Conductive polyamide 6 is suitable for powder coating

The conductive PA6 can be used for powder coatings Source: Brenda Carson - Fotolia.com

The conductive polyamide 6 "Durethan BCF 30 X H2.0" from Lanxess, which is already used in the production of conductive vehicle fuel filter housings and anti-static components for potentially explosive areas in coating lines, is also suited for use in powder coating applications. This was confirmed by tests performed on a cap cover for door and window strips made of die-cast zinc. What is more, the material is capable of withstanding temperatures of around 180 °C to 200 °C for several minutes when the coating is baked. Thanks to its high heat resistance, the cap displays no noticeable distortion. The caps are usually made of dyed polycarbonate, while the door and window strips are powder-coated separately. The problem is that the shades of the cap and strips do not match exactly. The idea was therefore to use a plastic that could also be powder-coated. In this way, the metal strips and plastic cap could be assembled first before being coated electrostatically in a single step. Thanks to Elsevier Engineering Information for articles from Chemical Business NewsBase (CBNB) (http://www.ei.org/engineering-village) and Focus on Powder Coatings newsletter.