Sensors and Switches

Without input, the impressive processing capability of contemporary computer chips are impotent. Of course, input can come in many forms, from a single switch setting to a high-speed datastream, and can be provided in many different ways. When we want the processing element to take its own input from the external world, we must equip it with appropriate sensors. These may measure temperature, pressure, position, speed direction, light, moisture or any other parameter needed for system control. Sensor output to the system ideally should be a “clean” and accurate signal, a requirement that insulating plastics from Ticona help to meet.

Ticona’s engineering resins provide key physical, electrical and optical properties that make them exceptional candidates for a broad range of sensor applications in homes and automobiles. With excellent molding reproducibility and dimensional stability, they help ensure sensor performance that is both uniform and consistent.

Many sensor body needs can be well met by Celanex® polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) products, either standard or flame-retardant. Where thin wall structures with long flow paths must be made, Vectra® liquid crystal polymer (LCP) is the right candidate. Available in a variety of grades, Vectra LCP also offers V-0 performance in the Underwriters Laboratories UL-94 test. As well as excellent flow, and high heat resistance (lead free soldering), Vectra LCP has very low post-molding shrinkage and a low coefficient of thermal expansion.  Coupled with negligible moisture absorption, these properties make it an outstanding material for applications requiring high precision and dimensional stability.

When temperatures go up or where there is a challenging chemical environment, check out Fortron® polyphenylene sulfide (PPS). Reinforced grades of this resin deliver heat deflection temperature (HDT) values in excess of 260ºC (500° F), and the base resin has no known solvents below about 200ºC (392° F). At lower temperatures, only minimal effects are seen from exposure to hydrocarbons, alcohols, ethers, and most acids and bases. Fortron PPS not only withstands harsh environments and high temperatures, it is also inherently V-0 in the UL-94 test.