What are the technical difficulties of liquid silicone encapsulated flexible circuit boards?
Solutions include precise mold control, process optimization, selection of
suitable silicone, strengthening quality control, and technological innovation.
The liquid silicone encapsulated flexible circuit board (FPC) process, as an advanced electronic manufacturing technology, plays a crucial role in modern electronic product manufacturing. This process evenly coats liquid silicone on the surface of FPC to form a soft, transparent, and durable protective layer, which can effectively achieve sealing, waterproof, dustproof, insulation, and shock absorption functions, ensuring stable operation of electronic products in various harsh environments.
1. Bubbles and voids inside or on the surface of silicone gel
During the encapsulation process of liquid silicone, bubbles or voids often appear inside or on the surface of the silicone, which is one of the important factors affecting product quality. The generation of bubbles and voids not only reduces the strength and sealing performance of the silicone layer, but may also affect the electrical performance of the circuit board.
Solution:
Vacuum defoaming treatment: Before injection, the liquid silicone gel is subjected to vacuum defoaming treatment to completely remove air from the silicone gel.
Control the glue injection speed: Inject glue slowly and evenly to avoid the generation of bubbles during the rapid glue injection process.
Choosing the appropriate silicone: Using low viscosity and easy to flow silicone material can help reduce the generation of bubbles.
2. Insufficient adhesion between silicone and FPC
The adhesion between silicone and FPC is one of the key indicators for evaluating the encapsulation effect. Insufficient adhesion can easily cause the silicone layer to peel off during use, thereby affecting the reliability and service life of the product.
Solution:
Surface treatment: Polish, clean or use primer on the surface of FPC to increase surface roughness and activity, and improve the adhesion between silicone and FPC.
Choose the appropriate silicone: Use silicone materials with good adhesion properties to ensure good chemical bonding between silicone and FPC.
Control vulcanization conditions: Ensure appropriate vulcanization temperature and time to enhance the adhesion between silicone and FPC.
3. Inconsistent size of encapsulated products
The size and design requirements of liquid silicone encapsulation products are inconsistent, which may be too large or too small, which can affect the assembly and performance of the product.
Solution:
Precise control of molds: Ensure accurate mold dimensions, regularly inspect and maintain molds, and avoid dimensional deviations caused by mold wear.
Control the amount of glue injected: Accurately control the amount of glue injected each time, avoid too much or too little, and ensure uniform thickness of the silicone layer.
Optimize vulcanization process: Ensure stable vulcanization process and avoid size changes caused by uneven vulcanization.
4. Surface defects
Scratches, unevenness, flow marks and other defects often appear on the surface of rubber coated products, which not only affect the appearance quality of the product, but may also reduce its performance.
Solution:
Optimize the gluing process: Ensure a smooth gluing process and avoid the formation of flow marks or scratches.
Mold surface treatment: Ensure a smooth mold surface, regularly clean and maintain the mold, and avoid silicone layer defects caused by mold surface defects.
Control vulcanization conditions: Ensure appropriate vulcanization temperature and time to avoid surface defects caused by uneven vulcanization.
5. Silicone discoloration or deterioration
Liquid silicone may change color or deteriorate during vulcanization or use, which can affect the appearance and service life of the product.
6. Quality control
The quality control of liquid silicone encapsulated FPC process is the key to ensuring product quality. Inadequate quality control can easily lead to various defects in the product.
Solution:
Comprehensive testing: Conduct a comprehensive inspection of the FPC circuit board wrapped in silicone, including visual inspection, electrical performance testing, etc., to ensure that the product quality meets the requirements.
Advanced Quality Control System: Adopting advanced quality control systems such as computer vision systems and sensor technology to monitor product quality in real-time and adjust production parameters in a timely manner.
Continuous process optimization: Through continuous process optimization and innovation, improve production efficiency and product quality to meet market demand.
7. Environmental requirements
With the increasing awareness of environmental protection, the requirements for the liquid silicone encapsulated FPC process in terms of environmental protection are also becoming higher and higher.
Solution:
Low VOC materials: using silicone materials with low volatile organic compound (VOC) content to reduce waste emissions during the production process.
Recycling: Promote environmental protection measures such as recycling and reuse, and reduce resource waste and environmental pollution in the production process.
8. Technological innovation
The technological innovation of liquid silicone encapsulated FPC process is an important driving force for the continuous development of this process.
Solution:
New material research and development: Develop silicone materials with higher insulation, lower thermal conductivity, and better wear resistance to improve product stability and reliability.
Automation and Intelligence: Introducing automation and intelligence technologies to reduce human errors, improve production efficiency and repeatability.
Combining with other technologies: combining the liquid silicone encapsulation process with advanced technologies such as 3D printing, flexible display, and the Internet of Things to form a more complete electronic manufacturing industry chain.
In summary, the process of liquid silicone encapsulated flexible circuit boards faces many difficulties in practical applications. However, by adopting measures such as vacuum defoaming treatment, precise control of molds, optimization of injection molding process, selection of suitable silicone materials, strengthening quality control and technological innovation, these difficulties can be effectively solved, and the quality and performance of products can be improved.
