fabric over foam EMI shielding gaskets
At NEDC, we manufacture a lot of EMI/RFI shielding products. Its goes with our core product grouping of electronic materials. These foams are impressive for so many reasons. When thinking of a material that can offer X, Y, and Z electrical conductivity, that also is easy to compress, there are not many materials to think of. At NEDC, we call these materials Conductive Foam Gaskets.
Problem Statement in EMI/RFI Gaskets:
When we talk about EMI/RFI Shielding gaskets, and we think about product problems, it usually appears with different configurations, and attachment methods. For example, think about an Xbox Game Console. theres all these tiny areas that just have interference clips for compression due to sizing requirements. A typical EMI Gasket would get nearly 0 compression because a typical EMI/RFI shielding gasket requires 40-50 psi to get a decent amount of compression out of it. Ecofoam, and EcoGreen by Laird are good solutions in these cases where significant compression cannot be achieved. When it comes to EcoFoam, or Fabric Over Foam from Laird these materials provide excellent compression, and good contact consistently with little compression. These EcoFoams, or EcoGreen materials can provide great shielding effectiveness serving as foam EMI gaskets.
When it comes to leaders in the Conductive EMI Shielding market, DuPont/Laird are undisputed, being found in applications ranging from aerospace electronics, to the Xbox in the top photo here (I took one apart to find this)
Conductive Foam EcoFoam Options
CF100- thicknesses available: 1 mm, 1.5mm, 2.0mm, UL 94V0
CF500- thicknesses available: 0.3 mm(CF503), 0.5mm(CF505), 0.7mm(CF507), 1.0mm(CF510), 1.5mm(CF515), 2.0mm(CF520), 2.5mm(CF525), 3.0mm(CF530), 3.5mm (CF535), 4.0mm (CF540), UL 94V0
CF600- thicknesses available: 0.3 mm (CF603), 0.5mm (CF605), 0.7mm (CF607), 1mm (CF610), 1.5mm (CF615), 2.0mm (CF620), 2.5 mm (CF625), 3.0mm (CF630), UL 94 V0
*These foams are available with Conductive Adhesive Backing on one side.
xbox emi shielding
xbox emi shielding
Are there other Types of EMI Conductive Foam Available? What is Fabric Over Foam?
Laird offers a huge range of Conductive Foam products, that include Fabric Over Foam(FoF). Laird offers EcoGreen, and EcoTemp for their Fabric Over Foam products. The beauty of these gaskets is they offer some of the lowest pressure compression deflection available. The thing to keep in mind is the foams selected are not conductive themselves. However, the different fabrics covering them are. Fabric Over Foams strength comes in the wild number of Profile Configurations available. With these products, you have D-Shaped, Rectangle Shaped, Square Shaped, C-Fold Shaped, Knife-Shaped, Bell Shaped, and many more. These fabric over foam materials are also available to meet UL94V0 that is important to so many commercial, and aerospace electronics. With Fabric Over Foam materials, compression rates of over 70% can easily be achieved due to the fact the thermoplastic foam fillings are open cell are highly forgiving to compression set for example.
Fabric over Foam (FoF) Selections:
Fabric Coverings for Fabric Over Foam (FoF)
-Ni/Cu Ripstop
-Ni/Cu Knit Mesh
-Ni/Cu Taffeta
-Black Ni/Cu Taffeta
Foam Selections for Inserts:
Silicone Foam
Urethane Foam
EcoGreen/EcoTemp Product Line Up
-EcoGreen 709, 775, 779, and 77A
-EcoTemp 615, 616, 617, 618, and 619
Does Fabric Over Foam have Adhesive Backing?
Fabric Over Foam also has adhesive backing similar to EcoFoam, or other EMI/RFI Shielding Gaskets. This helps allow the fabric over foam to be assembled to the application without messy adhesives, or glues.
How is Laird EcoFoam Conductive Foam Cut?
NEDC die-cuts, waterjet-cuts, and laser-cuts EcoFoam into special custom shapes for customers. Usually customers call this “Build To Print”.
And How About Cutting Fabric Over Foam?
Typically, Fabric Over Foam EMI Gasketing is cut to shape typically by die-cutting, or even hand cutting in fixtures. EcoGreen, or Fabric over Foam profiles typically come in strip form, so for that reason it must be die-cut in strip form as well.
More Information on Conductive EMI Gasketing Foam
For more information on EcoFoam, EcoTemp, or EcoGreen (FoF) or you feel you have an application that could utilize EcoFoam. Please contact sales@nedc.com.