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Thanks to their enhanced thermal management capabilities, these materials are enabling a new generation of electrical and electronic components that offer improved performance, reliability, and waste reduction. 3M™ Boron Nitride Cooling Fillers are a versatile family of ceramic fillers that improve the thermal conductivity of polymers while maintaining electrical insulation. Designed to meet the increasing need for “smart” polymers, these boron nitride cooling fillers can be formulated into many thermoplastics, elastomers, thermoset resins and adhesives. By functionally integrating thermal management with electrical insulation, boron nitride-filled compounds may even enable lighter, simpler component designs – which can reduce total system costs.
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Advantages of 3M™ Boron Nitride Cooling Fillers in Automotive Applications
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High Thermal Conductivity
- xEVs present new thermal challenges throughout the vehicle. In some applications, like power electronics, high heat needs to be dissipated from a small area. With an inherently high thermal conductivity, even a small amount of BNCF can boost the thermal conductivity of various polymers such as silicones, epoxies, and thermoplastics. Our BNCF platelets, flakes, and agglomerates can be used to achieve either through-plane or in-plane heat dissipation, depending on your application needs.
- With a material thermal conductivity of 400 w/mK in plane, BNCF is 8-20x more thermally conductive than alumina fillers (intrinsic) and 2 – 8x more thermally conductive when mixed in polymers.
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Excellent Processability
- Abrasive fillers can wear away at equipment being used to process the materials. Compared to other fillers, BNCF is one of the least abrasive. This softer material can minimize equipment wear which may help to extend your equipment lifetime.
- As you add fillers to your polymer matrix to boost thermal conductivity, the viscosity of the matrix changes. 3M’s multiple cooling filler grades allow you to define the viscosity to optimize your formulation and tailor to your application need.
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Electrical Insulation
- Compared to other ceramic fillers, Boron Nitride Cooling Fillers (BNCF) provides the highest the highest electrical resistivity at >10^15 Ohm*cm with a high breakdown strength. Not only can you boost the thermal conductivity properties of your matrix, you can tackle multiple properties with this one filler by also making it more electrically insulating. This can help to shield more sensitive components and prevent unwanted arcing.
- High electrical insulation and breakdown strength are main requirements for thin insulation foils.
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Lightweight
- With a low density of 2.25 g/cm^3, adding BNCF to your compound will boost needed properties while keeping the compound density at 1.2 – 1.6 g/cm^3.
- The low compound density is favorable for housings or LED lamp sockets for example as higher weight aluminum parts can be replaced by the thermal conductive polymer.
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Low Loss Factor
- In a 5G connected and autonomous driving world, vehicles will generate and process more data at higher speeds and frequencies. Sensors and other automotive electronic designs are smaller, higher-performing – and produce a lot more heat. Also, as signal transmission and frequencies increase, especially in the millimeter wave spectrum, the risk of signal loss intensifies. Managing these challenges will help improve automated driving systems performance and reliability for increased safety on the road.
- In addition to boosting thermal conductivity, BNCF can also help to improve dielectric properties, as the material has a low loss factor (Df) of 0.00035 @1GHz and permittivity (Dk) of 4 @1 GHz. The lower loss factor helps to provide higher signal transmission. *Not for specification purposes.
Thermal management solutions in vehicles
Thermally conductive materials are used throughout the vehicle. These include potting resins, heat spreaders, glues, greases, thermal interface material (TIM) foils & pads, and insulation foils. Injection molded thermoplastics used to make housings and sockets can also be made thermally conductive to help remove heat and keep components cool. Thermal management solutions are needed in electric motors, batteries, human machine interface (HMI) systems, sensors, ECUs, electronics and headlamps.
The technology behind our thermally conductive fillers
Learn more about thermally conductive fillers and how BNCF can boost the thermal conductivity of existing compounds, how processing factors influence performance, and more!
Whether you are trying to maximize through plane or in plane conductivity, our 3M Experts will work with you to identify the best filler for your application.
Ready to try it out?
With a full portfolio of products and strong technical support, 3M can be your solution to many thermal management challenges! If you know what you need, contact us today to request a sample.
