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. .