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Harnessing the Power of Electrically Conductive Silicone in Advanced Electronics

Electrically conductive silicone is a specialized material designed to transmit electrical currents while maintaining the flexibility and durability of traditional silicone. This unique combination makes it indispensable in modern electronics and engineering, where it serves crucial roles in shielding, dissipation, and ensuring reliable connections in circuits. As technology advances, it emerges as a vital material due to its resilience.

This article explores the role of this conductive silicone in modern electronics and its crucial applications in enhancing device efficiency.

Essential Role of Electrically Conductive Silicone in Electronic Devices

Electrically conductive silicone enhances the performance and reliability of electronic devices due to its unique properties. Here are some of its key roles:

EMI and RFI Shielding

Conductive silicone is often used to shield electronic devices from electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI). This is essential in preventing interference between different components within a device, which can cause malfunctions. The silicone’s conductive fillers (silver or carbon particles) create a barrier that absorbs and reflects electromagnetic waves to protect sensitive components.

Thermal Shielding

Some conductive silicones are designed to effectively dissipate heat. Such dual functionality can protect components from electrical and thermal stresses, improving the device’s overall durability and lifespan.

Static Discharge Protection

This silicone can safely dissipate static electricity and is particularly important in environments where static buildup can damage delicate electronic components. By providing a reliable path to ground, conductive silicone helps prevent electrostatic discharge (ESD), which can cause sudden and catastrophic failure of electronic circuits.

Reliable Electrical Connections

Electrically conductive silicone can create secure and consistent electrical pathways between device parts. It guarantees that grounding is effective and reliable over long periods, even under varying environmental conditions.

Flexible Circuitry and Connections

Conductive silicone is often used in flexible circuits and wearable electronics where traditional metallic connections are impractical. Its ability to maintain conductivity while stretched, compressed, or bent allows for innovative designs in modern electronics.

Sealing and Bonding

This type of silicone can seal and bond components while providing an electrical connection. Such dual-purpose functionality is especially valuable in compact devices with limited space.

Key Applications

The following applications demonstrate how conductive silicone is crucial in advancing modern electronics and engineering:

• Thermal interface materials (TIMs): Conductive silicone can be used in thermal pads and gap fillers to enhance heat dissipation between electronic components and heat sinks to ensure proper cooling.
• Printed circuits and flexible conductors: This material is used in flexible printed circuit boards (PCBs) and other flexible electronics, which enables the development of bendable and stretchable electronic devices.
• Pressure and touch sensors: Conductive silicone is used in sensors that detect pressure or touch, making it useful in touchscreens and wearable electronics.
• Conductive keypads: The material is often utilized to construct keypads and switches, where its conductive properties allow the closing of electrical circuits when pressed.
• Electrical contacts and seals: In batteries and fuel cells, conductive silicone creates seals and connections that maintain electrical conductivity while withstanding harsh environmental conditions.
• Biomedical sensors: Conductive silicone is used in medical devices for sensors and electrodes due to its biocompatibility, which allows the devices to conform to the body’s shape.
• Flexible wearable electronics: This material is essential in wearable devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers, providing electrical connectivity while maintaining comfort.

Choose ElastaPro Silicone Sheeting for Top-Notch Conductive Solutions!

At ElastaPro Silicone Sheeting, we provide electrically conductive silicone with unmatched precision. Our advanced solid silicone materials are also engineered into elastomeric shielding, offering exceptional resistance against EMI and RFI. With our superior components, you can ensure reliable electrical grounding, effective shielding, and enhanced conductivity!

Contact us today for innovative conductive silicones that bring reliability and excellence to your projects.

Healthcare Grade Solid Silicone Sheeting

Does your stock room feel more like an emergency room these days? Everywhere you look, the materials you need seem to be in short supply.

That’s why ElastaPro wants you to know we make healthcare-grade silicones that meet the following specifications.

• USP Class VI
• European Pharmacopeia
• ISO 10993
• FDA Title 21 CFR 177.2600.

Here are the vital signs for our healthcare-grade elastomers.

• Easily die-cut into gaskets for a superior sealing solution
• Available in 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 durometers (Shore A)
• Thicknesses from .010″ to .500″ and Widths up to 60″
• Acceptable for implant <29 days
• No smell, no odor, no organic plasticizers
• Phthalate and peroxide free
• Safe for steam and gamma sterilization.

Plus, we only use domestically produced silicone for our healthcare-grade materials.

Would you like to learn more about what we can provide? Contact us.

Buy Silicones from ElastaPro: Short Lead Times, Low MOQs & Flexibility

Have you tried to buy silicones lately? These days it seems like everything is in short supply, including good news.

Some of what you need to buy isn’t available, and what you can get takes too long to arrive or ties up too much cash because of high minimum order quantities (MOQs). Meanwhile, the requirements you’re expected to meet keep getting stricter.

