Metals such as copper and aluminium offer very little design flexibility, and efforts to reduce size, weight and cost have pushed these materials to their limits. So, in almost every industry, the drive for smaller, less expensive, more user-friendly devices has increased the need for more complex microelectronics.
Currently, the world of plastics moulding is defying all boundaries. And increasing demand for conductive polymers is a big part of this growth. Thomas Aisenbrey is the inventor of 'ElectriPlast', a pelletised, proprietary, highly conductive recipe, specifically formulated for moulding from a vast selection of base resins and polymers (plastics and rubbers). ElectriPlast can be moulded into virtually any shape, size, or dimension associated with plastics, rubbers and other polymers. The differentiator is, ElectriPlast will conduct electricity as if it were a metal, while plastics are usually thought of as insulators. Virtually anything made from metals today can now be moulded from ElectriPlast.
Aisenbrey, who has two US patents approved and around 50 pending, is a regular walking encyclopaedia of electronics knowledge. He says, "Plastics and the ability to be able to mould this new array of highly conductive polymers will take on an entirely new meaning as consumers demand smaller, sleeker, lighter weight and higher performance products. There is great demand on behalf of various industries to replace metals with conductive mouldable plastics, rubbers and other polymers that the ElectriPlast recipe conforms to."
One prime example of where ElectriPlast may be seen is in what Aisenbrey has termed 'PlasTenna.' With its tunable radio frequency capabilities, he says PlasTenna may one day transform wireless networks, satellite communications, pagers and handheld devices such as cellular phones and PDAs. The product will give birth to next level designs by engineers that are plagued with design constraints, which in turn equates with better reception, fewer dropped calls and longer battery life - to name a few advantages. PlasTenna's can also become a moulded part of the body, shell or case of the wireless device or phone, eliminating breakable protruding antennas and significantly decrease parts counts. They can also add covertness to numerous other antenna applications by concealing them to be handles, buttons, racks, mirror housings, mouldings and or many other parts within vehicles, boats, aircraft, etc, or even as body-worn antennas.
Two other examples of the numerous applications of ElectriPlast are 'PlastiHeater', a thermal conductor that can radiantly heat floors and seats of vehicles, and 'PlastiCircuit', a mouldable method of making electronic circuitry that is a lightweight alternative solution to using the conventional means of metal, wire or cable. Other industries where ElectriPlast may be applied are thermal management (PlastiCooler), lighting illumination circuits (PlastiLight), and electronic shielding (PlastiShield).
For more information see Integral Technologies' website: www.itkg.net
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