Palladium, typically used in this application, has nearly tripled in price over the past three years, driving the price of flasher relays significantly higher.
Less costly contact materials such as silver nickel oxide and silver tin oxide used in other automotive relay applications fall short of the endurance requirements for flashers. The research investigated whether various doping agents could improve the endurance of these materials without adding significant cost. The authors found several doped silver alloys able to pass endurance tests for flasher applications.
"Our automotive relay customers face intense cost pressure in today's markets," said Volker Behrens, Ph.D., Director of Research and Development at AMI DODUCO - Europe. "The prospect of finding new alternatives to help customers lower their costs is exciting."
In addition to Behrens, authors of the paper, titled "Substitute for Palladium Copper in DC Flasher Relays," were AMI DODUCO's Thomas Honig and Andreas Kraus, along with Thomas J. Schoepf, Ph.D.
Headquartered in Export, Pennsylvania, AMI DODUCO, a Technitrol Company (NYSE: TNL) is ...... See news release |
