Good Place for EMI Gaskets
At this point in my career, I probably do 5-10 questions, help designing in gaskets, thermal pads, or epoxy films a week. Frankly, a lot of the questions help customers with basic questions about how to lower their price point, but nevertheless some deal with some technical stuff too. A lot of time when I am dealing with a military application, I end up falling back on the old reliable MIL-DTL-83528 Type B. In this blog, I wanted to discuss why I do that when the requirements aren’t super rigid.
Why Choose MIL-DTL-83528 Type B for your Application?
- MIL-DTL-83528 Type B is the cheapest product available on the MIL-DTL-83528 QPL from a value standpoint. There is silver-glass which is technically cheaper, but on balance, there is going to be a lot more data on any given manufacturers Type B, and have had a lot more questions answered.
- When it comes to compatibility, and galvanic corrosion silver-aluminum is a much more compatible material because of its base aluminum content. There is data that shows when discussing galvanic corrosion, it’s the base particle you need to be concerned of, not necessarily the coating, such as silver in this case.
- NEDC is almost guaranteed to have stock of all the material that could have been of concern, including all the nominal thicknesses, .020’’, .032’’, .062’’, .093’’, and .125’’. This allows us to get samples out to customers a lot quicker.
- As a modified gasketing compound, Silver Aluminum is the most customized MIL-DTL-83528 option available. Many manufacturers do not customize for example a Silver-Glass, or a Silver-Copper. It’s normally always a lower durometer, or higher volume resistivity Silver Aluminum Silicone blend. This allows more discussion with customers about what could be available.
- When it comes to customer applications, we have a lot of data of typical customer applications that we have seen overtime. Customers have asked me questions such as, “What is the Thermal Conductivity of Type B?”
With all of that said, there are going to be a lot of applications where MIL-DTL-83528 is plainly not a good fit. However, when requirements are not specific, and they are looking for a MIL-DTL-83528 gasket, I usually fall to MIL-DTL-83528 Type B.
More Information on MIL-DTL-83528 Gaskets
NEDC die-cuts, or otherwise waterjet-cuts EMI/RFI shielding gaskets for customers. As mentioned above, SIlver Aluminum Silicone Gaskets come in a number of iterations.For more information on EMI/RFI Gaskets, please contact sales@nedc.com.