Fortunately, doing business with ElastaPro is about flexibility when you need to buy silicones. For stocked items, our lead times are typically as short as one to three days. For most made-to-order products, our lead times are two weeks. Plus, ElastaPro offers very low MOQs for all of our products.

Whether you need solid silicone sheets, uncured silicone compounds, or specifications-grade silicones, you’ll get high-quality materials backed by exceptional service and superior technology. The materials you need are proudly Made in the USA, too.

Buy Silicones from ElastaPro

At a time when supply chains are constricted, many suppliers seem rigid. That’s not the case with ElastaPro. Find out how how our flexibility can help you. 

Silicone Expo 2022: ElastaPro to Attend

ElastaPro is pleased to announce that we will attend Silicone Expo, the world’s first free-to-attend commercial tradeshow and conference for the silicone industry.
This in-person event is scheduled for June 21 to 23, 2022 at the TCF Center in Detroit, Michigan. As a member of the Silicone Expo Board of Advisors, I hope you can join us.

Whether you’re a material supplier, a converter or fabricator, or a manufacturer that buys silicone products, you’ll gain access to:

• 180+ exhibitors
• two conference tracks
• 65+ speakers
• over 3500 buyers

ElastaPro is thrilled to be a part of this event and can’t think of a better way to bring to bring together suppliers, specifiers, and fabricators for this all-encompassing event.
From thermal management and light weighting to electrification and healthcare, silicones are part of today’s technologies and part of the solution to tomorrow’s challenges.

See You at Silicone Expo?

It would be great to see you in-person at the show. You can book a booth here.

Silicone Supplies: Predicting What Tomorrow Will Be

The car is packed. The trip to the beach is planned. The forecast was for clearing skies, but there’s rain on the windshield and gray skies up ahead. Why can’t they just predict the weather more accurately?

Rainstorms and Supply Chains

When ElastaPro first reported about silicone shortages in our March 2021 newsletter, we’d hoped that silicone rubber supply would stabilize during Q3 2021. As with so many forecasts, however, our prediction missed the mark – and the rain continues.

By now, we’ve all heard reports about how major silicone suppliers have put customers on allocation or become super-selective about taking on new business. There’s news about rising prices and longer lead times, too.

With the way things are looking, this “storm” will probably last until early 2022. So, what’s the latest version of the big picture, and what can we learn from the revised forecast?

What’s Behind the Bad Weather?

For starters, it’s important to understand that the current crisis is global in nature – and rather different than the supply shortage of 2018. Back then, the key factor was a shortage in Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) – the basic building block of silicone products. This was a result of some of these PDMS plants being taken offline due to maintenance or environmental concerns (primarily affecting the Chinese producers of PDMS). What’s changed in 2021 is less of an issue with PDMS and more in terms of people and ancillary products to convert the PDMS into elastomers and other key silicone products we all use. The Major Producers continue to struggle with catching up on their backlogs due to staffing, logistics, or shortages of ancillary and supporting products.

Additionally, one of China’s largest basic suppliers of silicon metal and downstream silicone products is banned from selling into the U.S. and the EU. Even if you don’t buy directly from this company, you possibly use its intermediates in products that you purchase from other suppliers. Again, this is making things tough.

Weathering the Storm with You

ElastaPro continues to work aggressively to assure the continued supply of silicone elastomers and ancillary products to our customers. We’re also doing all we can to reduce the costs in our processes so that we can offset rapidly increasing prices for raw materials.

Although we’ve had to increase our prices, the percentage of these increases has been well below what we are seeing in our raw materials. Moreover, we continue to maintain a two-week lead time on most made-to-order products. We’re also continuing to stock key silicone sheet materials for quick one-day turnarounds.

Look to the Long-Term Forecast

Our commitment to service goes well beyond wanting to provide you, our customer and partner, with the best quality and value in silicone sheeting and silicone compounds. We are also ensuring that we are doing all that we can to maintain a viable supply chain with quick turnaround times to provide the very best service to you.

We’ll get through this together – and sooner than later, we hope. It might not seem like it now, but sometimes storm leave behind rainbows.

Thank you for your continued support.

Molded Silicone Sheets with Quick Deliveries

ElastaPro is ready to supply you with solid silicone sheeting even if you need just a few yards of material. Our molded silicone sheets are made from high-quality ingredients and free from the curving that’s associated with roll stock. We offer quick turnarounds, too.

Molded Silicone Sheets

Check out these specs and let us know what you need:

• Standard sheet size: 36″ x 36″
• Durometer: 30 to 80 (Shore A)
• Thickness: .250″ to 1″
• Formulation: VMQ, PVMQ, or FVMQ
• Specification Grades: FDA, UL, medical, electrically conductive
• Commercial Grades: Available
• Colors: Red, black, gray, or blue

Made in USA Silicone Sheeting

In these uncertain times, ElastaPro has the capabilities and flexibility to provide what you need when you need it. All of our silicone products are Made in the USA by a team that’s committed to bringing you the greatest value and finest customer experience.