Wire & Cable

The use of rubber as an insulation and sheathing material has a long history and remains popular for both industrial and domestic applications. But long gone are the days when only natural rubber was mainly available as an option. Nowadays, a wide range of heat-resistant synthetic rubbers, developed through various vulcanization techniques, are protecting electrical wires and cables from harmful exposure for heavy-duty applications.

Flame-retardancy is an essential property for synthetic rubbers used as protective jackets for electrical cables and wires in buildings, ships and mass transit. Many rubber cables also have superior abrasion resistance and weathering resistance, making them particularly suitable in harsh environments.

The properties of these base rubbers can be significantly changed through the addition of various additives, including fillers, vulcanizing agents, accelerators, antioxidants, and antiozonants.

ARLANXEO's Levapren® is the material of choice wherever flame retardancy has to be achieved. Flame retardancy is achieved by adding high amounts of specialized fillers, such as aluminum hydroxide or magnesium hydroxide. It presents the additional advantages of being halogen-free and of burning with non-corrosive emissions.

In addition to the superior heat resistance and flame-retardant benefits of Levapren vulcanizates, compared to most other common elastomers, it displays lower smoke evolution. Since the visibility for rescue workers can be severely impacted by smoke evolution, escaping escape routes, this smoke-minimizing feature is a valuable safety feature.
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ARLANXEO's Therban® elastomer, from our HNBR products family, also serves as an effective solution. Its medium-high ACN fully saturated grades are ideal for protective components for electrical systems, protective jackets for electrical cables and wires.