Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1183414
NOVEMBER 2019 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 99 which electronics are encapsulated within the molded plastic. Figure 4 illustrates the material stack. Structural electronics manufacturing of- ten includes pre-assembly and the final assem- bly of control electronics as well. Introduction to Component Certification Process Structural electronics technology differs sig- nificantly from conventional electronics. Cur- rently, most electronic components are opti- mized for conventional electronics manufac- turing that do not anticipate the temperature and pressure exposure of thermoforming and injection molding processes. Thus, TactoTek certifies all electronic components that are em- bedded inside injection molded polymers. Cer- tification has three steps (Figure 5). TactoTek has defined the requirements for ideal component packaging [1] . During pre- screening, component data is compared with the ideal package. The component package does not need to fulfill all requirements to pass this step. However, there are some items that cause failure at pre-screening—for example, a package with moisture sensitivity level (MSL) of four or higher fails. If a component passes the pre-screening, TactoTek manufactures test platforms with that component, using internal company standards Figure 4: Typical material stack in structural electronics. Figure 5: Component certification process flow.