I am designing a simple injection moulded lightpipe for outdoor use. It will channel light from an LED within an enclosure through hole to the outside world (an oring will provide IP67 ingress protection). Does anyone have any suggestions for a suitable material? A supplier has suggested Lexan LUX7630C (datasheet attached). Any comments or better suggestions? Here are my material requirements: Clear (colourless), injection moulding polymer Operational temperature range: -45°C to +80°C 10+ years harsh environment resistance including salt spray resistance Must be UV stable Must not contain PVC Must be RoHS and WEEE compliant must be UL94-V0
Hi There are 2 plastic right now used for the Light pipe design . One is PC (Poly carbonate) and another one is PMMA (poly methyl meth acrylate) . The important property for the light pipe design is the refractive index and light transmission, for PC it is 1.55 and PMMA is 1.48. So normally PC will be a good choice if cost is not the driving factor.(iam not sure on the part size and Volume per annum ). Clear (colourless), injection moulding polymer - PC you will get it in Transparent, opaque and translucent too. Operational temperature range: -45°C to +80°C - PC works well on your temp , because PC HDT is above 140 deg C. Must be UV stable - Generally PC are not good with UV radiation , But you can get UV stabilised PC in the market (They will add the UV stabilizer resin in teh plastic) Must not contain PVC - PC will not have the PVC . Must be RoHS and WEEE compliant - Yes you can have ROHS PC . must be UL94-V0 - I used PC light pipe in one of my application and the grade is NOVA PC 1045 . Hope i asnwered your question , if you need any more details please let me know. by vj
You can explore PMMA as well, it has excellent transparent properties and this might server your purpose. Are you using clear & transparent or adding some opacity to the light pipe as well? -- Ashish Shah
We have successfully used Makrolon before (a Bayer PC), which passed IP67 and NEMA 4X testing if that helps.
Hi there! I have designed amny lightpipes for the telecommunications and defence industry. 90% of those were with PMMA, due to its clear properties. Pipes made from PMMA are somewhat more brittle than those made from PC (ie. LEXAN). Both do a good job and PC is a more durable material especially when used outdoors. My 2 cents worth! Cheers
