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Aurum announces product being used by NASA


Houston plastics company BARplast provided the thermoplastic polyimide AURUM that has been tested by NASA, the company said in a press release this week. The researcher of the NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, tested thermoplastic Polyimides that "demonstrated interesting properties," making it a possible candidate for the electrical wiring requirements for future aero-space transportation technologies.



In a NASA White Paper presented at the SAMPE conference in May 2024 the

researcher points out that there are: “electrical wiring requirements for next-

generation air and space transportation engineering designs, with continuous

operation temperature requirements of up to 200°C.


The objective of this study was to assess the potential of thermoplastic polyimides as a high-temperature electrical insulation solution. Furthermore, the white paper highlights the need of "thermoplastic electrical insulation materials systems to improve thermal

management in high power density electric motors" and it states that a melt

processable PI with high service temperatures is of interest as an electrical insulation

candidate material. Additionally, "melt processing enables facile dispersion of fillers

within a polymer matrix which can impart additional functionality such as thermal

conductivity," the Aurum press release claimed.


AURUM is a semicrystalline TPI suitable for powder coating, injection molding, and

extrusion coating, with the highest glass transition temperature in its class. The

extrusion processing of AURUM for wire insulation is highly economical, allowing for

extremely thin layers and offering high elasticity as well as good compatibility with

cooling and lubricating oils.


AURUM, a polymer produced by Mitsui Chemicals Inc. and sold by BARplast in the

USA and BIEGLO in Europe, has one of the highest glass transition temperature (Tg)

of 245°C (473°F) of any commercially available thermoplastics.


BARplast is a subsidiary of BIEGLO Group a distributor of high -performance plastics

based in Hamburg, Germany. With over 10 years of experience BIEGLO is serving a

wide range of industries, including aerospace, automotive, electrical and more.

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