电容器外壳用什么改性尼龙?鼓包漏液,电解液和温升一起算

应用领域 发布时间: 2026-09-16 4389 阅读

164 Capacitor housing and potting components

Capacitor housing operating conditions

Capacitor housing endures long-term internal electrolyte corrosion, internal pressure, external temperature rise (full load 70-105°C), and flame retardant requirements.

Shell failure forms include bulging and liquid leakage; once leakage occurs, the entire circuit board is scrapped, so sealing is the top priority.

Differences between electrolytic capacitors and film capacitors

Aluminum electrolytic capacitors contain electrolyte inside; the casing must withstand electrolyte + internal pressure. The mainstream uses aluminum shell + plastic bushing, with plastic parts consisting of sleeves and base. Film capacitors contain a solid dielectric, and the casing uses PBT or PP + epoxy potting. The plastic parts of the two capacitors operate under completely different conditions and cannot be used for the same part number.

On-site reconstruction: Capacitor wobbling inside the shell

In November 2024, a factory in Yueqing specializing in switching power supply capacitors approached us. Their fixed clamps and casing parts originally used PBT, but to reduce costs, they switched to universal PA66, but the test in the humid and hot room failed. The quality supervisor's exact words: "The shell didn't crack, but the capacitors inside all wobbled."

We brought in both generations of parts. Dimensioning: After 500 hours of 85°C and 85% humid heat, PA66 pieces expanded lengthwise by 0.4%, and the clamp clamping strength dropped accordingly—PBT expanded by less than 0.1% under the same conditions. The root cause is a difference in water absorption by an order of magnitude, which is a difference in material inherent and cannot be reversed by process adjustment.

We did not ask the customer to return the original PBT plan—the need to reduce costs was real. They provided a special brand for low moisture absorption and flame-retardant PA66, with mineral filler pressure water absorption added in the formula. After 500 hours of humid heat, dimensional changes were controlled within 0.15%, holding firm and holding firm, and the unit price was 8% lower than the original PBT.

Passed the retest three weeks later. The value of this case lies in the fact that if the material change direction was wrong, cost reduction became a hidden pitfall; If the direction is right, PA66 still has a place in this type of part. The key step is to first understand the failure mechanism before deciding which material to replace.

PBT The advantages of the division of labor

PBT compared to PA66 are dimensional stability and good electrical performance—moisture absorption rate is only 0.1%, and dielectric properties hardly change in humid environments, making it the preferred choice for capacitor housings. PA66's advantages are temperature resistance and strength—higher thermal distortion temperature, stronger resistance to internal pressure, suitable for large-capacity or high-temperature workstations. Sensitivity to moisture absorption is PA66's weak point here.

Compatibility between potting material and casing

Capacitor casing filled with epoxy resin, the thermal expansion coefficient of the potting material and the casing must match.

The linear expansion coefficient of epoxy is about 50×10⁻⁶/K, PBT about 100×10⁻⁶/K, PA66 about 80×10⁻⁶/K.

When the temperature difference is 80 K, internal stress will form, so flexible epoxy or buffer layers must be used; otherwise, the shell will crack and leak after hot and cold cycling.

Deeper layer: Why are capacitor components so sensitive to water absorption ?

Capacitor components are different from other structural components; they have requirements for the "surrounding medium environment." Parameters such as capacitance value and loss of electrolytic capacitors are calibrated in dry air; The housing material absorbs water and expands, geometric dimensions change, clamping force changes, heat dissipation gap changes, and parameters drift.

PBT This has long been mainstream for these parts, and the mechanism makes sense: dense ester bonds, high crystallinity, water absorption in the 0.1% range, and dimensional stability in moist heat is among the best among plastics.

PA66's amide group is hydrophilic, and a water absorption rate around 2.8% is unavoidable—this isn't about which brand PA66 is better made, but about molecular structure.

So PA66 is out of the capacitor category? Not really. There are two situations: for areas sensitive to size (clamps, precision housings), either remain in PBT or use low-moisture modified PA66 brand filled with minerals;

For areas sensitive to toughness (clips, cushioning brackets), PA66's toughness advantage is actually something PBT can't match—PBT has high notch sensitivity and cracks at low temperatures.

So the correct question isn't 'PBT or PA66', but 'What is this part afraid of?' If you're afraid of size changes, go for the PBT route; if you're afraid of breakage, go for PA66. If you fear both, it's time for modified formulas to step in—make up for weaknesses to acceptable working conditions, keep strengths. This is the real division of labor between modifiers and general material mills.

Flame Retardant and Safety Certification

Capacitor casings must pass UL94 V-0 and the corresponding safety certifications (such as UL 810, IEC 60252).

Certification applies to the entire capacitor, not for plastic particles; the material number must be revalidated.

This is a common pitfall—thinking particles with V-0 reports are enough.

Hidden Variable of Long-Term Life

Capacitor lifespan is rated at 2000-10000 hours, but actual lifespan is greatly affected by temperature.

