What are the best weather-resistant materials?
Common materials with good weather resistance include:
- ASA/PC: With excellent cold resistance, high heat resistance and weather resistance, it is recommended for automotive
painting external applications, such as car rearview mirror, radiator grille, tail baffle, lamp shade, etc., and can also be used
for motorcycle panels, camping cars, small boat shells, surfboards, gardening irrigation equipment, lawn cutter shell, sewing
machine, telephone, kitchen equipment, satellite antenna and other all-weather shells. It can also be used in the manufacture
of bearings, circular gears, cams, bevel gears, various rollers, pulleys, pump impels, fan blades, worm wheels, thrusters, screws,
nuts, gaskets, high pressure seals, oil resistant gaskets, oil resistant containers, housings, hoses, cable shears, shears, shaper
slides Electromagnetic distribution valve seats, cold aging equipment, gaskets, bearing retainers, various oil pipelines, pistons,
ropes, transmission belts on automobiles and tractors, textile machinery industrial equipment, and daily necessities and
packaging films.
Polyurea: one of the best weatherability materials known in the world at present, the combination of imported raw materials
and pure polyurea formula gives the product superior weatherability, can be used under -20℃~80℃ environment, not afraid
of thermal expansion and contraction, low temperature can be cured, high temperature does not crack, the south and north
four seasons, the north cold winter or ground heating are very suitable.
PMMA: commonly known as plexiglass, it is the plastic with the best optical properties. The light transmittance is about 92%,
and the light transmittance can still reach 92% after 240H accelerated aging. After 10 years of outdoor use, it only drops to
88%, and can pass ultraviolet light with a wavelength above 270nm. PMMA has excellent weather resistance, and its transparency
and color change are small when exposed to the sun in tropical climates for many years.
- PC: thermoplastic with excellent comprehensive performance, PC optical performance is only lower than PMMA. The color
is light yellow, and the colorless transparent products are obtained after adding light blue, and the transmittance is 88%.
PC is tough and rigid, and its impact strength is among the best in thermoplastics. Heat and cold resistance, can maintain
mechanical stability in the range of -135-120℃.
- PS: Together with PMMA and PC, it is called the three major transparent plastics. The transmittance is 88% and the
birefringence is large. Its optical properties are worse than PMMA, but the moisture absorption rate is low, only 0.02%.
Free coloring, odorless, tasteless and non-toxic.
- PET: Milky white or light yellow, highly crystalline polymer with a smooth and glossy surface. Amorphous PET plastics
have good optical transparency and are most commonly used in transparent beverage bottles. It has excellent physical
and mechanical properties in a wide temperature range, and the long-term use temperature can reach 120℃. Excellent
electrical insulation, at high temperature and high frequency, its electrical performance is still good.
- SAN: acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer. The transmittance is comparable to PS, but the refractive index is slightly lower.
The maximum use temperature is 75-90℃, and the thermal deformation temperature is 82~105℃. High rigidity, good
scratch resistance, the size of the product is stable. Mainly used in engineering plastic products, optical mainly used as a window.
- NAS: copolymer of 70% styrene and 30% acrylic. The light transmittance can reach 90%, and the refractive index can
reach 1.533~1.567. It can be used as a second material like orthochromatic aberration, but it is generally only used for thin lenses.
- TPX: a crystalline transparent plastic with a light transmittance of 90%-92%. The density is only 0.83g/cm3, the lowest
refractive index is 1.465, and the ultraviolet transmittance is second only to inorganic glass. The drug resistance is good,
and the heat resistance is good. Most are used in medical devices, but also in household appliances, lighting appliances,
food containers and films.
- ADC: Good optical performance (white light transmittance 92%), strong chemical stability, high temperature resistance
(long-term use can withstand 100℃, short-term resistance to 150℃). The surface hardness is 40 times higher than PMMA,
which is the hardest of existing optical plastics. It is currently the most important thermosetting material in the field of
optics, so this material is usually formed by casting method. Wear resistance, impact resistance, chemical corrosion ability
is strong, mainly used in eye lenses.
-OZ-1000: Hitachi Chemical Company has developed a new type of alicyclic resin. OZ1000 optical plastic has low dispersion,
high transmittance, low birefringence, and saturated water absorption is only 1/10 of PMMA. Its optical properties are
comparable to PMMA, and its heat resistance is better than PMMA. Suitable for precision molding of high precision lenses.
- ARTON: Developed by Japan Synthetic Rubber Corporation (JSR). In the thermoplastic resin, its specific gravity is the lightest,
water absorption is very small, better than PMMA. It has good light transmission, small color difference, small birefringence
index than PC, better heat resistance than PMMA and PC, tensile strength is better than PMMA, bending elastic modulus is
better than PC. Suitable for aspherical lens.