PHILADELPHIA—Stockwell Elastomerics Inc. now offers silicone sponge gaskets and pads with a conductive coating, helping to protect sensitive electronics during certain production processes.
Customers can pick up swatches of the material, available through a new brochure from Stockwell. The coating can be used in test chambers, burn-in ovens and electronic assembly processes that necessitate compressible gaskets and pads.
"Silicone sponge gaskets and pads with T62 conductive surface coating can solve problems for those operating environmental test chambers when critical electronic components may be damaged by an ESD event," Stockwell Elastomerics' Chief Technical Officer Bill Stockwell said in a statement. "Further, these conductive, coated silicone sponge materials are used around aerospace hardware and cushioning pads in electronic assembly."
Gaskets are fabricated using die cutting, water jet or tool-less flash cutting techniques, and the surface then is coated.
The material, which until recently only was available in non-conductive coatings, performs best in temperatures from -70°F to 300°F with ESD grounding properties, Stockwell said.
"Stockwell Elastomerics developed its T62 conductive surface coating process to improve yields in static sensitive industries such as aerospace and defense electronics where product reliability is essential and electronic component testing is rigorous," the company stated in a July 29 press release.
The sponge material is available in soft, medium and firm densities.
Customers can request complimentary sample swatches. A sample availability chart and a video are available at stockwell.com.
Stockwell Elastomerics makes high-performance silicone rubber gaskets and materials.