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A top-performing super engineering plastic found in the latest IT devices
LAPEROS® LCP is a leading super engineering plastic that has a thinness and fluidity unheard of in typical engineering plastics. Heat-resistant and possessing an incomparable mechanical strength, LCP has the unique attribute that the thinner the product becomes, the greater its mechanical strength. Moreover, it has a low coefficient of linear thermal expansion close to that of metal. It is often used in superminiature precision connectors for ever-smaller IT devices like tablets and smartphones. It is at the top globally* with a total market share of 37%.
Source: Fuji Keizai, “Market Outlook for Engineering Plastic and Global Strategy 2017”
Key properties
- High flowability
- Vibration absorption
- Thin and strong
- Non-halogen
- Flame resistance
- High elastic modulus
- Metal-like linear expansion rate
- Solder heat resistance
The liquid crystal polymer LAPEROS® LCP has a unique structure and performance unheard of in traditional plastics. The Thermotropic Liquid Crystal Polymer is commonly known as LCP.
Besides possessing mechanical strength of an entirely different class, LCP has a unique attribute in that the thinner the product becomes, the greater its mechanical strength per unit of cross-sectional surface area. Moreover, it has a linear expansion coefficient close to that of metal. In addition, despite its high elastic modulus, LCP also possesses superior vibration absorbing properties.
As an engineering plastic that turns common wisdom on its head and approaches the properties of steel, LAPEROS is said to be the epitome of next-generation advanced engineering plastics. Making full use of its mechanical properties and vibration-absorbing characteristics in AV equipment components such as CD pickups, its solder heat resistance in surface-mounted (SMT) electronic components, and its superior flowability in narrow pitch connectors required for ever-more advanced mobile devices, application development is proceeding rapidly.
Raw ingredients and production method
LCP is defined as a physical state and arbitrary chemical structures can be adopted according to this definition. The basic structure is a wholly aromatic polyester. The key monomer is p-HBA (para-hydroxy benzoic acid).
Polymers polymerized solely from p-HBA do not melt and as such, they cannot be processed. Therefore, copolymerization with different monomers is carried out to find a balance between the melting point and liquid crystal properties when making LCP.
An example is shown here of the chemical structure of our company's Type A polymer.
Glass fiber-reinforced grades of LCP are widely used in the market. For this reason, LCP is compounded with various reinforcing materials to make numerous grades.
List of leading grades
| Property | Characteristic | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| High strength･ High Toughness | GF reinforced | A130 |
| Standard, For SMT | GF reinforced | E130i |
| Standard, For SMT | Low warpage, Low anisotropy | E463i |
| Standard, For SMT | Low warpage | E471i |
| Standard, For SMT | Low warpage, High flow | E473i |
| High heat resistance, High-temperature stiffness | GF reinforced | S135 |
| High heat resistance, High-temperature stiffness | Low warpage | S471 |
| High heat resistance, High-temperature stiffness | Low warpage, Super high flow | S475 |
Applications
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Narrow pitch connector 1
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Narrow pitch connector 2
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Inverter case
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Microswitch