International Plastics News for Asia

Meeting the special needs of the electronics sector

Electronics have become the backbone of modern lifestyle. As demand for electronic products rises, high-performance materials are finding their special place in this sector due to the ability of plastics to improve miniaturisation, performance and cost.

BCC Research says that the global market for passive and other interconnecting electronic components is expected to grow and reach $213.5 billion by 2017, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4 percent between 2012 and 2017. In a testament to the increased usage of plastics,the global market for plastics in electronic components is expected to reach 4.4 billion pounds in 2017, says Electronics.ca Research Network.

The global volume for plastics in electronic components is expected to reach 3.5 billion pounds in 2012 and increase to 4.4 billion pounds in 2017, a five-year compound annual growth rate of 4.7 percent.The global market can be separated into two segments: thermoplastic and thermoset. In 2012, thermoplastics are expected to total nearly 2.5 billion pounds, and in 2017, the volume should reach 3.1 billion pounds, a CAGR of 4.9 percent.The thermoset segment is projected to reach nearly 1.1 billion pounds in 2012. By 2017, the segment should reach 1.3 billion pounds, a CAGR of 4.3 percent. 

Resin consumption in electronic components is made up of a select group of engineering  thermoplastics led by nylon and thermoplastic polyesters in volume. Based on value, however, higher performance resins such as polyphenylene sulfide, polyimides, polyketones, and liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) have become more significant factors in the market. Engineering thermoplastics dominate the moulded electronic component segment, of which connectors are the most important.

Plastics are the building blocks and stepping-stones of electronic progress for decades: housing electronics, insulating components from all types of interference and protecting their most delicate and sensitive parts against even the tiniest speck of dust. In fact, microprocessor miniaturisation  would  have been impossible without the qualities and cost effectiveness of plastics.

The continuing  miniaturisation of circuit boards and components, such as computer chips, increasingly relies on high-performance plastics to provide tough, dimensionally stable parts that can withstand both the stress of assembly and the strain of use. With plastics, electronic designers simultaneously can decrease size and increase the functionality of circuitry in consumer, business and  industrial electronics.

In the May issue of the International Plastics News - Middle East and Africa and learn how high-performance materials have provided solutions to meet the electronics sector's special requirements.  .