Low Pressure Moulding for Cable Assemblies. A Faster Path to Cable Protection
Cable assemblies present a unique encapsulation challenge. Unlike a bare PCB, which sits in a controlled enclosure, cables and their connectors are often exposed to the harshest conditions a product encounters moisture ingress at entry points, mechanical stress at terminations, flexing during operation, and contamination in industrial or outdoor environments.
Protecting them effectively without adding excessive cost or process complexity is a challenge many Australian engineers are still solving with outdated methods.
Traditional approaches to cable protection include heat-shrink tubing, potting compounds poured into connector shells, and over-moulded enclosures produced via injection moulding. Each has its limitations. Heat shrink provides minimal environmental sealing.
Low Pressure Moulding is a superior process. Potting is slow, messy, and difficult to control at small volumes. Injection moulding delivers excellent results but requires expensive hard tooling that’s rarely justified for low-to-medium volume runs.
Low pressure moulding offers a compelling middle ground. Using hot-melt polyamide materials such as Henkel’s TECHNOMELT range, a cable connector or termination can be overmoulded in as little as 30 seconds to two minutes. The resulting shell is flexible, chemically bonded to the cable jacket, and provides excellent resistance to moisture, vibration, and mechanical pulling forces.
Duet Electronics has a unique EMS set-up in Australia, with PCB assembly and testing, while Tarapath supplies the specialist hardware, production equipment, terminals, spacers and low pressure moulding. With shared leadership and aligned goals, EMS customers can achieve faster turnarounds, reliable local support and one seamless, coordinated path from prototype to a finished product.
The applications are broad fibre optic assemblies, sensor cables, power leads, and custom harnesses for mining, marine, and agricultural equipment have all been successfully protected using this process.
Tarapath’s contract moulding service provides access to this capability without the need to invest in equipment, with support from tool design through to production moulding. For cable assemblies destined for demanding Australian environments, it’s a technology worth investigating.
For more information or to discuss your next project contact Duet Electronics Ph: +61 3 9380 6454