Electronic Encapsulation with Low Pressure Molding

Our Low Pressure Molding technology was initially used in the automotive industry to water proof connectors and to add effective strain relief.

Low Pressure Molding is now used in:

• Automotive Products
• Consumer products
• Industrial products
• Medical products

The common denominator for these industries is a need to protect electronics and/or to create effective strain relief.

Low Pressure Molding (LPM) is often used instead of potting (typically where a 2-part potting resin is dispensed onto electronics, and the potting material is contained by an additional housing). LPM is a very stable and precise process when compared to potting. We use Macromelt® Polyamide thermoplastic materials for our LPM process. Please note, that we typically mold thicker sections and that the molding material actually becomes the housing.

The process: Low Pressure Molding is primarily an encapsulation process for electronic assemblies. In some ways LPM is similar to traditional plastic injection molding. However, the LPM process rarely (if ever) directly replaces traditional molding.

Low Pressure Molding differs from traditional plastic injection molding in two main areas:

1. The type of molding material used. High performance Polyamide and Polyolefin based adhesives are used for our LPM process.

2. The low injection pressure The molding compounds are heated to have a viscosity of only a few thousand mPa.s (cP). This allows injection into the mold-set cavities at pressures as low as 25 psi. This results in a very gentle encapsulation of fragile components.