Material

Electrically Conductive Foam

The electrically conductive foam Condux Plus™ is engineered for applications where a soft and compressible foam is needed to fill a gap while providing electrical contact. This particular foam also provides environmental sealing against dust and incidental contaminants like light water spray. The excellent mechanical and electrical properties of Condux Plus™, combined with the expertise and service from Stockwell Elastomerics, makes Condux Plus™ an effective solution for tough shielding, grounding and sealing problems.

What is Condux Plus™?

Condux Plus™ is made of low-density microcellular urethane foam called PORON® from Rogers Corporation. It has small, tightly packed holes through the material, with a thin and flexible metalized coating applied. The holes with complete edge coating between the top and bottom surface provide a continuous grounding path in all directions, while a permanent PET film layer contributes dimensional stability, durability, and facilitates processing.

Condux Plus™ is made in the USA by Rogers Corporation; it is designed to meet the needs of applications requiring high performance engineered materials.

Key Benefits of Condux Plus™ Foams

Compressibility – Condux Plus™ can be compressed over 50%, with minimal force allowing it to fill gaps and provide reliable contact without contributing strain to mating hardware.
Rebound and resiliency – Resistance to permanent deformation in the form of low compression set and the ability to rebound to its original height are outstanding when tested at 70°C.
EMI Shielding – Between 300 MHz and 10 GHz frequency ranges, 50 dB of attenuation equates to reduced power transmission of interfering electrical fields by more than 99%.
Grounding and Coupling – A surface resistivity of 0.12 Ω/SQ and X, Y, Z conductivity provide a low resistance path for low amperage grounding currents to flow.
Dust Sealing – Microcellular structure prevents ingress of contaminants and good sealing effectiveness.
Minimal Thickness for Compact Designs – 0.021″ standard thickness provides a low profile format for compact packages.
Shock and Vibration – Energy absorbing formulation reduces vibration transmission and can absorb shock without breaking electrical contact.
PET Support – A thin film layer provides dimensional support and a durable bearing surface if needed.

Availability of Condux Plus™ Electrically Conductive Foam for Shielding, Grounding & Sealing

Similar products on the market have traditionally only been available to large-scale electronic manufactures, but Condux Plus™ is available from Stockwell Elastomerics as a standard stock item, with short lead times, low minimum orders and Certifications of Conformance.

The foam may be purchased with or without your choice of select adhesive backing custom tailored to application specific requirements. Unique custom laminates are also available; these may include fabrics, foils, or stiffeners.

Parts of any size can be quickly prototyped to your specifications, reducing development time. Value added services like kiss cutting and kitting keep customer assembly cost down. Condux Plus™ is also available for purchase as sheets or rolls for easy processing.

Where Are Conductive Foams Useful?

Air gaps in assemblies or between features may exist due to manufacturing tolerances or thermal warping; conductive foams can be used to fills these spaces and electrically couple surfaces. Using a conductive foam to fill gaps provides EMI sheilding, dust sealing and forms a protective environment for susceptible electronics.

Differences in electric potential between two bodies can result in the build-up of static and electro-magnetic fields, leading to short circuits and interference. Conductive foams with low surface resistivity are effective at controlling these risks and guarding against failure.

Because Condux Plus™ is based on material engineered for sealing, it has long lasting resilience, making it a reliable ground for a PCB or circuit. If an enclosure must be accessed or an assembly dismantled, the foam reliably returns to its original height without relaxing.

Other cases where the foam is useful include the replacement of grounding straps, connectors and copper clips. Condux Plus™ is also a good choice where vibration and shock due to a drop might break electrical contact between features.

The very low firmness and compressibility ensure this conductive foam can be used without contributing strain to even delicate assemblies like an LCD.