What is ABS material?
The question "what is ABS?" most people can answer. It is, in fact, the anti-lock braking system of a vehicle. That's correct, but besides that, ABS is also a material that can be used in LED lighting. ABS also stands for acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene. The material consists of half styrene. 5 to 30% is butadiene. The rest is acrylonitrile. The advantage of ABS is that it is easily injection-molded. This results in a smooth and sturdy plastic. ABS is also used in the production of LEGO bricks.
How strong is ABS material?
ABS is a relatively light material. Nevertheless, it is very strong and solid. An advantage of ABS is that it has no tendency to creep, the deformation of a material after long-term loading. ABS is a thermoplastic. The consequence of this is that the material is not entirely resistant to very high temperatures. How high the temperature can be depends on the modification of the material. This varies approximately between 85 and 100 degrees Celsius.
Is it harmful?
Plastic is sometimes seen as harmful. The raw material styrene, which is found in ABS, is harmful in itself. But the end product is not. ABS falls under the safe types of plastic. What is important to keep in mind is that the material cannot be combined with any other material. Then it could happen that it can be seen as harmful.
The benefits
Each material brings its own advantages, of course. So does ABS. The various advantages at a glance:
- High resistance to chemicals
- Electrically insulating
- Long service life
- Simple injection moulding
- Can be lacquered and metalised
- High melting temperature
- Hard
- Solid
ABS material at TRALERT®
ABS material can also be found in the lighting of TRALERT®. The material is used in the housing of the lighting. This is the case with various lighting. An example of this is the 355ARWML LED neon rear light including reflector. The housing of the lamp is made of ABS plastic.