For every 10°C increase in temperature, lifespan is halved—this rule also applies to plastic casings.

The enclosure design should leave a cooling channel; if necessary, add thermal packing to lower the shell temperature and reduce the temperature is more cost-effective than replacing with more expensive materials.

Engineering Testing: 4 mandatory tests

Test 1: Electrolyte resistance. PBT does not crack under stress in electrolyte for 1000 hours; PA66 should be hydrolyzed-resistant grade—electrolytic capacitors prioritize PBT.

Test 2: Potting and hot and cold cycles. Cycle from -40°C to 105°C 100 times; shells with flexible epoxy do not crack, hard epoxy shells crack 30 times.

Test 3: Flame retardant V-0. PBT halogen-free flame retardant reaches V-0 (0.8 mm), PA66 halogen-free flame retardant reaches V-0 (0.8 mm)—both are acceptable.

Test 4: Moisture absorption affects dielectric. After PA66 saturated moisture absorption, dielectric strength drops by 25%, while PBT remains almost unchanged—prioritizing PBT in humid environments.

Follow-up questions: The three most frequently asked questions in procurement

First question: Should glass fiber be added to potting parts? Distinguish: The potting shell must have stable dimensions, and mineral fillers are more suitable than glass fiber—glass fiber causes anisotropy, which causes greater warping during curing and shrinkage; Structural parts need strength before using glass fiber. Be cautious when you see the saying 'reinforcement is better.' We see several cases of glass fiber cracking in potting parts every year.

Second question: How to balance flame retardant and dielectric? Adding too much flame retardant affects dielectric strength and CTI. For capacitors, the combination of V-0 plus CTI 400 is basically sufficient. Higher grades should match the flame retardant system—higher grades aren't always better—if the grade goes up and the dielectric drops, it's like pressing a bottle and causing it to float.

Question 3: Can the shell wall thickness be reduced? Reducing wall thickness and saving materials is common, but capacitor shells have two hurdles: if the wall thickness is thin, the creepage distance shortens, so the CTI grade must be improved. Before reducing wall thickness, first calculate whether the creepage distance is sufficient; only then do injection molding verification. The order cannot be reversed. ### Calculating a Material Ledger: The Three Ledgers for Capacitors

The first ledger is the material price account: Low moisture absorption and flame-retardant PA66 special brand is 12% more expensive than General PA66, each shell uses 8 grams of material, with a price difference of less than one cent per unit. Producing one million per year only adds less than 10,000 yuan.

The second ledger is the verification account: General materials lose grip strength under humid and hot conditions, so the customer's on-site repair batch is calculated at 5,000 units, with disassembly, labor, logistics, and compensation totaling over 60,000 yuan; The first round of verification fee for the special brand is 12,000 yuan, with subsequent batches exempt from inspection

The third account is the hidden account: the failure of the capacitor casing inevitably affects the capacitor itself—if the casing is damaged, the capacitor becomes loose. Customers may not bother with the casing and directly reject the entire capacitor. The loss of supplier credibility is the largest and most unquantifiable account among the three accounts.

Combining the three sets of accounts, for these kinds of items with 'low unit price but high risk of failure,' the premium for specialized brands has never been the problem. The problem lies only in whether, when making decisions, anyone puts the second and third sets of accounts on the table.

We suggest that when suppliers provide quotes to OEMs, they directly summarize the three sets of accounts on one page — showing the expected return rate to the customer — which can actually speed up the order process, because it saves the customer's internal verification steps.

Boundary Declaration

Operating conditionRecommended materials
Film capacitor casingPBT or PP epoxy
Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor BasePBT Flame Retardant V-0
High-temperature workstationPA66-GF25 Hydrolysis Resistant
Large capacity and pressure-resistantPA66-GF30
Encapsulation SupportFlexible epoxy cushioning layer

Engineering Memo

Before mass production, the capacitor casing must undergo three tests: electrolyte resistance, potting thermal cycling, and safety certification. Changing the material number requires re-validation and certification; you cannot rely solely on the particle report.

Practical Case Study: Common Pitfalls and Correct Solutions

Pitfall 1: Only looking at the flame-retardant rating and ignoring CTI. If a capacitor casing is installed near a live circuit, even if it is V-0 flame retardant but has a CTI of only 250 V, long-term tracking can cause the surface to carbonize and short-circuit. Correct approach: Live components must have CTI ≥ 400 V (compared to the leakage tracking index). V-0 only prevents fire, it doesn’t prevent tracking — this is the most commonly overlooked point in electrical components. Pitfall 2: Using recycled or secondary materials for insulation components leads to large batch variations in dielectric strength, with 5% failing the voltage withstand test. Correct approach: Insulation components must always use genuine new materials with batch voltage withstand test reports. Pitfall 3: Torque decreases on terminal components after being installed for a period, often mistaken for loose screws, but the real cause is nylon creep. Correct approach: When capacitor casings bear threaded connections, they must be reinforced with glass fiber to GF25 or above, and re-tightened 24 hours after assembly.

