Silicone foam and sponges offer incredible properties that are useful across many industries. In industry, it may be a challenge to procure thicker silicone foams and sponge materials. The challenge is because not many products are offered above .500″ in thickness. This leads to problems if the application requires a… Continue reading…

Thermal pads are an increasingly unique part of NEDC’s business. They are offered in so many different flavors, they are almost like ice cream. Some thermal pads are pliable, some aren’t. Some offer unusually high thermal conductivity, while others offer an economical thermal conductivity. Another quality of thermal pads is… Continue reading…

At NEDC, we die-cut & laser-cut many products. We also offer these same products with tape backing. Some of these tapes include some of our more common ones, such as 3M 467MP or 3M 9472. Oftentimes, those products come with those tapes on the back, to assist in assembly. Beyond… Continue reading…

As discussed in many of the posts that we write, different materials are what makes up NEDC’s DNA. The beauty of die-cutting lies in the different materials and the versatilities they may offer. One material that offers significant versatility is Norseal® R10460 Silicone Sponge by Saint Gobain Performance Plastics. Norseal®… Continue reading…

As mentioned in many of the blogs we post, NEDC converts a lot of materials into custom shapes and sizes. Some of these materials can have multiple functions depending on the shape and orientation they are cut into. Some of the materials that NEDC die-cuts with many different applications are… Continue reading…

Over the years the Henkel Company has developed thermal management solutions for many different types of applications. In some applications, the stress is not high enough to utilize traditional Gap Pads. In cases like these, Henkel Company has developed a thermal management product that may be suitable for low stress,… Continue reading…

In the converting industry, every company has a transfer tape they primarily use when they are die cutting, waterjet cutting, or laser cutting fabricated parts. These tapes must be versatile, easy to work with, affordable, and dependable. At NEDC we use 3M 9472 Transfer Tape. This acrylic high-tack transfer tape… Continue reading…

Thermal materials normally work better under pressure. However, some assemblies do not have the luxury of pressure because of sensitive components. For that reason, in thermal gap filling materials, soft seems like it can’t be soft enough sometimes. However, with Bergquist’s Gap Pad VO Ultra Soft, ultra is about as… Continue reading…

NEDC has been converting thermal products essentially since its advent in 1982. One of the products that is the most enduring is Sil-Pad 400 by Henkel’s Bergquist. This product was actually the original Sil-Pad. This pad was created for products with thin gaps that had the luxury of pressure to… Continue reading…

Nowadays, the world changes at an incredible pace. New electronics come out every day with potential. With all of these hot electronics, there is usually a requirement for a material to transfer the heat out of the application. Unfortunately, many of the thermally conductive pads that available are binded with… Continue reading…

Over the past 30 years in business at New England Die Cutting, our product offerings have changed significantly. Some of our core product offerings now exist in silicone/fluorosilicone rubber materials. Typically when we fabricate these materials, there is sometimes a second step required. Luckily, NEDC also has this ability to… Continue reading…

We often hear from the customers we work with, that our parts are the last thing people think of when completing a project. These parts can range from thermal interface materials that provide a stick-in-place solution, heat-dissipating solution, or a left-out gasket that is essential to passing environmental testing. After… Continue reading…

In the short time I have been at NEDC, I have been witness to the increasing demands of the aerospace and military applications that we service. Some of the common topics that we discuss in applications are the fluid(s) & temperature(s) that the application may be witness to/a part of.… Continue reading…

At NEDC, about 50% of the materials we cut have an adhesive backing. This is usually because it helps with installation, or perhaps the end user needs it to stick without an otherwise conventional fastener. The question comes up all the time, “Can my insulator come with adhesive backing?” or… Continue reading…

Nowadays everyone is trying to do everything faster. Make coffee faster, make cars fasters, make the computer that I am typing on faster. Some feedback that we often get from customers is, “These parts are so small, or so awkwardly shaped that removing the liner from the tape on the… Continue reading…

NEDC has an affinity for an incredible amount of thermal management materials. TIMs, as they are called, have started to replace messy thermal greases & mica in some applications as electronics have become ubiquitous. One of the most popular thermal interface materials that NEDC converts through die cutting is Sil-Pad… Continue reading…

We are all familiar with when something just does not fit like we thought it would. There is nothing more awful than buying an article of clothing at the store without trying it on because you were positive it would fit and then getting home and realizing it’s just too… Continue reading…

