IMD | automation
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag called on its expertise in combined IML and IMD systems for the automotive industry to develop a process for single-step production of touch-sensitive electronic panels
In touch with electronics
Electronic devices play an increasingly important role in modern life with most of us interacting with several every day. However, realising the interface between human and electronics can be both costly and complex. The latest developments in transparent conductive polymer foils open up new opportunities for manufacturing touch-sensitive interfaces. What’s more, these foils lend themselves to today’s state-of-the-art injection moulding techniques, presenting electronics companies with the potential to improve product design, simplify manufacturing and reduce cost. Injection moulding machine maker Sumitomo (SHI) Demag demonstrated such a system during the Fakuma fair late last year, producing multi-function touch sensitive displays in a single production step. It combined the use of in-mould labelling (IML) and in-mould decorating (IMD) injection moulding
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technology with transparent conductive PolyTC foils developed by Germany-based PolyIC, a subsidiary of decorative foil manufacturer Leonhard Kurz Stiftung PolyIC’s PolyTC foils comprise a PET-based sub-
strate which carries a thin metallic coating and high resolution conductor structure. The materials allow the production of extremely thin, fl exible and transparent touch sensors that are said to be able to replace the more costly indium tin oxide (ITO) products used in the majority of touch sensor applications today. Aside from the material cost saving, the PolyTC foils
are also suited to roll-to-roll production, which uses digital print-based technologies to allow individually- adaptable conductor structures to be produced at high rates. The resulting functional foils are suitable for processing as single labels using the IML injection moulding technique to provide enhanced design
Main image: A single suspended robot with
multiple sided gripper system takes on all handling
operations in the complex
touch-sensitive panel
production process
July/August 2013 | INJECTION WORLD 29
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