Nylons are the oldest and largest volume engineering polymers. Nylon was introduced in 1938 by DuPont as the world's first synthetic fiber. By 1941, DuPont had introduced the first injection moldable polyamide resin. Today, nylons 6 and 6,6 are used where toughness and thermal resistance are required at moderate cost. Disadvantages are relatively high water absorption and poor dimensional stability. To solve this problem and to lower cost, nylons are frequently glass reinforced. Other nylons useful as engineering plastics are nylons 69, 610, 612, 11, and 12. These products offer reduced moisture absorption and better dimensional stability. However, these forms of nylon have poorer toughness and temperature resistance. These properties deteriorate even further when the resins eventually do absorb moisture. Against this backdrop of nylon performance is an important continuing trend in two key markets; this is the gradual trend towards ever increasing temperature requirements in the key end-use markets of transportation (mainly automotive) and electrical/electronics. In automotive, higher end-use temperatures are a result of the need for longer warranty periods and operating lifetimes, lower coefficients of drag which result in less air flow under-the-hood, encapsulation of the engine for acoustic and/or aesthetic reasons, introduction of turbo chargers and catalytic converter systems which generate considerable amounts of heat, and the size reduction of the engine compartment due to more compact designs. In electrical/electronics, the trend towards miniaturization of printed circuit boards leads to even smaller surface-mount devices with even thinner wall thickness. These smaller electronic components must be resistant to the high peak temperatures involved in modern infrared reflow-soldering techniques. To meet these customer-driven requirements, producers have developed a number of nylon materials capable of improved performance at higher end-use temperatures. These materials have been collectively termed high temperature nylons (HTN) and are the subject of this report. This new report only covers thermoplastic materials. The high temperature nylons were commercially introduced about 20 years ago. Acceptance has been slow, due to performance drawbacks (such as warpage with some grades), processability issues (mainly related to the high processing temperatures and degradation issues), and cost. Volumes have gradually increased and problems overcome to the point where these materials have reached widespread acceptance in the marketplace. The high temperature nylons are well suited to compete in transportation and electrical/electronics applications requiring higher temperature performance, as they also offer chemical resistance, excellent electrical properties, and good mechanical properties. The high temperature nylons typically compete against other heat-resistant engineering thermoplastic materials such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyether imide (PEI), liquid crystal polymers (LCP), polysulfones (PSO or PSU) or even polyetherether ketone (PEEK). One or more of these materials typically compete on the basis of cost and property requirements in a given application. There are a number of draw-backs to the high temperature nylons. Their mold shrinkage is average among polymers selected for high temperature applications. LCPs are clearly superior in this regard, as well as in processability as measured in flow tests. However, LCPs are also substantially more costly than high temperature nylons. The main drawback of the high temperature nylons has been their processability. This relates not only to the ability to get the material to flow, but also relates to degradation. Some of the high temperature nylons have degradation temperatures that are not that far from their melt temperature. Such a small processing window increases the need for accurate temperature control during processing, and may also raise issues when re-using scrap. Global demand for high temperature nylons was estimated to have been about 27,500 tons in 2001. Of this, about 32 percent was consumed in North America (see figure below), 28 percent in Western Europe, 30 percent in Japan, and the remainder in Rest of World (which is mainly other Asian countries). GLOBAL HIGH TEMPERATURE NYLON DEMAND BY REGION, 2001
(percent)
 This new report by Nexant Chem Systems presents the chemistry, process technology, production economics, and markets for several of the key high temperature nylons. | 
