At present, the six major trends in home appliances with modified plastics. Mainly: the appearance of more beautiful color \ environmental protection; safety module indicators continue to improve; lightweight transition from the car to the home appliances; health module initial manifestation of low-cost is the eternal theme of energy-saving low-carbon materials.

1. Appearance color module solution

Technology, fashion personalized color home appliances has become the inevitable trend of development. The main solutions are:
1) the use of bright, high-light, scratch-resistant materials;
Material colors are more abundant, such as: bright black, purple, green, red, sea blue and so on.
2) free spraying series - pearl, metal and other pearlescent, metal color, etc.
Plastic products can not spray plating to achieve silver-white, Tu Hao gold, silver and other metal-like effect.

Figure appliances using spray-free materials

3) Other special effects - marble, crystal flow of color marble, crystal flow color.
So that the color of plastic products to achieve the same effect of marble or granite.

Figure special effects (Figure from Kumho Rika)

2. Safety material module solution

Safety appliances have become the basic elements of the development of security appliances has become the basic elements of the current development.
1) high-flame-retardant materials, halogen-free low-smoke materials
Flame retardant PP / ABS / PS or low smoke zero halogen flame retardant PP / ABS / PS / PBT materials, such as refrigerator, air conditioner, washing machine motor box and other internal parts or external parts to meet the 1.5mm 5VA , GWIT850 ℃ and other requirements.

Figure refrigerator

2) High performance materials
ABS / PP / PA / PBT and other applications in the electronic control components; conductive PP / ABS / PS / PBT, and other anti-static anti-static color PP / ABS / PS used in refrigerators, air conditioners and washing machine shell; Applies to internal function parts. To meet the white permanent anti-static 109, high CTI value (600V) and other requirements.

3. Lightweight material module solutions

Lightweight products extended from the car to the appliance is an inevitable trend.
1) to plastic glass, high transparency and high rigidity material
High transparency PP / ABS / PMMA / PETG / PES / PSF on observation windows and other parts, meet the requirements of food hygiene or scratch / strength on the basis of transparency.
2) plastic and steel, rigid, high-dimensional stability of the material
(LFT-PP / PA) used in refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines and other technical structural parts; glass fiber reinforced special engineering materials (PPS / PEI), and so on, and other high-strength glass fiber content (> 50%) Used in wear parts. These materials meet the structural components of high strength, high wear resistance, boiling resistance, temperature and other requirements; In addition, microcellular foam at the same strength, can significantly reduce the weight of plastic appliances, and no warping shrinkage phenomenon, with more High strength and processability.

Figure long glass fiber PP used in washing machine drum

4. Healthy material module solution

Health concept has become the development of home appliances fashion.
1) Antibacterial / anti-mildew material
(Ag, As), can be applied to internal parts or external parts such as refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines and so on. In addition, it is suitable to be used as anti-microbial compound.
2) non-toxic environmentally friendly materials
(TPE / TPV) is applied to door seals and gaskets. It can be applied to the inside and outside parts of household appliances. It is made of low-VOC volatile materials (PP / PS / ABS). In addition, electrical appliances VOC standard requirements are being advanced.

Figure TPE applied to the refrigerator door seal

3) environmentally friendly absorbent material
Appliances inside and outside parts can be used:
PM2.5 adsorbent material (such as the Veshkasan stone filled)
Formaldehyde adsorption material (activated silicon / alumina filled)
Negative ion release material

5. Low cost material module solution

Low-cost appliances for the current development of the urgent needs.
1) new cheap functional materials
The use of cheap polyolefin materials, such as high-light PP instead of ABS, ABS / PVC instead of flame-retardant ABS;
Functional components to plastic instead of steel, copper, glass, aluminum, mirror glass fiber content of high PPS instead of plating metal parts;
Environmentally friendly high-performance recycled plastics (PP / PS / ABS, etc.) to replace new materials, and in line with the US EPEAT electronic products, environmental impact assessment tools).
2) the strength of the same conditions, reduce the amount
Household appliances using microcellular porous structure of foam materials (PP / ABS / PS, etc.);
Adopting 3D printing materials (FDM / SLA / SLS) for rapid sampling of household appliances, reducing R & D costs;
Through CAD / CAE optimization of product structure design, so that home appliances and outside parts, product design is optimized to reduce the amount of

Tou Haier the world's first 3D printing air conditioning

3) integration of the industrial chain: petrochemical manufacturers custom modified plastics
Petrochemical manufacturers and modified enterprises, for whom the customization of specific materials:
High light ABS / PS / PP
Transparent ABS / PS / PP
Self-flame retardant PA6 / PA66, long-chain nylon, ASA

6. Energy-saving low-carbon material module solutions

1) new low-carbon functional materials
Low-carbon skills has become the current trend of the development of home appliances, biodegradable materials and their alloys can be used (starch, PLA) to do household appliances packaging or non-structural parts; can use natural fiber reinforcement (PP) to replace glass fiber reinforced materials ; Can be high heat and weather resistance, high rigidity polypropylene instead of PS / ABS / PA, such as air-conditioning PS skeleton. This is mainly home appliances modified plastics, the lowest carbon index of polypropylene (1.95), a large number of low-carbon composite technology development trend of polypropylene, and can reduce costs.

Figure Polypropylene material

2) energy-saving noise reduction functional materials
Household appliances seals, damping elements using thermoplastic elastomer materials (PVC / TPV / TPE, etc.);
Low noise fan using microcellular foam material (increase coaxiality, improve dynamic balance);
Compressor shock absorber with high damping damping elastomer material, come in to reduce noise.