Full line of silicone elastomers from Bluestar at Dallas show

Full line of silicone elastomers… Bluestar offers a full range of products for the solar market including silicone elastomers for frame sealing, junction box potting and bonding, and solar cell encapsulation. “With PV solar panel manufacturing becoming more and more cost-driven, we’ve focused our product development efforts on formulations that offer fast cure reactivity without sacrificing physical properties or long-term durability,” explained Reeshemah Chatham, Market Manager for Sealing and Bonding, for Bluestar Silicones. “The increased curing kinetics of our range of products offers significant cycle time reductions, resulting in greater productivity for PV panel makers.

Bluestar Silicones is a recent entrant in the fast-growing solar energy market which is undergoing significant growth in the U.S. with expansion by existing solar panel manufacturers and the emergence of new overseas suppliers.

The product range includes the CAF line of products for frame sealing and junction box bonding. CAF 530 provides long-term bonding and sealing of the solar module, guaranteeing long-life protection of the photovoltaic cells and associated connections against humidity, which is the main cause of efficiency loss in modules over time. Due to its high degree of elasticity, CAF 530 adhesive resists and absorbs different rates of thermal expansion from the assembled materials. In particular, the use of CAF 530 delivers reliable, long-life adhesion between the junction box and the rear panel of the solar module.

Bluestar will also highlight the rest of the CAF line which includes CAF 505, 510, and 520. They offer excellent adhesion to several back sheet materials such as polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and also adhere to junction box materials such as polyphenylene oxide (PPO) and polycarbonate. The CAF grades maintain good elasticity over a wide temperature range (-50°C to 180°C) with excellent weatherability and electrical insulation.

For potting and encapsulation, Bluestar offers pourable two-component silicone elastomers which cure at room temperature by polyaddition reaction. The potting material line includes the standard grade, ESA 7252, along with ESA 7252 QC, another high-productivity product which cures in 15 minutes. ESA potting materials offer excellent weather resistance and provide strong protection against moisture.

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