ARC Technologies with CompositeTechs LLC to promote development of a new series of electrically tuned polymer formulations for the plastics and composites industries. These general formulations can be customized to meet the processing and performance specification requirements for extrusion, injection molding, thermoforming, and composite processes.

“We are excited about working with CompositeTechs to target this high-value marketplace with our products” stated Todd Durant, VP of ARC Technologies. “ARC Technologies has over 29 years’ experience in dielectric tuned polymers and composites for specialty applications. With a variety of active products in our portfolio, our increased focus in the development of high-performance electrical materials is a natural growth progression. Our diverse in-depth formulation knowledge, coupled with extensive test capabilities and our detail oriented technical sales support allows us to rapidly customize formulations for our customers with consistent quality and at the right value.”

The materials include formulations with a wide variety of electrical properties and a focus on four general areas; low dielectric, conductive, magnetic absorption, and electrical absorption. They have been tailored to be included in a variety of matrices to allow use in different functional environments and processes.

The low dielectric, low-loss thermoplastic compounds exhibit good resistance to moisture and most chemicals. They are ideal for applications at 24 GHz and 77 GHz, including radomes for automotive radar, and can be used as an impedance-matching material or as a dielectric spacer. The highly conductive formulations provide excellent shielding over a wide frequency range.

They are used for molding electronic covers and enclosures that can benefit from low cost and design flexibility. The magnetic absorption formulations provide a balance of mechanical and electrical properties and are ideal for surface current reduction, cavity mode suppression, and attenuating near-field emissions from 1 to 18 GHz. The electrical absorption compounds are designed for attenuation in the 10+ GHz range and can be used for lossy enclosures and housings to reduce/eliminate antenna pattern side lobes and improve performance. All of the materials are halogen free, RoHs and REACH compliant.

Samples of the materials and technical brochures will be on display at the CAMX composites conference in Orlando, FL from Sept 12-14, 2017, at the ARC Technologies booth #H88. A technical paper will be presented by CompositeTechs at the conference with up-to-date technical information on the formulations, properties, processes, and applications.