Flexible Solutions

Many wound care device companies start with an innovative idea. Turning that idea into a mass-produced product can be extremely challenging. This concept is familiar to KitoTech Medical,a Seattle-based medical device company that develops wound care products. Kitotech was founded by Ronald Berenson, MD. Dr. Berenson is a serial entrepreneur with over 25 years in biotech and medical device industry. Marian is proud to call KitoTech Medical a valued customer.

There are many EMI shielding materials to choose from when determining how to effectively control EMI within an electronic device. In this post, we focus on die-cut foil tapes for EMI shielding. Foil tapes with conductive adhesive provide effective shielding properties as the thin foil layer ensures good electrical contact with the component surface. Let's take a look deeper at EMI and why foil tapes may be the best-suited material for your application. 

What is EMI and Why is it Important?

Electromagnetic interference is unwanted “noise” or interference in an electrical path or circuit caused by an outside source. EMI can be caused by natural or man-made sources and can cause electronics to malfunction or to completely stop working. Therefore, EMI shielding and grounding components are important pieces in the design of electronic devices. 

When designing a medical device, the device is the focus. It must be safe and effective. It also must be packaged!

Packaging can sometimes be an afterthought, but it is very important. Packaging design can impact the medical product’s success in the following ways:

• Product appearance and how it compares to competitive products
• Proper handling and ease of handling by the end-user
• Storage efficiency
• Sterilization and product integrity

Final packaging concepts should be considered early in the design process and should be included in the proof of concept, prototypes, product testing, and sterilization phases.

Marian is a converter of thin, flexible materials. Most often, these materials are supplied to us in a large roll format, sometimes called “master rolls” or “log rolls”. The materials are typically on a hard-fiber or plastic core.

 As you can see on our Materials webpage, Marian converts a wide range of material types in a myriad of different thicknesses. These include pressure-sensitive adhesives and tapes, sponge and foam, rubber, plastic films of all sorts, filter fabrics, foils, and more.

Double Coated Foam Tapes

Double coated foam tapes are a type of adhesive tape that is made of tacky adhesive coated on both sides of a foam core or carrier. DC foam tapes fill gaps and distribute stress uniformly over the bonded area. Depending on the specific tape, the result is a bond line that seals, cushions, and damps vibration, resists impact, withstands a wide temperature range, and provides good insulating qualities. Double-coated foam tapes are strong and durable.

The need for EMI gaskets is growing as more high-frequency digital electronics are introduced into our everyday lives. This includes technologies like 5G infrastructure, IOT (internet of things), and rapid advances in automobile technology and connectivity.

Thermal Runaway Propagation Prevention with Thermal Barrier Materials

Marian provides custom flexible die cut solutions that are incorporated into battery design at the cell, module and pack level to aid with thermal management. These die-cut parts are made with high temperature resistant materials (also known as flame barrier materials) that are designed to offer thermal insulation to delay the onset of thermal runaway.

The majority of the die-cut parts manufactured by Marian include a Pressure Sensitive Adhesive Tape (PSA). PSA tape is thin flexible material coated with a thin layer of adhesive, making one or both sides sticky. By producing billions of adhesive-backed parts each year, it’s safe to say Marian has a lot of experience with this sticky stuff!

PSA tapes can come in various constructions, which offer different functionalities based on your application. There are double-coated tapes, single-coated tapes, and adhesive transfer tapes. Check out our blog post, Pressure Sensitive Adhesive Tape Constructions, to learn more about different tape constructions.

The first step is choosing the best PSA type and construction for your application (by the way, we can help with this! Download our ebook: 4 Questions to Ask Yourself when Selecting a PSA). An equally important step when utilizing a PSA in the assembly of your product, is the proper storage and proper application of the PSA. Missteps when storing and applying your PSA can lead to product failure.

One of our top material suppliers, 3M, recently announced the release of their next generation of medical silicone adhesives, 3M Hi-Tack Silicone Adhesive Tapes. 3M 2480 is the first product to launch in this new portfolio. It is a single coated medical nonwoven tape with hi-tack silicone adhesive on a liner. The benefits of this exciting new material include:

• Longer wear-times (up to 4 days)
• Supports heavier devices
• Offers more secure adhesion
• Repositionable

Read the full press release from 3M here.

When designing a wearable device that will be attached to the human body, selecting the most appropriate stick-to-skin adhesive is a very important part of the design process, and Marian can help. If you take two things away from this article, they should be the following:

1. Think about material selection early in the wearable device design process.

2. Involve your material converter early in the wearable device design process.

Material converters, like Marian, can be an invaluable resource as you begin to make decisions about your design, including choosing the stick-to-skin adhesive materials.