Due to the current trend towards thin-walled design in electronic products, flagship smartphones and home appliances of all sizes are enriched with thin-walled elements. Behind the fashion trend, higher requirements are placed on the flame retardant performance of materials. However, as product designs become thinner, materials that originally met the V0 flame retardant standard may no longer be safe in the context of the new standards.

Two typical cases that occurred in 2025:

Opportunities and challenges brought by new regulations

In the field of electronic products, especially the trend of ultra-thin design that has been continuously promoted in recent years, the new standards have also raised the requirements for flame retardant performance. Compared with the previous GB4943.1-2011 and GB8898-2011, the 2022 version of the standard has added the requirement of S.2 needle flame test in terms of flame retardant performance testing.

Needle flame test is an evaluation of the flame retardant ability of a product when encountering small flames during use, by simulating the small flames generated under fault conditions such as component overheating, poor contact, etc. The effectiveness of the experiment is closely related to the selection of product wall thickness, structure, and materials. Relatively speaking, thicker plastic parts have more dispersed flames during flame burning, making them less prone to ignition; However, thinner plastic parts tend to have concentrated fire and relatively weaker flame retardancy.

Secondly, the structural design of the product also has a significant impact on its fire resistance, and products with simple and compact designs often have an advantage in terms of fire risk. These methods may seem opportunistic towards the materials themselves, but the real way to ensure safety is through the selected materials themselves. As long as the material can withstand the S.2 needle flame test, regardless of changes in product structure or wall thickness, the probability of product compliance will be greatly increased.

The latest standard GB4943.1-2022 will be fully implemented by July 1, 2025 at the latest.

What other materials can meet the requirements of the new national standard in the current market environment? Professional organizations have evaluated six mainstream V0 level flame-retardant plastics on the market, including flame-retardant ABS, flame-retardant PC/ABS, flame-retardant PC, flame-retardant HIPS, flame-retardant PPO/HIPS, and flame-retardant PA/GF. Unfortunately, after the S.2 needle flame test, none of these six materials passed, and from the test performance, flame retardant HIPS had the worst fire resistance and was burned through in the shortest time. Although flame retardant PPO/HIPS performed well in terms of burn through time, it could not become a widely used material due to its high price and poor weather resistance. Faced with the comprehensive upgrade of the national standard 3C certification, enterprises need to seriously consider the selection of new flame retardant materials, which should not only follow the changes in market demand, but also ensure the safety and compliance of products. Despite the many challenges, with the advancement of material technology, we believe that every participant in the industry can find the best solution and smoothly adapt to the new standards.

The latest standard GB4943.1-2022 will be fully implemented on July 1, 2025. The implementation of the new standard is usually accompanied by a transition period for existing products, during which certified products may need to be updated according to the new standard. For the upcoming new standards, enterprises should promptly understand and adapt to these changes to ensure that their products comply with the latest national standards.