INDUSTRY
AUTOMOTIVE
PRODUCT USED
PREMIERTM PBT-225 ELECTRICALLY
CONDUCTIVE PLASTIC
CASE STUDY
ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE PLASTIC HOUSING REQUIRED FOR AUTOMOTIVE ELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEM MANUFACTURER
Parker Chomerics helped a global manufacturer of automotive electromechanical systems with material knowledge and engineering support to develop an electrically conductive plastic ECU housing for use in an automotive actuator system.
CUSTOMER CHALLENGE
Electronic control units (ECUs) are the brains behind every electronic system in an automobile. The typical ECU includes a printed circuit board (PCB) and electrical connectors, contained within a module housing. With the exploding popularity of e-mobility, ECUs are more prevalent than ever and can be found in electric drive units, steering systems, battery management, critical safety systems, and various other electromechanical systems.
These systems often work in conjunction with each other, and as a result, electromechanical system designers are tasked with integrating a wide range of functionality into one control unit.
During the development phase of a new ECU, the customer engineering team realized that there were electromagnetic interference (EMI) issues with adjacent systems and furthermore, a system cost that exceeded commercial targets.
The customer also knew that the electrical connectors would have to be improved to reduce assembly while improving environmental sealing and robustness. To address these challenges, the customer focused on the ECU’s plastic housing design and turned to Parker Chomerics for their expertise in EMI shielding mechanisms and injection molding experience in the manufacture of a wide range of plastic housings.
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SOLUTION
To address the EMI shielding requirements, Parker Chomerics application engineers determined that molding a plastic housing using PREMIER™ PBT-225 hydrolysis resistant electrically conductive plastic would be the most effective option. PBT is known for its excellent chemical resistance thereby making it an ideal material for environments that have exposure to automotive type fluids (gasoline, motor oil, glycol 50/50 mix, brake and transmission fluids).
By keeping the design based in thermoplastic, the housing was molded to include integrated connector shrouds, which enhanced EMI shielding at the connector and reduced costly labor to assemble to the housing. This also means that the aluminum heat sink can be integrated using an overmolding process which avoids the need for post-molding assembly.
Gauging the effectiveness of the PREMIER™ PBT-225 electrically conductive plastic can be quickly and easily achieved by using the readily available Parker Chomerics PREMIER PBT-225 test box, shown below, which comes complete with a gasket and is ready for your components to be added. To accommodate for the difference in thermal expansion between the aluminum heat sink and plastic components, a room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicon can be dispensed at the appropriate locations.
CONCLUSION
Testing of the customer system verified that Parker Chomerics PREMIER™ PBT-225 electrically conductive plastic yields an electromagnetic field attenuation of 65 dB at 10,000 MHz which exceeded the customer’s requirement for electromagnetic compliance (EMC).
Parker Chomerics uses a pultrusion process to ensure each plastic pellet is filled with a proprietary blend of carbon fiber and stainless steel fiber. The result is consistent EMI shielding with each shot. The base polymer, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), is ideally suited for under hood applications as it is proven to survive automotive temperature extremes and fluid compatibility requirements without degradation.
The Parker Chomerics team leveraged their vast experience with automotive connector suppliers to meet commercial targets, while maintaining the desired pin configuration, voltage and current requirements and was able to design snap in connector “biscuits” that can be easily assembled. This help to ensure proper retainment from system assembly through the product’s intended life cycle and provided the needed isolation between the connector pins and PREMIER PBT-225 electrically conducive plastic housing.
PREMIER PBT-225 Electrically Conductive Plastic. Single conductive fiber in every pellet leads to consistent EMI shielding performance.
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