High temperature polyamide for Laser Direct Structuring (LDS)
As devices get smaller and smaller electronics manufacturers need tinier, more integrated plastic components. Our Stanyl® ForTii™ combines well with Laser Direct Structuring (LDS) to provide a unique solution.
Can you help?
Stanyl ForTii has already been used for USB ports. What other electrical and electronics and electrical applications could it be used for? Are there applications outside electronics? If you think you have the answer please get in touch!
The challenge
How do manufacturers get more functionality out of their electrical products whilst also making them ever smaller? We’ve all seen how the size of mobile phones and personal stereos have shrunk while their performance has increased hugely.
For electronics manufacturers the trend towards miniaturization isn’t just about getter smaller but it’s also about finding ways of integrating components into a single entity…and to do that takes a high temperature polyamide able to perform in very challenging conditions…Stanyl ForTii.
The solution
Stanyl ForTii is a high temperature polyamide from DSM that offers manufacturers increased flexibility in design and manufacturing thanks to its smart combination of thermal, mechanical and rheological properties. When integrated with LDS, Stanyl ForTii enables us to help the electronics industry create products with much smaller footprints and better integrated components.
Stanyl ForTii is well-suited to lead-free soldering and has a high melting temperature, a high glass transition temperature and good stiffness across a broad temperature range. Furthermore, Stanyl ForTii shows comparable thermal expansion for both the parallel and vertical flow direction, which means it can be used in applications where co-planarity is a key issue.
LDS is the technology with the most design freedom to selectively plate plastic parts. The LDS process consists of 3 basic steps:
- The plastic part is molded
- A 3D laser system writes the desired pattern onto the surface top layer of the molded part. Upon contact with the laser, an LDS additive in the plastic is transformed into micro metal cores that appear on the surface of the pattern
- The pattern is then plated and the plating sticks only to the metal cores, thus creating a conductive pattern
Benefits
Stanyl ForTii offers you:
- A halogen-free high temperature polyamide
- Suitability for lead-free soldering
- A melting temperature of 325 °C
- Glass transition temperature of 125 °C
- High stiffness across a broad temperature range which means very low warpage
- Good rheological properties
- High toughness
- Extremely high HDT supporting very good co-planarity
Success story
High-speed digital interfaces like USB ports are popular in the mobile, computer and TV segments.
To prevent serious damage, these external interfaces always needed to be protected from electromagnetic interference (EMI) filtering and electrostatic discharge (ESD) – currently done by separate devices.
But not any more. Together with NXP Semiconductors, Nano Technology Mfg. Pte. Ltd, and Laser Micronics we have shown that it’s possible to integrate the EMI filtering and ESD protection device into one component, while using Stanyl ForTii with LDS.
What else could be possible?
The offer
- It’s proven: As our success story illustrates our new high T polyamide has already been tested successfully by customers in the electronics industry
- It’s patented: The intellectual property is solid and protected
- It’s available: We’re looking for partners to work with us on this exciting new development to find new applications and possibly even new markets
Links & Downloads
- Stanyl ForTii website
- NXP semiconductors
- Joint paper DSM and NXP
- Integrated Functionality in High-Temperature LDS Assemblies
