Electrical Insulators Blog
Thermal Pad vs. Thermal Grease/Mica
One common question I hear engineers ask about is if it's better to have Mica/Grease or Sil-Pad products. Obviously, I’m partial to this, but I wanted to give some thoughts I had about Mica/Grease, and why I think it has its place, but why I think in a manufacturing...
Die-Cutting vs Laser Cutting, Epoxy Preforms: Part 2
I had a customer call the other day, saying he heard that laser cutting was better than die-cutting for frozen epoxy preforms. Heres the thought I had in my head “Why does this keep coming up!?” Heres my thought, and then I’m going dive into every advantage, and...
IP Ratings – Gaskets & Ratings | Particles/Liquid Ingress
IP (Ingress Protection or International Protection) ratings are a common way to define how protected an electrical enclosure is from foreign matter that does not belong in the said enclosure. Gaskets are frequently used to provide the protection set forth in this...
Thermal Interface Pads/Liquids for Solid State Drives(SSDs)
As the industry moves from hard-drives(HDDs) to solid-state drives(SSDs). SSDs offer significant advantages over their hard drive counterparts. However, since SSDs operate through an electrical current, they still get hot- just like every electronic. Heat continues to...
TFLEX 600 | High-Compliance Thermal Pads | Low-Stress
NEDC manufactures thermal pads for many different customers. The thing I love about thermal pads, there is so many of them. Each one has different properties, and has its own fit for applications. Properties of TFLEX 600 Thermal Pad TFLEX 600 is a boron nitride...
Silicone Foam Challenges, and Silicone Foam Alternatives
Over the past two years, silicone foam has become a particularly challenged material when it comes to lead times. As of this writing, there has been cases where we have waited a year for some silicone foam. Although, it is true, lead times have improved dramatically...
Engineering Note: Hole Diameters: How low can you go?
At NEDC, cutting gaskets is what we do. Gaskets typically have holes in them to provide room for screws or bolts to go through them in order to provide pressure, and then for that reason, also to provide compression for the gasket to seat/seal properly. How small is...
Liners for Die-Cutting – Why is there Thick, or Thin Liners?
NEDC is an authorized converter for 3M company. For that reason, we often get questions from customers about the adhesive tape products we offer. Customers often ask, what is the difference between this tape, and this tape? The reason customers ask this question, is a...
Application Note for Speaker Gasket Found In Airport
When people ask me what I do for a living, I'll be honest- I struggle trying to tell them what I do. I usually end up just saying, most of the parts we make are for aerospace/military applications. Which is true. However, frankly that is a terrible answer. I'm going...
Tips/Tricks to Avoid Supply Chain Disruptions | Custom Die-Cutters
In this supply chain taxed environment, I thought I’d write a blog about how to keep your supply chain moving at the maximum speed possible- whatever that may be nowadays. In this blog, we will provide some tips, and tricks to keep your supply chain moving....
Why so many Gap Pads/Thermal Pads? Some Thoughts
I often get the question, “Why are there so many thermal pads?” In addition, I always joke there are so many types of thermal pads, that they are sort of like ice cream flavors. There is a type of ice cream for everybody. Some Thoughts I had on "Why so Many Gap...
FDA, 21 CFR 177.2600 Gasketing Materials | Neoprene, Nitrile, FKM, EPDM
About 8 years ago, when I had first started blog writing- oh God, don’t remind me it was 8 years ago, I wrote a blog on FDA Gaskets for silicone rubber products. This blog only covered what was available for silicone rubber products. In that blog, we neglected rubber...
3M Adhesive 350 | Cut Shapes/Custom Gaskets
At NEDC, we are a 3M Converter. For that reason, we are constantly dealing with high performance tapes. We thought we’d do a blog on all of the tapes that have the 350 Adhesive Tapes. Properties of Adhesive 350 Tapes: -High Heat Stress (450°F for short periods, with...
Knife-Cutting | New Capabilities at New England Die Cutting
Before the close of the 2022 year, NEDC bought a knife-cutting machine. This knife-cutter will enable NEDC to provide more quality parts to its customers. This machine has a maximum table length of 60’’ x 120’’. NEDC is very excited to announce this to our customers....
Eccosorb GDS | Broadband Absorber | Custom Die-Cut
NEDC die-cut RF absorbers all the time. In one blog, we discussed Eccosorb MCS in a blog early in 2020. One of the more popular materials that we die-cut for customers that require RF absorbers is Eccosorb GDS. Between Eccosorb GDS, and Eccosorb MCS, they probably...
Supported Thermal Pads | Why are they Supported?
I have made it obvious that we manufacture thermal pads at NEDC. I practically mention it in every single blog. Why are Thermal Pads Supported? Thermal Pads are supported because they are essentially made of putty. It's important to distinguish there are about four...
Developments/Challenges at NEDC in 2022
At NEDC, we closed a strong 2022. However, it was not all sunshine, and rainbows. It was quite the opposite. We faced a number of challenges. There weren't only bad things, there was a few silver linings as well. Challenges/New Developments at NEDC in 2022 ...
