Conductive nylon provides matching light housings

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 18, 2008

Zytel CDV allowed Philips to use the same powder coating process that it uses to paint the steel housing, involving temperatures of 185C during the curing process

The switch to a conductive grade of DuPont Zytel nylon for the manufacture of lighting fixtures has helped Philips Lighting achieve its aesthetic, production and sustainability goals.

Zytel CDV has been approved for future Philips lighting applications.

Due to the nylon's inherent conductivity, the injection-moulded end caps for the X-tendolight range of luminaires from Philips lend themselves to the same powder coating process as used for the light's steel housing.

This facilitates a closer colour match between components, eliminates the need for wet painting that contains hazardous solvents and greatly simplifies the manufacturing process.

The X-tendolight range of luminaries from Philips is mainly used in offices.

The lights are up to 2m long and feature a steel plate body that can be powder coated in a range of colours and finishes depending on customer requirements.

End caps previously fitted to the housing had been moulded in a standard white polycarbonate-ABS blend and then wet-painted for a best-matching finish in cases where the customer requested a colour other than standard white.

The use of solvent-based paints necessitated the conversion of the production line to meet European emission regulations, particularly with regard to air filtration and product handling.

Seeking a more cost-effective and sustainable alternative, Philips trialled Zytel CDV, a conductive nylon resin from DuPont, on the recommendation of Roger Moons, DuPont Engineering Polymer's Development Manager for the Benelux region.

"Zytel CDV offers an economical way to produce powder-coated parts due to its inherent conductivity".

"As a result, Philips could use the same powder coating process that it uses to paint the steel housing, involving temperatures of 185C during the curing process, without compromising the performance of the Zytel part".

"Moreover, the Zytel CDV resin can be injection moulded using the same tools as those used for the PC-ABS, so there is no need for additional investment in processing equipment", Moons said.

Due to their dimensional stability and low-warpage behaviour, Zytel CDV resins are well suited for use in the production of lighting end caps.

Two snap fits, incorporated in the moulding's design, create a reliably tight fitting to the luminaire's housing.

Erik Kremer, Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental Manager at Philips Lighting.

"Firstly we achieve a vastly superior colour match to the light housing, due to the fact that both parts are treated in the same process".

"The same applies to their surface finish".

"Secondly, our manufacturing process is simplified, more flexible and far more cost-effective".

"We now only require a single coating line for both parts, parts can be coated as and when required".

"Thirdly, by eliminating the use of solvents, we go further to meeting our company's own sustainability objectives and prevent additional expenditure on redundant air-filtering and handling systems".

Martijn van der Pol, Purchasing Manager at Philips Lighting said: "This specific Zytel CDV grade has the same shrinkage properties as PC-ABS, which we thought would be impossible".

"By adding this conductive grade to the manufacturing process for our existing luminaire range, we gained the flexibility to use both materials in the same tool".

"Thus we can continue to produce off the shelf white luminaires with pre-coloured PC-ABS and choose to make any other colour with Zytel CDV with no extra tool investment and minimal variable cost".