Reverse case: One sealed component drags down an entire model

In May 2024, a power supply factory in South China changed the potting material for an adapter from PBT to general PA66-GF30, aiming to save 20% on fiberglass material.

Small batches are not a problem. Three months after mass production, the market started to provide feedback: the adapter casing at the potting position was cracking, with a rate of about three per thousand.

Pull it back for dissection, the crack follows the direction of the glass fibers—the encapsulant reaches around 90°C under high current operation, and the shrinkage difference along the glass fiber orientation causes the part to bend repeatedly during thermal cycles. After the PA66 substrate absorbs water, it becomes more plasticized, its fatigue resistance drops, and it cracks.

The production line shutdown for rectification took six weeks: replacing the mineral-filled flame-retardant grade, repairing the gating of the potting mold, and redoing 500 thermal cycle verifications. The unit price of the material only differs by a little over one yuan per piece, but the loss from the model delay is on the scale of millions.

The engineers at this factory later said during the review: At the time, they only compared the tensile strength and flame retardancy on the physical property sheet, and nobody looked at the 'dimensional change after humidity and heat' and 'glass fiber orientation' rows. The property sheet won't tell you which row will kill your product—that's the material selector's job. ### Extended judgment: Three things to confirm before material selection

Before selecting the material for the capacitor casing, there are three things that need to be clarified first; if the order is wrong, everything afterward will have to be redone.

First: What is the long-term use temperature. Short-term peak temperature and long-term operating temperature are two different things. The heat distortion temperature on the material property table is a short-term indicator, and the long-term operating temperature is generally considered to be 70% of that.

Second: What kind of medium is it in contact with. Oil, water, cleaning agents, sweat, electrolyte—each will change the choice of material number. The list of media is more important than the temperature chart.

Third: Are there certification requirements? For items with certifications such as flame retardant, CTI, food contact, water health, and safety regulations, if there are certification requirements, changing the material number means re-verification, which costs far more than the material price difference of a few dozen yuan. Asking these three questions clearly means that half of the material selection is completed.

Write these three things into a table and send it to the supplier; it's more useful than making ten phone calls—the communication cost for selecting capacitor enclosures is basically spent on repeatedly confirming these few items.

The final Q&A: The verdict on three moments of dilemma

Dilemma 1: The customer insists on 'better-looking' metrics. Discuss the metrics in relation to the operating conditions: a ten percent increase in tensile strength is meaningless for the capacitor case; the critical issue is the dimensional change after humidity and heat exposure. By replacing metrics language with operating condition language, the customer's 'better' will return to 'more suitable'.

Dilemma Two: Is it okay to switch to PA66 temporarily when PBT supply is cut off? Yes, but manage it as a 'temporary' measure: choose a low moisture-absorption grade and conduct a full set of moisture-heat validations; missing any step means the switch is not complete — the biggest risk of a temporary material switch is that 'temporary' becomes 'permanent', while the validation remains stuck at the first step.

Dilemma 3: Whether to source the potting components and the casing from the same manufacturer. Recommendation: Same source. The compatibility between the potting and the casing is a system issue; if they belong to two different suppliers, the coordination cost when problems arise and each party shifts blame to the other is much higher than the saved price difference. Procuring system components as a set is a mature practice in the capacitor supply chain. ### Additional note: Three on-site assessment signals

Signal 1: Clamping force drops after a damp-heat test. Measure the dimensions first before replacing parts — if the dimensions have expanded, it's a water absorption issue, so switch to a low-moisture-absorption grade; if the dimensions haven't changed but the force has dropped, check whether there is stress concentration in the snap-fit structure.

Signal 2: The crack runs in a fixed direction. This is a typical fiberglass orientation issue; the gate direction does not align with the force direction. Modify the mold or change the mineral filler.

Signal 3: Low-temperature cracking of potting components. Common issues with PBT and high glass fiber content; improve toughness or switch to PA66. For low-temperature conditions, a -40℃ drop ball test must be conducted.### Verification sequence: Complete all three steps before placing an order.

Step one, determine the positions: divide the capacitor components into two groups according to 'sensitivity to size variation' and 'sensitivity to brittle fracture,' corresponding to the low moisture absorption route and the toughening route, and first separate the mixed demand list in one table.

Step two, test the medium: subject it to 500 hours of damp heat, measure dimensional changes and retest dielectric properties. For encapsulated samples, carry out encapsulation compatibility soaking. Data is taken after the damp heat test; dry-state data is only for appearance in the specification.

Step three, monitor batches: the density fluctuations between batches of mineral filler need to be sampled, as the differences between shells directly reflect on assembly tolerances. Once these three steps are completed, the selection of capacitor components is closed—what remains is to solidify this list into incoming material standards, allowing the process to act as a guard for quality.

Conclusion

After sending out the samples—when it comes to selecting materials, the earlier you ask, the easier it is.

The material selection and mold trial for this type of part can be discussed together.

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