Appliance Design - February 2009 - (Page 32)

CoNNECtorS & CorDS geometry is designed long and thin, with very little contact area, then resistance is going to be higher. If it is short and thick, with a lot of contact area to the pads on the board, the resistance is lower. It is still in the hundreds of ohms range, but that may be enough for some LCD applications, says Miraglia. Another design consideration is the height of the connector. Connectors are typically 0.02 in. to 0.75 in. high. If the connector is too high, deflection could be excessive and the PCB can bow. Elastomeric connectors may play a limited role today, but their inherent shock and vibration resistance and ability to provide connection solutions in today’s increasingly compact electronics could lead to wider use in the future, particularly when newer generations deliver a greater power rating. < For more information, E-mail: Fujipoly America: cmiraglia@fujipoly.com Z-Axis Connector: customer-service1A@zaxisconnector.com Surgical instrument flex connector from Z-Axis. CoNDuCtIvE ElAStomEr GASkEtS In addition to carrying electricity, conductive elastomers can also block electromagnetic interference signals. Gaskets made of such material can be used to provide shielding around components, seams, and joints. Conductive elastomer gaskets such as those produced by Laird Technologies, Chesterfield, Mo., are made from silicone elastomers, although in some military applications they are fabricated from fluorosilicone and ethylene propylene diene monomer elastomers. They are filled with electrically conductive particles such as carbon, nickel, nickel plated graphite, silver plated aluminum, silver plated copper, silver plated nickel, or pure silver. The gaskets can be fabricated by a number of different methods, depending on the needs of the application. They can be extruded into a wide variety of profile strips, molded into customized shapes, die-cut from molded sheet stock, or molded onto substrates such as plastics or metal. They can also be directly dispensed onto a substrate, a process called formed in place. The conductive elastomers have highshielding properties over a range of frequencies and have exceptional environmental sealing capabilities, says Scott Stephan, Conductive elastomer global product director, Elastomeric Products gaskets produced by for Laird. The company’s ElectroSeal electri- Laird Technologies. cally conductive elastomers have a shielding effectiveness of between 40 to 105 db. What makes these gaskets so useful is that they can be used in very small areas, which is important because a typical small portable device such as a cell phone may have four or five different cavities that must be RF and EMI protected. “This need will only grow, as the use of wireless products continues to grow in every market,” says Stephan. For more information on Laird Technologies, email: Scott.Stephan@lairdtech.com. 32 applianceDESIGN February 2009 www.applianceDESIGN.com http://www.appliancedesign.com

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Appliance Design - February 2009 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch Force-Sensing Technology Offers Designers an Alternative Approach to Creating Touch-Control Interfaces A Flammable Vapor Sensing Technology that was Originally Developed for use in Water Heaters has Evolved for use in a Broader Array of Applications Latches, Hinges, and Slides Must Reliably Secure Parts Together, Sometimes for Hundreds of Thousands of Cycles. Beyond their Utilitarian Functions, They Can Also Change Consumer Perceptions Elastomeric Electrical Connectors Can Solve Space Constraint Problems in Electronic Products and Provide Some Cost Advantages as Well A Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor with a Novel Electrode Design Can Suppress Electromagnetic Interference, Improve Circuit Performance, and Reduce the Number of Needed Components Design Marts Association Report: AHRI Advertisers’ Index

Appliance Design - February 2009

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