Vimar SpA, a global manufacturer of electrical wiring devices and smart home solutions based in Marostica, Italy, has launched the new Linea switch range. The series has been designed to reduce environmental impact while maintaining design and functionality. A key element is the mounting frames produced by injection molding from the Durethan Blue BKV60H2.0EF compound supplied by Envalior. This is a highly reinforced polyamide 6 in which around 90% of the content is circular raw materials. The use of this material, combined with optimized production processes, improved product management and the use of certified sustainable packaging materials, has enabled Vimar to reduce the carbon footprint of the switch range by more than 80% compared with earlier fossil-based solutions. On the scale of annual production, this corresponds to a reduction of approximately 500 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Circular polyamide in a circular economy strategy
The Italian company emphasizes that the choice of engineering plastics was an integral part of a broader climate strategy. As underlined by Sandro Bernardi, industrial operations director at Vimar: "We are very pleased that Linea is making a major contribution to climate and resource protection. Sustainable construction materials such as Envalior's circular Durethan are an important element in our corporate strategy of aligning all our processes and products with the circular economy through the use of green energy, sustainable raw material management, and highly efficient technologies."
In the new range, more than 97% of the plastics used in production come from renewable and recycled sources. These raw materials are accounted for via mass balance and certified according to the ISCC Plus standard (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification). The relevant Envalior production facilities in Antwerp and Krefeld-Uerdingen are also certified to ISCC Plus, which ensures traceability of raw material streams and compliance with mass balance system requirements.
Reinforcement with recycled fibers and bio-based feedstocks
The Durethan Blue used in the mounting frames is a polyamide 6 compound reinforced with 60 wt% recycled glass fibers. In their production, a significant proportion of the inorganic glass feedstock has been replaced by industrial glass waste, which further reduces the demand for primary mineral raw materials. The share of circular feedstocks also includes chemical components used for polyamide synthesis.
In the manufacture of the precursor for polyamide 6, cyclohexane is used that is bio-based, recycled bio-based and/or produced by chemical recycling. Overall, as pointed out by Fabio Passeri, business development manager at Envalior: "As a result, our high-performance compound consists of around 90% sustainable raw materials, which is a peak value for a glass fiber-reinforced plastic."
Injection molding and thin-wall geometry
Despite its high glass fiber content, the Durethan Blue compound shows very good flowability in injection molding. This enables precise reproduction of the thin-wall, flat geometry of the mounting frames designed for the Linea range, without compromising dimensional accuracy. At the same time, the material exhibits low warpage and high stiffness and mechanical strength, which is important when designing slim, load-bearing structural parts in electrical installation applications.
According to Passeri: "The frames can therefore be made very thin-walled, which contributes to the attractive slim design of the switches. The compound's excellent electrical properties, such as high-volume resistance and high dielectric strength, combined with its long-term thermal stability, ensure a long product life cycle for the switches." These parameters are crucial for electrical safety and resistance to thermal stresses during long-term operation of installations.
Material selection support and digital tools
Detailed information on the properties of materials offered by Envalior, including compounds in the Durethan Blue family, is available in the MaterialAdvisor tool. The platform provides access to material data and digital services that manufacturers can use to search for, select and evaluate plastics for specific applications, both in the electrical installation sector and in other segments of the plastics processing industry.
The mounting frames for the Linea switches are injection molded with Durethan Blue BKV60H2.0EF, a sustainable polyamide 6 that consists of around 90% circular raw materials.
