Molded plastic that doubles as a circuit board
Connector maker Harting Inc. was at MD&M showing examples of its 3D Molded Interconnect Device components. These are injection-molded plastic parts with integrated electrical circuitry. The circuits can be arranged on the 3D substrate as specified by the design engineer to produce parts typically smaller and lighter than conventional alternatives. The example here is part of a drum motor used in smart braking systems on vehicles. Four Hall sensors, integrated into the substrate, are just visible around the perimeter of the hole. This illustrates one advantage of the 3D-MID technique: It allows for the inclusion of gaps, channels or apertures for sensors, contacts or other elements; ICs and small, flat components can be incorporated into the molded housings. Other applications fro 3D-MID parts include pressure, current and optical sensors, switches, embedded vehicle cameras, and RFID transponders.
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Filed Under: Cables + cable management, Sensors (pressure), CONNECTIVITY • fieldbuses • networks, Connectors (electrical) • crimp technologies, Motors • stepper, Vision • machine vision • cameras + lenses • frame grabbers • optical filters
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