A new partnership between Henkel and Engineering Solution provides manufacturing industry with a complete low pressure moulding service. The scope of this alliance extends from product design consultancy and mould tool manufacture through to prototype and batch production of ready-to-ship assemblies. Beyond this, Engineering Solution can supply of all the elements needed for the customer to transfer production in-house.
Engineering Solution first used Henkel’s Macromelt hot melt adhesives on an in-house project to over-mould high voltage cables for its test systems. The wider commercial potential of this product and the process soon became apparent and the company’s work is now solely focussed on low pressure moulding with Macromelt and promoting its many benefits to industry.
Macromelt moulding is in a class between casting and injection, and is non-aggressive, cost effective and fast. As low pressures are involved, typically 2 – 20 Bar, lower cost mould tools can be employed. The technology is said to be suitable for encapsulating and enclosing delicate components to provide advanced protection in tough environments. Even surface mount components and lead free soldering is safe.
Macromelt’s properties make it suitable for many applications. At melt temperature, it is a strong adhesive and will bond with a broad range of substrates. For Engineering Solution, the greatest demand for its Macromelt low pressure moulding comes from customers whose product or assembly is of high value and/or carries a high cost of failure, with typical applications are found in the automotive, medical, aerospace, military and security fields.
David Morris, Engineering Solution’s managing director, explained that while these remained core markets, the scope is widening. “We are handling a lot more diverse data logging devices now such as animal tags and sensors to provide information for preventative maintenance programmes. Another recent success was a safety at sea device which involved two Macromelt applications, both of which were engineered in the space of just three weeks.”
He added: “The School of Engineering Design at Brunel University are very enthusiastic about this process and have invited us to give regular presentations to its students.”
