Conductive plastics

To provide electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, metal fibers can be added to a plastic component to create an electrically conductive matrix in plastic products. In such applications, metal fibers perform an additional valuable role by allowing metal parts to be replaced with lightweight plastic parts, while maintaining the required electrical conductivity.

 

Advantages of metal fibers for conductive plastics:

  • High levels of electrical conductivity at low volume % of metal fiber leading to excellent EMI shielding effectiveness and ESD protection.
  • Low impact on mechanical properties (e.g. IZOD impact strength)
  • Ideal for metal replacements
  •  No influence on final color; no post-processing needed; any color is possible
  •  Durable long-lasting conductivity, non-marking and non-sloughing
  •  Easy and safe handling of the material
  •  Easy processing in compounding and injection molding, without adapting the process
  •  Custom solutions possible in specialized alloys or optimized sizing and coating of the Beki-Shield® grains.

 

 

Create a faraday cage with metal fibers

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is caused by electromagnetic waves, which can originate from all sorts of different man-made or natural sources. These electromagnetic waves can create unwanted noise or disturbances with other electrical equipment. In some cases, this interference is unacceptable and the correct functioning of your equipment needs to be guaranteed (e.g. anti-collision sensors in a car, EMG equipment, ….). A Faraday cage creates a barrier to protect the electrical equipment. It will ensure that the power of the incoming wave is reflected and absorbed and that the outgoing wave will reduce in power. Metal fibers can be used to create a Faraday cage by incorporating them into the plastic housing. Due to the very high levels of electrical conductivity of the metal fibers, you will be able to reach very high levels of shielding effectiveness.

Shielding performance

Volume % fibers Weight % fibers (*) Bulk resistivity (Ohm.cm) Performance (**)
 0.25 - 0.50  4   < 10²   ESD protection
 1  8  0.5 - 2  30 - 50 dB EMI shielding
 1,5  11  0.1 - 0.5  50 - 60 dB EMI shielding
 > 1.5  >11  < 0.1  > 60 dB EMI shielding

(*) resin density: ± 1 g/cm³ - stainless steel fiber density: ± 8 g/cm³
(**) 30-1000 MHz shielding range