Here is the latest in our occasional series of mini articles describing some of the technical issues we face. We do consider ourselves to be an authority on the intricacies of precision overmoulding and invest significant amounts annually in equipment, research and development to ensure that our overmoulding techniques are continuing to develop and that our claims of technical market leadership are justified.
PRECISION OVERMOULDING
OVERMOULDING IS THE PROCESS OF ADDING AN ADDITIONAL POLYMER LAYER TO AN EXISTING COMPONENT. THE BASE COMPONENT IS HELD IN THE MOULD TOOL AND MOLTEN PLASTIC UNDER PRESSURE FILLS THE CAVITY AROUND THE INSERTED PART.
Overmoulding has many benefits, it reduces costs by eliminating secondary assembly operations, parts can attain a high degree of waterproofing (IP69K+) and shock resistance, parts produced using overmoulding are tough, lightweight and chemical resistant. Various surface textures can be achieved, the surface can be soft touch for handling or tough for durability, products are better insulated, aesthetically pleasing and sharp edges minimised or eliminated. Many components are suitable for overmoulding including sensitive electronics, connectors and cables.
Overmoulding components with plastic improves product functionality, reliability, ergonomics, aesthetics and costs. The overmoulding process allows for greater design flexibility by incorporating features such as mounting systems, vents or strain reliefs and reduces the need for additional components.
Sensitive electronic components such as PCBs can be overmoulded, offering impact protection and IP rated defence from the ingress of moisture and dust where the overmoulded structure provides protection against harsh environments. The overmoulding of cables protects and secures all cables, connectors, pins & components, provides flexible strain relief and allows for multiple cable orientation, reduced production and assembly labour costs and enhances the integrity and lifespan of the product. Overmoulding of connectors and fasteners protects them against corrosion, reduces the impact of vibration and aids the assembly process. With the wide range of colours available overmoulded connectors blend seamlessly with their application and make your product look even better as well as protecting your precious IP from prying eyes.
Overmoulding has extensive potential applications in many industrial sectors including Medical, Military, Automotive, Marine, Power Supplies, Industrial Control, Sensors, Consumer and Audio. We believe it is sometimes overlooked as a solution in favour of other mechanical housings and casings, or other encapsulation methods such as potting, low pressure moulding or ultrasonic welding. Whilst Inoplas can deliver any of these solutions we frequently find that our techniques overcome the perceived risks of damage from the heat and pressure of injection moulding to create a really robust solution.
Inoplas has taken a number of our OEM customers through the design, prototype and specification process to produce very high quality overmouldings for numerous applications. In recent years that has led to big advances for our customers for sensors, data loggers and encoders in the electric vehicle (EV) and ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) markets to name a few.
We like nothing better than to see a customer’s eyes light up when we show them how they can reduce costs and improve function by harnessing our skills.
IMAGE SHOWS A SAFETY HARNESS DEVICE CONTAINING MULTIPLE MOULDINGS AND OVERMOULDS.
