Page 141 - Engineering Plastics Handbook

114 Engineering Plastics

TABLE 6.4 Ecolabels in Europe
TCO Blue angel Nordic swan EU flower

Sweden Germany Nordic countries EU

housings, copy machines, printers, audio, VCR, DVD, wall sockets, battery
chargers, adapters, plastic doors, etc.
For the flame-retardant ABS resins, the product must be developed to
have the properties required according to the application use. As products
are gradually getting larger and the design and molding of ultrathin films
have been made possible through development of the part design and
molding technology, and improvement of processing capability, etc., it is
necessary to improve the properties and processability of resins.
Furthermore, to expand the application it is necessary to develop a suit-
able product in line with developments in primary industrial applications.
These include development of (functional) products having heat resist-
ance, flame-retardant properties, antistatic functionalities, etc., and devel-
opment of the halogen-free flame retardant products having a high future
growth potential. See Table 6.5.

TABLE 6.5 Future Work
Development direction Approach direction
High toughness/high flow ■ ABS rubber morphology and matrix
rheology control
High heat resistance ■ Polymeric flame retardant
■ Heat-resistant resin blend
Development of halogen-free products ■ High-performance phosphorus
■ Modified inorganic flame retardant
■ Higher thermally stable intumescent
system
■ Nanoparticle application
Enhance char formation
Lower heat release rate
■ New alloy system