At iCONN, we strive to help development teams increase the value of their products. It’s one of the many reasons we specialize in overmolding and overmolded electrical connectors and assemblies. Overmolding is a controlled process that involves injecting plastic resin into a mold to encapsulate critical electrical connections. We recommend this process for critical connections to our customers because we know that the benefits are well worth the investment. Here’s are five benefits of overmolding for electrical assemblies:
1. Increase Your IP Rating
As overmolding experts, iCONN can specify materials during the design phase to produce material bonds, resulting in a watertight seal around your critical electrical connections. Whether you’re required by regulation to meet a specific IP rating or simply wish to extend the level of protection of your electrical components, overmolding can help you achieve IP 67, IP68 and IP69K standards.
2. Shield From Shock and Vibration
If your product is exposed to a high shock or vibration environment (for example, automotive or aviation), it runs the risk of mechanical failure. That is, unless proper measures are taken during the design phase. When a critical electrical connection is overmolded, plastic resin fills spaces around the internal components. With no space or air gaps, the components cannot shift or move.
3. Endure Physical Abuse and Abrasion
Repeated friction, harsh weather, extreme temperatures, exposure to chemicals … all of these elements will significantly reduce the lifespan of your product without proper safeguards in place. Overmolding creates an ultra-rugged barrier around your critical electrical connections to prevent abrasion, corrosion, fraying and other types of physical damage. The materials we use to overmold critical electrical connections are application-specific. During the design phase, we strive to understand everything about the environment your product must withstand. If your cable is exposed to any of the above conditions, we can recommend a suitable material like polyurethane overmolding. Polyurethane can handle high-load capacities, impact, abrasion and harsh weather elements.
4. Utilize in Compact Spaces
Cable assembly methods like mechanical back-shells and enclosures are bulky and require a lot of space. This means product teams are forced to design their equipment around spatial constraints. Overmolding typically results in a smaller cable assembly, enabling designers to minimize the size of their equipment. Overmolding also protects diodes, resistors, PC board assemblies, electrical switches and more.
5. Stand Up to Strain
In applications that require frequent mating and unmating, improper handling of the cable will result in the wires pulling apart from the connector, and the electrical component will fail. iCONN designs and overmolds all types of strain relief geometries, including straight, split, 45-degree, 90-degree and everything in between or beyond.
iCONN offers high- and low-pressure overmolding processes to serve numerous applications. For example, high-pressure overmolding allows us to offer clients the most material options (the selection of which will depend on the application’s environment). Low-pressure overmolding allows us to overmold delicate assemblies without damaging components.
