Polyamide compositions

1. A polyamide composition having improved heat resistance, the composition comprising:

A) about 5% to about 96.9% by weight of polyamide;

B) about 1% to about 60% by weight of quartz powder, wherein the quartz powder is a powder of naturally occurring quartz crystals and not of quartz glass, and the powder particles have a d95 of about 5 to about 250 μm;

C) about 2% to about 8% by weight of chopped long glass fibers having a starting length of about 1 to about 50 mm; and

D) about 0.1% to about 40% by weight of melamine cyanurate,

with the proviso that the composition does not contain ground glass, and does not contain phosphorous-containing flame retardants.

2. The composition according to claim 1 , wherein:

the polyamide comprises at least one of nylon-6 and nylon-6,6, and

the composition further comprises, in addition to components A), B), C) and D), at least one of:

E) titanium dioxide;

F) at least one of a lubricant and a demoulding agent;

G) at least one laser absorber;

H) at least one further flame retardant other than melamine cyanurate and phosphorous-containing flame retardants; and

K) at least one filler and/or reinforcer other than components B) and C).

3. The composition according to claim 1 , further comprising, in addition to components A), B), C) and D),

at least one of:

E) about 0.01% to about 30% by weight of the titanium dioxide;

F) about 0.01% to about 5% by weight of the at least one of a lubricant and a demoulding agent;

G) about 0.01% to about 10% by weight of the at least one laser absorber;

H) about 0.01% to about 60% by weight of the at least one further flame retardant other than melamine cyanurate and phosphorous-containing flame retardants; and

K) about 0.01% to about 50% by weight of the at least one filer other than components B) and C);

with the proviso that the sum total of all the percentages by weight of all the components is always 100.

4. The composition according to claim 3 , wherein the composition further comprises L) at least one further additive other than components D) to K).

5. The composition according to claim 4 , wherein the composition comprises about 0.01% to 20% by weight of component L), based on the overall composition, in which case amounts of the other components are reduced to such an extent that the sum total of all the percentages by weight is always 100.

6. The composition according to claim 5 , wherein:

the titanium dioxide has particles with a median particle size of 90 nm to 2000 nm with base structures of anatase or rutile form;

the at least one of a lubricant and a demoulding agent comprises at least one of a long chain fatty acid, salts of long chain fatty acids, ester derivatives of long chain fatty acids, amide derivatives of long chain fatty acids, montan waxes, and low molecular weight polyethylene and polypropylene waxes;

the at least one further flame retardant is at least one of a halogen-free flame retardant and a phosphorus-free flame retardant;

the at least one further filler and/or reinforcer comprises at least one of talc, mica, silicate, amorphous wollastonite, kaolin, amorphous silicas, nanoscale minerals, magnesium carbonate, chalk, feldspar, barium sulphate, fibrous fillers based on carbon fibers, reinforcers based on carbon fibres, and untreated, surface-modified or sized reinforcers made from glass; and

the at least one further additive comprises at least one of antioxidants, UV stabilizers, gamma ray stabilizers, hydrolysis stabilizers, thermal stabilizers, antistats, emulsifiers, nucleating agents, plasticizers, processing auxiliaries, impact modifiers, dyes, pigments, and elastomer modifiers.

7. The composition according to claim 6 , wherein:

the at least one of a lubricant and a demoulding agent is at least one of ethylenebisstearylamide, calcium stearate, and ethylene glycol dimontanate;

the at least one laser absorber is selected from the group of antimony trioxide, tin oxide, tin orthophosphate, barium titanate, aluminium oxide, copper hydroxyphosphate, copper orthophosphate, potassium copper diphosphate, copper hydroxide, antimony tin oxide, bismuth trioxide and anthraquinone;

the at least one further flame retardant is a nitrogen-containing flame retardant comprising at least one of reaction products of trichlorotriazine, piperazine and morpholine, condensation products of melamine, and ammonium salts; and

the at least one further filler and/or reinforcer is a mineral particulate filler based on talc, mica, silicate, wollastonite, kaolin, amorphous silicas, magnesium carbonate, chalk, feldspar and/or barium sulphate.

8. The composition according to claim 1 , wherein the composition has a heat deflection temperature (HDT) of greater than 130° C. per DIN EN ISO 75-1, -2.

