INNOVATION | DECORATION AND INTERACTIVITY
Above: Functional testing station during production of a nightlight incorporating TactoTek
technology on the Arburg stand at K2019
temporary installation on a trade show floor, semi-automated IMSE manufacturing is reliable and repeatable using ‘off-the-shelf’ production equip- ment,” says Dave Rice, SVP Marketing & Business Development at TactoTek. “That exhibition greatly expanded the audience that has seen live IMSE manufacturing that was previously limited to those who visit TactoTek’s manufacturing facility or those of our licensees. With IMSE we have industrialised, verified and codified the technology foundations required by many product designs to ensure reliable, repeatable manufacturing and lifetime performance when materials that we’ve qualified and design rules that we’ve developed are used.” Apart from touch-controlled lighting, features
Right: Testing a film insert in the TactoTek laboratory
that can be incorporated into the films include proximity sensing, connectivity (antennas), and ‘look and feel.’ “Our team continues to expand those boundaries to provide more functionality both with our own innovations and in collaborative R&D with partners who make IMSE inputs, such as functional inks, components including LEDs, films for insert moulding, resins and more,” Rice says. “In addition to off-the-shelf components that we have verified, some component manufacturers are now designing components specifically to work well with IMSE processing. Ultimately, that enables us to integrate more electronic functionality within the moulded structure.” TactoTek’s active market outreach has expanded
from automotive interiors to include home appli- ance and smart home interfaces, Rice says. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the company is seeing growth in its home appliance and smart home business activity. “Public examples of our technol- ogy are becoming more common, such as the CES 2020 Innovation Award-winning Shepherd Smart Lock by PassiveBolt. There are multiple IMSE parts on their path to mass production. Even though
16 INJECTION WORLD | October 2020
www.injectionworld.com
parts for automotive have been in process longer, we expect appliance and smart home IMSE parts to be visible in the market sooner.” Asked about the extent of possible partnerships with the company, Rice says: “TactoTek has devel- oped IMSE on the premise of using materials already approved by and used in the markets we, and our licensees, are addressing with IMSE solutions. While we don’t limit the number of key partners for resin, IML films, functional inks, graphi- cal inks, electronic components, and so on, there are practical limits. We test each element individu- ally and in a material stack, so we must prioritise what matches market requests and requirements.” He continues: “Regarding equipment, IMSE manufacturing is done using standard printing, component surface mounting (SMT), thermoform- ing and injection moulding equipment, and TactoTek does not require specific brands of equipment for IMSE manufacturing by our licen- sees. Automation equipment needs to be specified for the part being manufactured and the process steps being automated. In the automated manufac- turing demonstration at K2019, Arburg used all standard equipment, configured with fixtures for the specific part being produced. For example, automated testing of electrical functions required a specific fixture and test programming.” One ink maker working with TactoTek is Pröll. Its
core business lies in the development of custom- made chemical products for coating/decorating plastics and other materials, as well as innovative ink systems for IMD/FIM technology, and screen and pad printing inks. One of its new develop- ments is HTR N 990 NC, a non-conductive black for IMD/FIM technology for printed electronics. Containing no carbon, it is based on a proven, formable, back-mouldable, and solvent-based one-component screen printing ink.
�
IMAGE: ARBURG
IMAGE: TACTOTEK
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62
