SABIC, a global leader in the chemical industry, has announced its collaboration with Cybershield, a US supplier of metalized plastic components, to advance the use of plated ULTEM resins in aerospace applications.
Through this collaboration, which is being featured at NPE2024 and the 2024 Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX), SABIC’s team shared with Cybershield its extensive expertise on injection moulding of high-heat ULTEM resins. This training prepared Cybershield for successfully moulding ULTEM 2310 resin into backshells for electrical connectors that are well suited for use in audiovisual (AV) control modules for commercial aircraft.
“These collaborations are the latest in our longstanding, multi-faceted relationship with SABIC,” said Stanley Walton, director, R&D and sales and marketing, Cybershield. “For instance, we previously worked with SABIC on the development of glass fibre-reinforced ULTEM EPR resins, which offer enhanced plating capability. Today, thanks to SABIC’s invaluable guidance on all aspects of processing ULTEM 2310 resin, we have expanded our moulding capabilities beyond lower-temperature materials. Our customer Russtech Engineering is very happy with the components we are moulding and plating, and we are now well positioned to pursue other applications for their growing inFlite Products Suite.”
As part of the ongoing collaboration with SABIC, Cybershield is sharing its extensive experience and capabilities to optimize plating quality and performance on a range of ULTEM resins and other specialty materials to potentially expand their use in numerous applications requiring EMI shielding.
“We deeply appreciate Cybershield’s willingness to learn from SABIC about molding our high-heat materials, and to make their facility available to expand our understanding of plating technology,” said Luc Govaerts, technology director, SABIC Specialties. “This is a true collaboration where both companies benefit from accessing each other’s extraordinary experience, resources and knowledge. Based on our work with Cybershield, we are confident that plated ULTEM resins can benefit aerospace customers, as well as those in the automotive and consumer electronics industries, by delivering key properties such as light weight, high heat resistance and excellent shielding performance.”