9. The composition according to claim 1 , wherein:

the polyamide is at least one of nylon 6 and nylon 6,6;

the quartz powder has a d95 of 5 to 250 μm determined by laser diffractometry; and

the chopped long glass fibres have a starting length of 1 to 50 mm.

10. The composition according to claim 9 , wherein:

the polyamide is semi-crystalline polyamide, and has a viscosity number determined in a 0.5% by weight solution in 96% by weight sulphuric acid at 25° C. to ISO 307 of 80 to 180 ml/g;

the ground quartz is a powder having a median particle size (d50) of about 2 μm to about 50 μm, a d95 of 10 to 150 μm, and a length to thickness ratio of less than 5;

the glass fibres have a diameter of 7 to 18 μm; and

the melamine cyanurate is in the form of particles having a median diameter of 0.1 μm to 100 μm.

11. The composition according to claim 10 , wherein:

the particles of quartz powder are coated with 0.01% by weight to 1.5% by weight of at least one of a silane-based size and a siloxane-based size, based on the weight of the quartz powder;

the glass fibres are coated with 0.05% to 2% by weight of at least one of a silane-based size and a silane-based adhesion promotor;

the melamine cyanurate particles are coated with silicon-containing compounds.

12. The composition according to claim 11 , wherein:

the silane-based size for the quartz powder is selected from the group consisting of aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, aminobutyltrimethoxysilane, aminopropyltriethoxysilane, aminobutyltriethoxysilane, aqueous hydrolysates thereof, and combinations thereof;

the silane-based adhesion promoters are silane compounds of the general formula (I)

(X—(CH 2 ) q ) k —Si—(O—CrH 2r+1 ) 4-k   (I)

in which

X is NH 2 —, carboxyl-, HO— or

q is an integer from 2 to 10,

r is an integer from 1 to 5, and

k is an integer from 1 to 3; and

the silicon-containing compounds for coating the melamine cyanurate comprise organofunctionalized silanes or organosiloxanes.

13. The composition according to claim 12 , wherein:

in the general formula (I):

a is 3 or 4,

r is 1 or 2, and

k is 1; and

the composition comprises:

A) about 30% to about 80% by weight of the polyamide;

B) about 10% to about 40% by weight of the quartz powder, wherein the particles of quartz powder have a d95 of about 16 to about 55 μm and a d50 of about 8 to about 25 μm;

C) about 4% to about 6% by weight of the chopped long glass fibres, wherein the fibres have a starting length of about 2 to about 7 mm,

D) about 1% to about 20% by weight of the melamine cyanurate, wherein particles of the melamine cyanurate have a particle size of 0.1 to 7 μm, and

at least one of:

E) about 5% to about 20% by weight of titanium dioxide;

F) about 0.01% to about 2% by weight of at least one of a lubricant and a demoulding agent;

G) about 0.5% to about 3.5% by weight of at least one laser absorber;

H) about 5% to about 25% by weight of at least one further flame retardant other than melamine cyanurate and phosphorous-containing flame retardants;

K) about 2% to about 6% by weight of at least one filler and or reinforce other than components B) and C); and

L) about 0.1 to about 5% by weight of at least one further additive other than components D) to K),

with the proviso that the sum total of all the percentages by weight of all the components is always 100.

14. A product comprising the composition according to claim 1 .

15. A composition comprising:

A) about 5% to about 96.9% by weight of a polyamide;

B) about 1% to about 60% by weight of quartz powder, wherein the quartz powder is a powder of naturally occurring quartz crystals;

C) about 2% to about 8% by weight of chopped long glass fibers; and

D) about 0.1% to about 40% by weight of melamine cyanurate;

wherein the composition does not contain ground glass and does not contain phosphorous-containing flame retardants.

16. The composition according to claim 15 , wherein:

the polyamide is nylon 6 or nylon 6,6;

the quartz powder is a powder with particles having a d95 of about 5 to about 250 μm; and

the chopped long glass fibers having a starting length of about 1 to about 50 mm and a diameter of 7 to 18 μm.

17. The composition according to claim 16 , wherein the composition comprises:

A) 30% to 80% by weight of the polyamide;

B) 10% to about 40% by weight of the quartz powder, wherein the quartz powder has a d95 of 16 to 55 μm;

C) 4% to about 6% by weight of the chopped long glass fibers, wherein the chopped long glass fibers have a starting length of 2 to 7 mm; and

D) about 0.1% to about 20% by weight of the melamine cyanurate.