Insulator plastics

[enginesrus]

Do any of the plastics now perform like Bakelite in the old days? Bakelite did not deform from heat nor melt. And is the plastic that is used now capable of maintaining shape in high temp conditions?

Had to edit the last sentence as it didn't make sense.

 

[edison123]

Epoxy bonded fibre glass laminates with higher thermal rating and better mechanical strengths have replaced bakelite over a quarter century.

Muthu

http://www.edison.co.in

 

[MikeHalloran]

Bakelite is still available, but it's old.
when it first appeared, it was the only game in town.
Now there must be millions of alternatives from which to choose; some are better in some ways, some are not.
I.e., "the plastic that is used now" could be one of millions, so you have to ask the question for a particular part.



Mike Halloran
Stratford, CT, USA

 

[thermionic1]

IIRC, a product called Glastic is used in MV VCB's that may have properties desirable. Glastic

 

[oldfieldguy]

Early forms of Glastic had a hygroscopic resin that proved to be a problem in and among some of my clients down here in the humidity along the Gulf of Mexico. I personally discovered numerous cases where moisture would allow voltage to track internally in Glastic components, sometimes invisible a surface inspection.

I understand that they reformulated to eliminate the hygroscopic tendencies but the older stuff is still out there providing fun.

old field guy

 

[Zogzog]

OFG, we see that often in some older ABB metering CT's. They will actually melt on the shelf in a warehouse.

OP, did you have something specific going on that caused you to ask this question or just a general curiosity ?

 

[BrianPetersen]

Bakelite or a close cousin of it ("phenolic") is still used to make brake caliper pistons, among other things.

In automotive usage, its traditional application for distributor caps and rotors has gone by the wayside. Cars built today don't have those any more.

In the first half (ish) of the 20th century, if something needed to be made of "plastic", this or rubber of some sort were practically the only choices. Today there are countless other choices.

 

[Compositepro]

Bakelite is a brand name for phenolic resin. Phenolic is still very widely used. It is a thermoset resin as opposed to thermoplastic. Thermoplastic resins melt while thermosets do not. Once the chemical curing reaction is done during molding thermosets cannot be reformed, and will char rather than melt. Thermosets often contain fillers like calcium carbonate of fibers to improve properties and reduce cost.