Ems-chemie Ag

Volker Eichhorn

Georg Stoeppelmann

Helmut Thullen

Ornulf Rexin

Joachim Schaefer

Hans-Matthias Horn

Ilona Schmidt

Thomas Wutke

The present invention relates to reinforced polyamide molding materials with high notch impact strengths, comprising low viscous polyamides and flat glass fibers as a reinforcing medium, characterized in a polyamide matrix, comprising the following components: (A) 0 to 60 wt.-% of at least one aliphatic, partly crystalline polyamide with a solution viscosity, measured in m-cresol (0.5 wt-%), of &#x3b7;less than 1.9, (B) 0 to 60 wt.-% of at least one amorphous or microcrystalline polyamide based on aliphatic, cycloaliphatic or aromatic diamines, dicarboxylic acids, lactams and/or aminocarboxylic acids, preferably with 6 to 36 carbon atoms, or a mixture of such homopolyamides and/or copolyamides, wherein the components (A) and (B) fulfill the condition: (A)+(B)=20 to 60 wt.-% and that, in the case of a mixture of components (A) and (B), at least 50 weight parts aliphatic blocks (A) are present in the mixture, and a filler component, comprising: (C) 40 to 80 wt.-% flat glass fibers with elongated shape, and the glass fibers have a non-circular cross-sectional area and a size ratio of the main cross-sectional axis to the secondary cross-sectional axis of between 2 to 5, particularly between 3 and 4, and (D) 0 to 40 wt.-% particle like or layer like fillers, with the prerequisite that carbon fibers are excluded, wherein the polyamide molding materials optionally comprise up to 5 wt.-% of further usual additives and auxiliary agents (E), and wherein the weight of the components (A) to (E) sums up to 100%.

Polyamide molding materials reinforced with glass fibers and injection molded parts thereof

The car industry increasingly uses plastic optical fibers whose protective sheathing () is made of a polyamide. As unmodified PA poorly adheres to the fluoropolymers often used as the material for the fiber cladding (), the plastic optical fiber () moves in relation to the protective sheathing () when the temperature varies. To suppress this effect referred to as 'pistoning', the connectors and holders of the optical fibers must apply very large clamping forces to the protective sheathing () and the plastic optical fiber () arranged therein, resulting in an increased signal attenuation. The use of a modified PA can clearly improve the adherence of the protective sheathing () to the cladding () of a plastic optical fiber which is made of a fluoropolymer. As the protective sheathing material, particularly a modified PA 12 whose maximum concentration of the carboxyl terminal groups of the polyamide is 15 &#x3bc;eq/g and whose concentration of the amino terminal groups is in the range of 50 &#x3bc;eq/g to 300 &#x3bc;eq/g may be used.

Optical wave-guide

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Chur, Switzerland

Volker Eichhorn