Electrically conductive plastics can be used in safety edges, body monitoring devices, and other wearable applications. They bring safety for passangers in transportation, hospital and other care patients, and can be used in sports applications.
Safety edges
Safety edges are sensors that protect people and products from closing doors and hatches. A safety edge can protect cars from closing garage doors, passengers from closing train doors, or products on production lines from breakage.
An example: A garage door
A safety edge made of PRE-ELEC® electrically conductive plastics makes it safe to close a garage door. When the door touches something solid, such as a car or a person, the profile bends temporarily. The bending acts as contact detection and sends a signal to the door mechanism to stop its movement. Unless such safety measures are included in systems operating with powerful motors, a serious level of danger is present.
The safety edge operation principle is demonstrated. The pressure-activated contact sends an electric current between the + and – terminals, which can be used as an input for electronics, i.e., current implies a contact, and lack of current implies the safety edge is not in contact with anything.
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Healthcare
Electrically conductive plastics also are essential materials, e.g., in hospital environments and body monitoring technologies.
Several drivers increase the need for electrically conductive plastics: rapid technology development creates high demands for devices and products. In many cases, technologies are based on body monitoring and signal transmission; durable and flexible material applications are needed. Electrically conductive plastics meet the demands. Conductive polymers are also an excellent choice for replacing metal.
We have innovated conductive, flexible, durable material solutions for various devices and applications. Many of them are also ideal for skin contact:
- Body monitoring and other wearable electronics
- ECG electrodes