamide, or polyurethane blends for mdusttial fmishes, domestic appliances, laboratory furniture, inks, plasticizing. 

Uses Substrate wetting agent for aq. and solvent-based coatings, printing inks, wood and furniture applies, (spray- and roller-applied), indus-trial/domestic appliance coatings, overprint varnishes, silicone-polyester based heat-resist, coatings, aq. primers for plastics, water-borne fillers for automotive coatings... 

The rate of use of plastics is increasing in the manufacture of domestic appliances. Since these are mainly electric devices, the flammability of their plastics components should be tested in accordance with the methods for electrotechnical plastics (cf. Section 3.2.2). 

Brominated compounds will continue to hold much of the engineering plastics sector and thereby some dominance in the electrical and electronics (E E) sector. They will continue to be the most significant products because they are the most cost effective (and efficient) solution to many plastics flame retardancy applications. The EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive and its effect on recycling plus the debate about fire safety versus environmental issues (especially in domestic appliances) will continue to attract much attention. 

APME estimates that WEEE plastics comprise just over 3% of the 19 million tonnes of collectible post-consumer plastics in Europe. This quantity, of around 733,000 tonnes is projected to rise significantly in the future. EEE is defined by the directive as all appliances dependant on electric currents or EM fields in order to work, and which use AC up to lOOOV or DC up to 1500V . This, of course, covers, business machines, telecommunications equipment, brown and white goods, small hand-held domestic appliances plus medical and other equipment such as sewing machines and household leisure and garden goods. 

The demand for additives naturally reflects the demand for plastics. Demand for plastics depends in turn on the sale of manufactured goods such as construction products, vehicles, domestic appliances, business machines, televisions, packaging, toys, shoes etc. There are also secondary factors promoting an increased usage of additives in every tonne of polymer. 

Electroluminescent displays are made in Wales by Pelikon at its Cardiff plant where the company specialise in control panel displays. These thin plastic electroluminescent displays comprise a series of segments, each of which is a hidden membrane switch which is identified by an icon above the area of contact. Multi-function touch regions can be incorporated as well a capacitive touch on/off facility. Target markets include the white goods domestic appliance sector. 

PP is most frequently compared with PE but other competitive materials are polystyrene and its derivatives, cellulose acetate (CA), cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) and PVC. PP is used to replace engineering plastics, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamide (PA), polycarbonate (PC) and ABS, etc., in kitchen appliances and domestic appliances. In non-plastics, PP faces competition from glass and metal. 

Cellulose propionate (CP) and cellulose acetobutyrate (CAB) are more expensive than the acetate, but offer better dimensional stability (having lower water absorption) and improved toughness. For each ester class, a variety of grades is available, as with CA. Typical applications of CA, CP and CAB include transparent packaging, lamp shrouds and table lamps, control buttons, telephone dials, toys, tabular keys, spectacle frames and sunglasses, decorative trim for cars, and domestic appliances. Handles, from toothbrushes to cutlery and tools, and hammer heads, provide significant outlets for these plastics. 

Globalisation in key end user markets such as automotive, electrical electronics and domestic appliances, are encouraging the process of market concentration and globalisation in engineering plastic supply. The trend toward globalisation in end user markets means that customers are becoming more powerful and demanding of their suppliers. 

Cables and electrical components, with 595,000 tonnes, are the largest applieations for plastics in 2000, followed by information technology and telecommunications. Large domestic appliances (refrigerators, dishwashers, microwave ovens etc.), is the third largest eonsumer. The domestic appliances sector was followed by consumer electronics (television sets, video recorders, radios, DVD players etc.) with 217,000 tonnes. Some 63% of the ABS used by the electrical and electronics industry annually goes into these applications. The segment of small domestic appliances (toasters, cookers, vacuum cleaners etc.) consumes a quite impressive amount of 151,000 tonnes of plastics. 

This section examines the growing use of engineering plastics in consumer products. The main areas of application are domestic appliances, power tools, sports equipment, houseware, cookware and optical data storage media. 

PPS offers a combination of high temperature stability, excellent mechanical strength and dimensional stability, along with resistance to corrosion by common solvents, caustic solutions, and dilute acids. The material is challenging metals, thermosets, or other engineering plastics in many domestic appliance applications. 

Uses Surf, modifier, substrate welling agent, flow aid, leveling agent for low-solv., solv.-free, and water-borne palnis/coalings, printing Inks for paper and plastics, wood varnishes, furniture varnishes, industrial finishes, paints for domestic appliances, waterborne primers for poiymer paints, waler-dllutable fillers for automotive paints, finishing varnishes... 

The applications mentioned are the more well known but newer ones in the automotive sector, building, electrical insulation, domestic appliances, agriculture, etc. are also mentioned. Information is also given on uses of ethylene-propylene elastomers where the products do not undergo the traditional processing of the rubber industry, but are used as additives to various materials such as plastics, lubricating oils, bitumen and waxes, in order to modify or improve certain properties. 

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