It is estimated that the human body has over 37.2 trillion cells. The sum of the cells make the human body a true functional miracle. Just like humans, rubber can have cells too. But just as humans have different types of cells, sponge and foam can have different types of… Continue reading…

It is easy to understand why the applications of Gap Pad and Sil-Pad can be confused. This is because both thermal pads have a lot of similarities. For the most part Sil-Pads and Gap Pads are electrically isolating. Both thermal pads are thermally conductive, and both are normally put between… Continue reading…

Silicone rubber is one of the most widely used materials in the converting industry. It’s rare, if not impossible, to not come across silicone daily. This inorganic elastomer is ubiquitous in the converting landscape for several reasons. First off, silicone rubber is one of the most customizable products in the… Continue reading…

Henkel has been at the center of thermal interface materials for the past 50 years. Over that time period they have developed a number of thermal interface materials ranging from their revolutionary Sil Pad to their Bondply thermal materials. Time and time again, as thermal challenges have arose, Henkel has… Continue reading…

Since 1980, 3M VHB Tapes have been revolutionizing the way the world sees permanent bonding applications. VHB Tapes provide many unique qualities that make them fit to bond in even the most demanding of applications. VHB Tapes can be found in applications ranging from aerospace to automotive markets. There are… Continue reading…

NEDC offers many types of materials, including electrically insulating materials, thermally conductive materials, and electrically conductive materials. A brand that deals with all of those types of materials in adhesive film form is Henkel Adhesive Films. These materials can be helpful in situations where complexity is accentuated by part size,… Continue reading…

3M Company is an international brand name that is recognized globally. 3M spans the globe with divisions offering products that range from medical to electronic markets. When I was a younger boy I remember knowing who 3M was at 5 years old. I knew that they made tape. However, what… Continue reading…

NEDC deals with countless materials that make it one of the most diverse converters in the aerospace, military, and medical industries. Microwave absorbers are one material that NEDC deals with on a daily basis. As the world becomes more electronically oriented, the problems presented by these electronics have to be… Continue reading…

NEDC has a number of popular products that it consistently converts through die cutting and waterjet cutting. Since no two pieces of metal will ever match up perfectly, Henkel offers a conformable line of products that will, called Gap Pad®. One of the most popular gap filling materials is Gap… Continue reading…

In the 1960’s Kapton® was invented by DuPont Company. Since then, polyimide film has come a long way. Today, Kapton® is used in countless applications ranging from fibre optics cables to electronic components. This film has a number of unique properties that have led to its widespread use. The film… Continue reading…

As a converter, we see all sorts of materials. These materials can have a diverse range of uses. One of the materials NEDC commonly deals with and converts is UHMW polyethylene material. This is actually an acronym for ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. The name of the material stems from… Continue reading…

Expanded rubber has become a very popular product in the gasket industry. We are often asked for requests that use silicone sponge, which is closed cell only. Silicone foam is available in different cell structures, such as modified closed, closed, open, etc. There are many advantages to utilizing silicone sponge… Continue reading…

In the converting industry we deal with a lot of materials. When you deal with materials ranging from 1 mil Mylar A to modified epoxy adhesive films, you gain a peculiar affinity for materials that stand out from the rest. Recently, I was introduced to an especially versatile material called… Continue reading…

At NEDC, we work with many materials that are used for EMI/RFI shielding, including gaskets, seals, and extrusions. While gaskets are our core product line, we also provide the value added benefit of converting 3M Copper Foil Tapes. 3M provides various different foil tapes, but this article will cover one… Continue reading…

At NEDC we are professional die-cutters. For the last 30 years we have been cutting custom shapes from almost all the different types of materials. These materials include EPDM sponge, fluorosilicone, and other types of materials. As recently as 6 years ago, NEDC decided to leap into the 21st century… Continue reading…

General purpose gasketing has come a long way since the advent of rubber. Sponge rubber materials have many advantages over their solid rubber counterparts, although that is not to say that sponge rubber solves all the problems that sealing brings forth. Neoprene/EPDM/SBR sponge is a general purpose gasketing material that… Continue reading…

Nickel Graphite has become a formidable competitor to many of its silver-filled counterparts. NEDC offers fluorosilicone compositions that can offer excellent sealing and shielding in the most aggressive environments. This is done through many processes the material offers. This 75 Shore A elastomer offers incredible performance across the spectrum of… Continue reading…

