When designing electronics, there’s often a tradeoff between thermal conductivity and mechanical compliance. Many materials that transfer heat well can be stiff, requiring high clamping force and risking damage to sensitive components. On the other hand, softer pads tend to sacrifice conductivity to achieve compressibility.
Tflex™ SF16 breaks that compromise. It’s engineered to deliver 16 W/m·K thermal conductivity—an exceptionally high value for a gap filler—while still staying remarkably soft and compressible, even under low mounting pressures.
Balanced Performance: Soft Yet Thermally Efficient
What sets TFLEX SF16 apart isn’t just its conductivity rating but how it maintains softness despite that level of performance. Traditional high-k pads can become dense and resist compression, but TFLEX SF16’s polymer matrix and filler design allow for gentle deflection without losing contact quality. This is particularly useful where heat sources vary in height or where uneven pressure distribution would normally cause air gaps.
Key thermal and mechanical notes:
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Thermal Conductivity: 16 W/m·K (Hot Disk method)
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Deflection: ~50% at only 30 psi — shows it’s compliant without requiring heavy clamping force
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Shore 00 Hardness: ~40 — soft enough to conform to delicate parts
- Tack both sides: TFLEX SF16, this thermal natural tack make the thermal pad especially good at wetting out.
This combination means engineers can close challenging gaps while avoiding PCB stress or mechanical damage.
Practical Integration in Real Designs
Because SF16 is silicone-free, it’s a strong fit for applications where silicone migration or outgassing can cause reliability concerns. Its light gray color also aids visual inspection, and its broad operating temperature range (-40°C to 125°C) covers most commercial and industrial electronics.
Example application — EV Power Modules
Modern EV inverters and onboard chargers generate significant localized heat at IGBTs and MOSFETs mounted on uneven substrates. TFLEX SF16’s extreme softness lets it flow into subtle surface variations while transferring heat into the baseplate or cold plate efficiently, keeping switching components cooler without overloading solder joints or the PCB.
Other fit areas include high-density computing hardware, LED lighting arrays, and power supplies where uneven gap tolerances and sensitive components exist.
Thickness options range from 0.5 mm to 5 mm, giving flexibility across small consumer devices to large power assemblies.
Why This Matters
For years, engineers have had to pick between soft and thermally conductive or hard and thermally capable. SF16’s formulation shows that you don’t have to compromise. By retaining softness at 16 W/m·K, it’s easier to install, less risky to sensitive hardware, and more forgiving when tolerances vary. NEDC does custom die cutting, and waterjet cutting- who is also a thermal pad die-cutter, who is an authorized converter for Laird.