Thermally conductive plastics in applications
LED
Offers combination of thermal conductivity, electrical insulating, design freedom
Key benefits In spite of a large difference in thermal conductivity (W/mK) between metal and plastics, plastics materials offer suitable performance for many thermal management applications, including: Combines thermal conductivity with electrical insulating (Coolplast = 1.45 W/ mK vs standard polyamide = 0.3 W/mK)
Potential replacement of overengineered metal heat sinks Good chemical and corrosion resistance for long term usage Weight saving Design freedom Production cost reduction Colour freedom Key benefits LED housings and lighting fixtures Automotive under the hood applications Consumer electronic devices Electric/electronic components, and Temperature sensors and heat exchangers. Case study – IdeaLED.it The use of Coolplast in LED bulb applications has been validated by the success of a commercial application by a company in Italy – IdeaLED.it. The company manufactures a wide range of LED lamps and modules, as well as strips and profiles. IdeaLED.it operates from its 5000m2 plant in Montecchio Maggiore (Vicenza) in Italy. The IdeaLED.it products are designed to achieve high performance efficiency. In particular, the company has developed a new family of thermally conductive plastic compounds that allow customers to realize patented LED lamps of a particular form and size to ensure optimal thermal management. Apart from designing and producing high efficiency optical elements for modules and lamps, the company also manufactures moulds and tooling with suitable plastics materials.
The IdeaLED.it Led strips and profiles are characterized by a large variety of types and forms, colour bins that are extremely narrow to allow absolute homogeneity in installations made, and a wide range of solutions with RGB colour change dimming
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AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2013
The use of Coolplast in LED bulb applications has been validated by the success of a commercial application by a company in Italy – IdeaLED.it. One family of LED lamps from IdeaLED.it (the QR111) is the ideal replacement of halogen lamps mainly used for lighting commercial spaces and exhibitions. The high efficiency of the LEDs used allow an energy saving of up to 85%
NOTES # A LED (light-emitting diode) is a semi-conductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting. Appearing as practical electronic components in 1962, early LEDs emitted low-intensity red light, but modern versions are available across the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths, with very high brightness. www.plastichem.co.za www.idealed.it Pointing towards the future – Helmut Oellermann, Plastichem MD, demonstrating locally produced LEDs using Coolplast (Proplas Africa 2013)
MATERIALS
RECENT innovations in thermally conductive plastics have opened up new opportunities for thermal management solutions to dissipate heat away from the source and keep components cool. In LED# (lightemitting diode) applications especially the LED performance and lifetime is temperature dependant and effective cooling is critical. The new materials now available are a viable alternative, offering an excellent combination of thermal conductivity, electrical insulating and design freedom. Coolplast – a polyamide-based white material with heat dissipating properties – is one such material that has displaced over-engineered and costly metal-based thermal management systems in LED bulb applications. Coolplast is the trade name used for the heat dissipating polyamide manufactured by PTS, a premier independent materials specialist in Germany, represented by Plastichem in South Africa. In the past the traditional materials used for thermal management have included aluminium, brass or copper. These metalbased heat sinks are expensive and often need post-treatment operations such as painting, drilling or tapping.