Charging stations are typically located outdoors, where they are exposed to the elements, and the general public, leaving them vulnerable to vandalism, as well as damage from UV exposure and inclement weather. To protect the “brains” of its ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations, Coulomb selected polycarbonate resins from Bayer MaterialScience LLC. In addition to supplying the Makrolon polycarbonate resins, Bayer MaterialScience also provided technical services, assisting Coulomb with materials selection and part design.

For the ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations display, Coulomb uses Makrolon 6557. The resin offers the appearance of glass, combined with the impact strength and moldability of Makrolon polycarbonate, making it suited for demanding lighting and electrical applications. The new product has excellent light transmission (close to 90% at 3mm) while having around one percent haze.

The top piece that covers the top of the charging station is a black plastic cap made of Makrolon 6487 polycarbonate resin. Coulomb engineers vigorously tested the durability of this component, and found it met or exceeded every specification.

One of our goals is to ensure the antenna and other delicate electronics would not be damaged in almost any foreseeable circumstance. Bayer MaterialScience helped us select the appropriate material.

—Tony Vastola, senior manufacturing engineer, Coulomb Technologies

Coulomb has installed charging stations across the United States and Europe for the past two years. The charging stations are available for installation by municipalities and businesses for use by customers, residents and employees. The stations are a part of the ChargePoint Network which is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles and provides authentication, management, and real-time control for the networked electric vehicle charging stations.