Flexible grounding for mobile devices
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Warth International product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Jul 19, 2000
Tiny, conformable grounding pads from Warth International are being used to address one of the primary concerns when designing the electronics within a small mobile device
Tiny, conformable grounding pads from Warth International Ltd are being used to address one of the primary concerns when designing the electronics within a small mobile device, such as a phone, or palmtop.
In any mobile unit, it is essential that the internal electronics are robust enough to withstand the rigours of constant use and movement, and when a keypad is employed the stress and deformation of circuitry can detach the delicate grounding pins or solder that ensures a constant ground for the PCB.
Warth International's Fabshield pads were designed to give engineers a flexible option, which can maintain a constant ground with up to a 50% deformation of the PCB.
The pads use highly conductive copper nickel fabric held securely to a conformable sponge foam, and can be mounted using their own adhesive to the ground plate of a circuit and the shielding can, or metallised case shield used within the unit.
As the board moves the pad can compress and decompress as needed, whilst the open cell sponge core maintains a near constant applied pressure on both surfaces.
This stable environment ensures an even ground as the circuit flexes with keypad, or handling pressures.
Since their introduction in March, Warth has shipped over 4 million pads to the telecoms industry and is expanding its own product line to meet predicted future demand.
The pads themselves can be as small as 3mm square and 0.5mm thick or for bigger applications up to 10mm3, they with a surface resistance from less than 0.1W/sq.
Fabshield grounding pads are available in a flame retardant (UL94-V0) variation.
Applications for the grounding pads have extended from their original telecommunications origins and Warth now supplies a range of manufacturers from simple white goods to PC OEMs and aerospace industries.
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