High-performance plastics for the electronics industry
The electronics industry has developed more rapidly in recent years than almost any other industry. The megatrend of digitalisation has made electronic components an indispensable part of our everyday lives. In industry, for use in sensors or antennas, and in private households, for use in smartphones for example, digital electronics have become permanently in use and indispensable. The resulting new requirements create challenges for many manufacturers. The increasing amount of data requires ever-increasing performance criteria for components, while at the same time products often have to become smaller and more compact. In addition, the product life cycle of electronic components has become significantly shorter in recent years, which in turn requires materials and manufacturing processes that are as cost-effective as possible.
Plastics offer ideal solutions for this. With their diverse properties, individual and detailed components can be manufactured. Among other things, they have excellent insulating properties, high temperature resistance, and are also extremely durable. Thanks to the numerous modification possibilities through various reinforcements and fillers, they also offer a high degree of flexibility.
In addition to our compounds specially produced for components in the electronics industry, Façade Creations offers a comprehensive portfolio of semi-finished products and finished parts. Our solution expertise covers the entire spectrum of the industry, from simple cables to highly complex sensor solutions and entire microsystems, which we manufacture completely in-house using an innovative development process.
Get in touch with our Electronics team
Talk to a materials specialist
Whether you’re developing a new sensor, connector, or microsystem component, our electronics team can help you select the right material and manufacturing process for your project.
(However, if you prefer to speak to someone directly? Call our aerospace team or email us and we’ll respond promptly.)
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Drivers of the Electronics Industry
Electromobility
The transformation of the automotive industry from traditional mechanical powertrains to electric powertrains, alongside the vision of autonomous driving, is leading to an exponential increase in electronic components within the vehicle. Limited installation space and increased performance demands on electronic components are opening up new opportunities for engineered thermoplastics.
Engineered plastics support electromobility applications through excellent electrical insulation, high heat resistance, and the ability to be moulded into compact, complex geometries that free up valuable installation space. Components such as connectors, sensor housings, battery system parts and charging infrastructure elements increasingly rely on high-performance plastics in place of traditional metal, helping to reduce overall vehicle weight while meeting the electrical and thermal demands of modern electric drivetrains. Façade Creations works closely with automotive electronics manufacturers to select and qualify the right material grade for each application, from initial concept through to series production.
5G and mmWave
The desire to have information available anytime, anywhere, with unlimited data volume, is the driver for 5G and 6G technology. High frequencies (above 26 GHz) and millimetre wavelengths in particular bring new challenges to antennas, transmitting and receiving stations, and communication and network components. With our engineered thermoplastic materials, we can optimally meet rising dielectric performance requirements.
Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the concept of connecting every device to the internet and to other connected devices. The IoT is a huge network of connected things and people, all collecting and sharing data about the way they are used and the environment around them. This ranges from smart appliances, to self-driving vehicles whose complex sensors detect objects in their path, to wearable fitness devices.
Benefits from Façade Creations for the Electronics Industry
Quality
To meet the high demands of the electronics industry, Façade Creations manufactures compounds, stock shapes and finished parts to the highest quality standards. Most of our data sheets provide information on each material’s flammability rating under recognised international standards.
Maximum flexibility
The use of materials with special laser-direct-structuring additives allows small, conductive structures to be injection-moulded directly into three-dimensional micro components. As suitable materials for this area, our high-temperature-resistant compounds solve demanding challenges. We are happy to help with the implementation of your project, and can support you beyond pure materials expertise.
Finished Parts from Façade Creations for the Electronics Industry
- Machined parts
- Injection-moulded parts
- Customised tubes
- Profiles
- Microsystems
Products from Façade Creations for the Electronics Industry
- Compounds
Solutions for the Electronics Industry
Flame-retardant plastics
Flame-retardant properties play an important role in the selection of materials for the electronics industry. Insufficient flame retardancy can quickly lead to fire damage in sensor components or other small parts.
Flammability performance for plastics is most commonly assessed using an internationally recognised flammability testing standard, which classifies materials into ratings such as HB, V-2, V-1 and V-0 depending on how quickly a sample self-extinguishes and whether it produces flaming drips during testing. Standard plastics such as PE, PP, POM, PA and PET are generally easily flammable in their unmodified form, but can be made flame-retardant through the addition of flame-retardant fillers. Certain high-performance plastics, including PVDF, PTFE, PPS, PEEK and PI, are inherently self-extinguishing without any modification. Most of our technical data sheets contain information on the flammability rating of the material, and in some cases, flammability testing has been carried out directly on the finished plates or round bars of our semi-finished products.
Laser direct structurable plastics
Our portfolio of plastics for the electronics industry includes special laser-direct-structuring (LDS) materials, engineered and tested to meet the demanding specifications required for this process.
Laser direct structuring allows fine, conductive circuit paths to be created directly on the surface of a three-dimensional moulded plastic component, without the need for a separate circuit board. A laser activates specially formulated additives within the plastic along the desired circuit pattern, and the activated areas are then metallised to form functional conductive tracks. This allows electronic and mechanical functions to be combined within a single, compact component – an approach increasingly used in antennas, sensor housings and other space-constrained electronic assemblies. Façade Creations offers high-temperature-resistant compounds specifically formulated for this process, and supports customers through material selection and component development.
Key Applications for the Electronics Industry
- 5G and IoT communication
- Mobile devices
- Autonomous and connected vehicles
- Power electronics
- Microsystems