PTFE Coated Fiberglass Fabric | Custom Die-Cut Parts
At NEDC, we die cut all sorts of products. One product that I’m surprised I have not mentioned in the 5 years I’ve been doing the blog, is PTFE Coated Fiberglass Fabric materials. Right before the turn of the New Year, I decided it may be a good idea to discuss...
Open Cell Foam/Sponge | What is it, What is it good for?
At NEDC, we cut all kinds of cellular sponge products. One thing we have never really discussed on this blog, is “What is Open Cell Foam?” We discussed the differences between Open Cell Sponge, and Closed Cell Sponge, but I thought to myself, maybe a more...
Natural Gum Rubber | Custom Die Cut/Waterjet Cut Parts
It surprises me slightly, just slightly that we have posted over 220 blogs, but we have never discussed natural rubber. Natural rubber is called that because it was the first type of rubber discovered when the fateful Charles Goodyear accidentally dropped his natural...
Tips for your Gasket to Consider | Custom Gasket Suggestions
In a blog I wrote in the past, I had discussed how to make your gasket more cost effective. At times, I feel like I have talked about everything about gasket design- one blog I have not talked about is a few tips on designing gaskets. Tips: 1. Temperature Range When...
High Temperature Transfer Tapes | Die-Cut Tape/Laminated
NEDC die-cuts high-temperature gasketing materials all the time. Many times, customers would like a gasketing material to have a tape on them. Most applications don’t require a high temperature adhesive because its just to help during assembly- however, there are...
Cooking an Egg Through a Thermal Pad | How they Work
At NEDC, we cut thermal pads like it's our job- cause guess what.. It is. Oftentimes, when we are talking to customers- they may not know exactly how thermal pads work because it may not be obvious what a good insulator air is in an application. A few weeks ago, right...
VHB GPH Tape | Powder Coated/Liquid Painting | Die-Cut Tape
NEDC is a major supplier of 3M VHB Tape. There are VHB Tapes for all sorts of applications. However, it is well known in the industry that sticking things to powder coat, and liquid painted surfaces can be very tricky. Considering this, 3M Company has come up with a...
Silicone Sponge vs. Silicone Foam | Whats the Differences? Are they different?
We see on prints all the time “R10480S Silicone Foam” or “HT-800 Silicone Sponge”. Its clear what the customer is requiring. However- these requirements are slightly incorrect. It should read “R10480S Silicone Sponge” and “HT-800 Silicone Foam”. WIth that said, when I...
Speaker Gaskets | Custom Die-Cut Shapes | Foam/Sponge/Cork
Speakers are everywhere these days. I have some in my car, I have two on my desk (currently playing Vivaldi). In our last blog, we talked about rattling/pinging that can be present in different environments. As discussed in that blog, we suggest foam/sponge to absorb...
Foams/Sponges to Stop Rattling/Pinging/Buzzing in Applications
A few years ago, I had a car that had a sunglasses holder near the sunroof. I’m not going to name the manufacturer because I’m never buying a car from them again- however- One day(don’t ask me why, it started rattling).. It made this all the time. Finally, after a...
Sil-Pad A2000 aka SIL PAD TSP A3000 | Custom Die-Cut Thermal Pads
At NEDC, we die-cut a lot of thermal interface materials (TIMs). Cost is always a concern when customers are selecting thermal pads. When selecting an .015’’-.020’’ thin thermal pad, Sil-Pad A2000 is a good choice. Why Select Thermal Interface Pad Sil-Pad A2000? I’m...
Thermal Pad Sample Kit 2.0 | Sil-Pad & Gap Pad in One Kit
During COVID, NEDC released a Thermal Pad Sample Kit. It had a number of Gap Pads on it. We decided to re-release it- new. and improved. Why Thermal Pad Sample Kit 2.0? This time it has a combination of Sil-Pad and Gap Pad on the Thermal Pad Sample Kit. It has...
Electrical Enclosure Gaskets | Custom Die-Cut | Silicone, Neoprene
At NEDC, we make gaskets for all types of projects. One of the most common types of gaskets we make is something we call enclosure gaskets. We call them electrical enclosure gaskets here because oftentimes the enclosures that we are sealing off house electrical...
All of the information presented above is believed to be factual and accurate; however, NEDC is not liable for any design or application utilizing this information.
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Die-Cutting vs Laser Cutting, Epoxy Preforms: Part 2
I had a customer call the other day, saying he heard that laser cutting was better than die-cutting for frozen epoxy preforms. Heres the thought I had in my head “Why does this keep coming up!?” Heres my thought, and then I’m going dive into every advantage, and...
Super-Soft Silicone Rubber Gaskets | Tight-Tolerance/High-Temperature
At NEDC, Custom Silicone Rubber Gaskets are a common product we sell. Included in that category are the Super-Soft Silicone Rubber Gaskets that are available. When I think soft gaskets, typically below 40A durometer would be considered soft. However, when I think of...
Double Coated Tape 3M 9731- Acrylic/Silicone
We are an authorized 3M Converter at NEDC. As a result, we work with many of their tape products. These include VHB Tapes, EMI Shielding Tapes, Transfer Tapes, and many others. One of the tapes we work with often is 3M 9731 Double Coated Tape. This tape has the great...
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