Many everyday items have been reimagined as "smart". From appliances to cars to wearables, users have more insight and trackability than ever before. This additional visibility has even extended into some less obvious places like the shipping and warehousing industries with the introduction of "smart pallets". These pallets offer the benefits of location tracking and active monitoring of environmental conditions.
Keep reading to learn more about this manufacturer of smart shipping pallets and the custom venting solution Marian recommended and designed to meet their requirements.
The Application Challenge: IP Rated Protection in Extreme Environments
Our customer in this story develops and manufactures technologically advanced shipping pallets designed to be durable, sustainable, and lightweight. These pallets are built with a dedicated area that houses the electronic components and sensors that actively monitor temperature, humidity, motion, and impact.
The enclosure that holds these electronics must protect the sensitive components from dust, debris, and moisture, yet allow airflow to prevent humidity condensation. To withstand potentially hazardous conditions, including wash and sterilization cycles, these components require hermetic sealing and polyurethane antimicrobial coating, with a target IP Rating of IP64 and IP67.
Learn more about what this specific IP rating means in our blog: Ingress Protection (IP) Rating Explained.
An example of a smart pallets designed to be durable, sustainable, and lightweight. This image is just a representation and not the actual pallets in this story.
IP Rating of Enclosures
IP Ratings, or Ingress Protection Ratings, measures the degrees of protection provided against the intrusion of solid objects and liquids into electrical enclosures.
IP ratings are made up of two numbers:
- The 1st number indicates the level of protection from solid objects like body parts and dust.
- The 2nd number shows the level of protection from various exposures of liquids.
For this application, the designers wanted protection from all dust particles (IP6X), as well as protection against splashing liquids from all directions (IPX4) or water immersion between 15-100 cm for 30 minutes (IPX7).
By obtaining a rating of IP64 and IP67, the manufacturers hoped to protect the sensitive internal components from a variety of extreme environments, as well as equalize pressure within the enclosure during temperature changes. This would ultimately protect the electronics and the enclosure itself from damage and warping.
Marian's Solution: A PTFE Venting Membrane Disc
Marian's engineers proposed a PTFE breathable membrane disc with an adhesive perimeter to hold the vent in place. The perimeter was laminated with double-sided adhesive tape.
The tackified acrylic adhesive offered high adhesion levels and excellent resistance to potentially demanding environmental conditions. The PTFE membrane material is rated to IP64, IP67, and IP68, keeping out dust, dirt, and moisture while allowing for the required pressure equalization. Both materials used were available in-house at Marian, which allowed for rapid delivery of material samples and prototypes.
The customer performed a number of tests on the provided sample materials and prototypes, determining that Marian's solution protected as intended and seamlessly integrated into their automated assembly system.
Marian laminated and die-cut the final disc parts precisely to ID and OD specifications, and per the customer's request, the parts were provided kiss-cut to the liner for final automated placement within the enclosure.
An example of die-cut vents with a laminated perimeter of tackified acrylic adhesive. These vents are provided on a liner with pinholes for automated placement.
Key Takeaways: Why You Should Work with Marian for IP Rated Enclosures
- Marian's engineers have expert material knowledge and connections to the industry's leading material suppliers.
- We keep stock of many of the world's best thin, flexible materials in-house for rapid prototyping and sampling.
- Our commitment to "Design for Manufacturing" (DFM) enabled the customer to easily implement the final kiss-cut parts into their automated assembly.
- We know a lot about enclosure systems! Our Enclosure Institute™ training course offers loads of educational blogs, videos, and downloadable content related to enclosure sealing and gasketing, including ingress protection and other enclosure rating standards. Register for free today!
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Marian, Inc. is an ISO 9001 certified converter of custom die-cut components made from flexible materials. We partner with leading material suppliers, and our global capacity is unmatched. This Marian application story, along with many others, uniquely demonstrates our state-of-the-art custom converting capabilities including die cutting, lamination, design for manufacturing, and more. Please contact us today to learn more or to request a quote, prototype, or material sample.
