Fagor uses BASF specialty plastic in new household appliances

27 November 2006

Fagor (www.fagor.com), a manufacturer of household appliances, has launched the world’s first household appliance that dries and irons – the Driron. For this demanding application, the technicians at Driron chose to construct the internal parts from BASF’s specialty plastic Luran S, an acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate copolymer (ASA).The main reasons for choosing Luran S were its dimensional stability and high temperature resistance, as well surface quality and colour stability.

The household appliance sector requires extremely colour-stable plastics that retain their colours for years and do not turn yellow or chalk. The special acrylate-based rubber in Luran S gives it its colour stability. As a result, applications made of Luran S retain their colour for many years. “In comparison to other standard resins, such as polypropylene, Luran S combined surface quality and different mechanical properties”, explained Beinat Otxoa, De-velopment engineer from Industrias Ibai. Ibai belongs to the Fagor group and is responsible for the marketing of the new product.

Fagor developers also relied on Luran S as a material that retains its dimensional stability at temperatures of about 130° Celsius. Next to the technological properties, arguments for choosing BASF as
supplier were the maintenance of specifications and the technical support offered. Using the know-how of its designfabrikTM, BASF has been strongly involved in the designing process and the
homologation of the machine.

The Driron was the product of three years of research and development, but the concept is relatively simple. Clothes are hung inside the machine and weighed down with clip-on attachements. The heat dries the clothes and also creates the steam used to rid them of the wrinkles. The company hopes to sell 40,000 units in the next three years.