Some tools seem to be able to do everything. These are the tools of our lives that we feel are tried and true, and which work in almost every situation that may cross your path. In the manufacturing industry, one machine is set apart from the rest. This machine is… Continue reading…

Like many of the great inventions, Teflon® (PTFE) was invented by accident. It was accidentally invented by Dr. Roy Plunkett. He and his associate were trying to find an alternative refrigerant and subsequently discovered Chemour’s Teflon®. He found that this substance had quite a plethora of useful properties, including high… Continue reading…

Since the founding of a company called Minnesota Mining Manufacturing in 1902, 3M has been inventing and offering a number of different tape products. The modern 3M company now offers an incredible variety of tapes, including (but not limited to) electrically conductive transfer tapes, acrylic tapes, silicone tapes and rubber… Continue reading…

Often we have materials that we deal with on a daily basis that come with a surface finish. The materials that we most often encounter with notable surface finishes are sponges. These sponge materials typically come with a “skin” on both sides. The difference between the skin and polymer is… Continue reading…

Have you ever looked up at the sky and asked yourself, “Why is that blue”? (It is complicated, but blue light scatters more than the other wavelengths and thus is more visible. For more information see Rayleigh scattering.) I have asked myself similar questions. Questions that consistently come up in… Continue reading…

Combination gaskets are gaining wide acceptance and use for EMI shielding and environmental sealing for electronic enclosures. They offer the benefits of having mesh and elastomer essentially within one gasket. This can be convenient for the end-user to be able to have both products in one without doing tiring or… Continue reading…

Being conventional can often lead to the same results that one has always experienced. Sometimes someone tries something new that has the potential to be a formidable competitor. A formidable competitor to your average rivet, adhesive, spot-weld, or other permanent fastener is 3M’s VHB tape lines. In this post we… Continue reading…

There are some applications that require a gasket that is non-negotiable. When we say non-negotiable what we mean is a gasket that cannot be changed because the certain requirements of the application dictate this type of material, such as a certain volume resistivity requirement. We often get customers who will… Continue reading…

In the 1970’s the US military launched a new class of aircraft carriers called the Nimitz. It was the biggest class yet, offering gigantic load displacements and great sustainability over long periods of time. Large machines require large parts and NEDC is committed to providing large gaskets to the military,… Continue reading…

Supply chain is one of the biggest components that determines how well a company will run. As a gasket manufacturer we have over 600 vendors that supply everything from our gasketing materials to our paper towels. One of the toughest problems as a buyer is getting a reliable gasket supplier… Continue reading…

As we celebrate this joyous season, I want to reflect upon the dedicated spirit of our staff and our leadership here at NEDC. This has been an extraordinary year at NEDC. We moved our manufacturing plant to Methuen, Massachusetts, to a state-of-the-art 102,000 square foot building. We received Trusted Supplier… Continue reading…

In New England we are used to very low temperatures. These temperatures during the dead of winter can range from -40 Fahrenheit to 45 F. We have two types of people in New England: those who love the cold and those who hate it. Whatever the case, we all tolerate… Continue reading…

At New England Die Cutting, the process of quoting has been made into such a science that the term “estimate” may appear to be something of a misnomer, as NEDC provides accurate and concrete pricing within short times frames for our customers on an hourly basis. The process of an… Continue reading…

Most of us hear about the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the news frequently, hearing about a new drug that was recently approved, or hearing about new FDA food safety rules. What you often do not hear about is an FDA approved gasket. When a gasket is used in a… Continue reading…

Gasoline is a product that feeds the muscles of our nation’s economic power. The gasoline that is derived from oil travels thousands of miles through pipes all over the US. Thousands of miles of piping have to be connected somehow. When there are two sections of pipe connecting, they form… Continue reading…

The oldest known use of glue dates back to 200,000 B.C. This primitive glue was used to glue flakes to spears. That tells you one thing, glue has been around for nearly as long as humans have been around. This also tells you that humanity and glue are irrevocably tied… Continue reading…

Durometer is one way to measure the hardness of a material. It is frequently used to determine the resistance of the material to indentation. There are many ways to test durometer, one of the most frequently used tests is ASTM D2240. This test method utilizes the Shore Hardness scale. The… Continue reading…