In recent years, with the retreat of European and American home appliances, China has gradually become a global home appliance manufacturing center. Therefore , the demand for plastic materials is also increasing. Plastic has become the second type of raw material in the home appliance industry after steel, and it is also the fastest-growing material. At present, plastics are indispensable in China's major household electrical appliances, whether it is small appliances or home appliances . So today, let ’s take a look at what plastics are used in the housing of home appliances . For the manufacture of appliance housings plastic mostly thermoplastic plastic , about 90%. After collection, there are the following:

HIPS impact-resistant polystyrene

ABS acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer

PC polycarbonate

PPO polyphenylene ether

PVC polyvinyl chloride

1. Characteristics of plastics for home appliances

General plastics mainly: ABS, HIPS, GPPS, PP, etc .;

• High surface requirements: color, finish, gloss, hardness, printing performance, etc .;

• Good mechanical properties, thermal properties, aging resistance;

• Flame retardant performance, electrical insulation performance;

• Better processing performance, dimensional stability; cheaper price.

Second, common household appliances commonly used plastic

1.ABS、HIPS

It has good strength and toughness, high surface gloss, wear resistance, and excellent comprehensive performance. It is the most widely used plastic variety in home appliances. The annual consumption of ABS / HIPS in China's home appliance industry is more than 1 million tons, which is the most used variety of plastics for home appliances; it is used in household appliance shells such as TV sets, radios, tape recorders, electric fans, vacuum cleaners, refrigerator liners, drawers, etc. At present, domestic commonly used ABS suppliers are: Chimei , Kumho, Daqing, Jihua; HIPS is BASF , Zhenjiang Chimei, etc.

2.PP

HIPS and ABS are the first plastic materials used in household appliances. Due to the high price of HIPS and ABS resins, foreign countries have gradually developed PP (polypropylene) modified materials suitable for household appliance parts , and their low cost , Light weight, good performance and other advantages partially replace the application of HIPS and ABS resin in household appliances.

The current main directions of PP materials are:

1) High rigidity and high gloss PP

This product will likely replace PS and ABS in some home appliances, especially small home appliances.

2) Halogen-free flame retardant PP

The implementation of the EU RoHS directive, the importance of environmental protection in various countries, the research and development of halogen-free flame retardant PP is urgent, and the market prospect is broad.

3) Antibacterial PP

This plastic is a new type of functional polymer material with its own sterilization and bacteriostatic properties. It can be used in washing machine liners, plastic parts in refrigerators, etc. It has a broad prospect.

4) Long glass fiber reinforced PP

Ordinary short glass fiber reinforced PP , because it contains short glass fiber, easy to warp, low impact strength, easy to deform when heated, long glass fiber can overcome the above defects of short glass fiber, and the product has a good surface, high Temperature and high impact strength can be applied to refrigerators and kitchen appliances with high heat resistance.

3. PS sum SAN

Good transparency, good rigidity, high surface hardness, stable size, good strength and toughness, good surface decoration, low price, it is the most used transparent plastic variety in household appliances; used in refrigerator fruit and vegetable boxes, egg racks, trays , Tape cassettes and other transparent parts.

4.PVC

Rigid PVC is a material with good flame retardant properties, chemical resistance, UV resistance, and cost advantages. It has been proven in the North American home appliance market with strict requirements and successfully replaced other polymers. Materials, such as flame retardant ABS, PC + ABS, PC.

In fact, rigid PVC has been continuously promoting the innovative design of the housing of home appliances, such as metal appearance, IML in-mold decoration box glass package. Such sources are abundant, low in price, strong in applicability, and wide in application, but currently used in household appliances are narrow; domestically used mainly for refrigerator door seals and various household appliance sealing sleeves; used abroad to replace some PP, ABS and HIPS Carry out injection molding and ABS alloy to prepare home appliance shell.

5.PC

Engineering plastic with the best toughness, good creep resistance, good heat and cold resistance, long-term use temperature is -60 ~ 120 ℃, aging resistance, good transparency. Used for transparent parts such as fruit and vegetable boxes, egg racks, trays, tape boxes and other refrigerators for hair dryers, electric heater shells, gears, racks, transparent covers, compact discs, washing machine side covers, hot water contact parts, etc.