Smart Card Manufacturing:
Smart card manufacturing involves embedding a microchip or integrated circuit (IC) into the plastic body of a smart card. The microchip is a delicate electronic component requiring shielding from physical impacts, abrasion, and environmental factors such as moisture. Applying a clear, durable coating over the microchip area protects it from potential damage during manufacturing, handling, and usage.
The coating material also acts as an insulating layer, preventing electrical shorts or interference between the microchip and other conductive components. Alongside these properties, coatings can improve tamper-evident security and overall aesthetics as a well-applied coating creates a tamper-evident barrier over the microchip with attempts to access or manipulate the microchip, resulting in visible damage to the coating, whilst a sleek, professional appearance is attained through the use of a clear, tack-free coating such as Permabond UV683 to provide a smooth, unblemished finish.
Permabond UV683 is an optically clear, tack-free, solvent-free, UV-curable adhesive that is particularly well-suited to doming and coating applications in smart card manufacturing and microchip encapsulation. Permabond UV683 provides a clear protective layer without residue or tackiness, curing rapidly with low-power UV lamps to enable the fast coating (1–2 seconds) of microchips during the high-volume manufacturing processes. The resulting coating enables a well-protected, robust coating free of solvent-related issues such as bubbles and voids, ensuring microchips remain visible and accessible following coating.
Designed for use in electronics applications, Permabond UV683 has a moderate viscosity of 1000–1600 mPa.s, with its good flow and coverage making it highly suitable for encapsulating and doming over electronic components. Similarly, the product’s high-temperature resistance lends itself to numerous electronics-based applications as such heat resistance allows it to resist wave soldering processes after coating, whilst UV683’s excellent adhesive properties are compatible with various substrates common in electronics manufacturing.
Permabond UV683 Key Features for Smart Card Manufacturing:
The core benefits of UV683 for smart card manufacturing, include:
- Optically clear and tack-free formulation: UV683’s optically clear and tack-free formulation makes it an ideal coating in smart card manufacturing applications and microchip coating.
- Fast UV cure: the product cures rapidly with low-power lamps, enabling the fast coating of microchips during high-volume smart card manufacturing processes.
- High temperature resistance: Enabling microchip coatings to remain intact following high-temperature exposure.
- 100% solids formulation: with no solvents, UV683 provides a robust coating without encountering any of the traditional solvent-related issues such as voids.
In summary, Permabond UV683’s unique combination of properties make it exceptionally well-suited for providing a clear, durable protective coating over smart card microchips.
Permabond UV683 Beyond Smart Card Manufacturing:
Permabond UV683 proves useful across a host of applications beyond smart card manufacturing, especially within the general electronics industry.
Coating and Doming
UV683 is ideal for coating and doming applications in general. Its optically clear and tack-free formulation makes it suitable for providing a protective transparent coating over various surfaces and components.
Encapsulation of Electronic Components
The product’s moderate viscosity makes UV683 suitable for encapsulating and providing protective doming over electronic components. Its ability to resist high temperatures like wave soldering processes further enhance its utility for encapsulating electronics.
General Coating Applications
Whilst the primary coating application for Permabond UV683 is smart card manufacturing and microchip applications, the optically clear, tack-free protective properties prove useful in a variety of applications beyond smart card manufacturing.
Adhesive Applications
Whilst not the primary application, UV683’s tensile strength (12-14 N/mm²) and elongation properties (50-60%) have proven useful for specific adhesive applications within the electronics sector.
Permabond Adhesives for Electronics Applications:
Permabond offers a wide range of adhesive solutions specifically tailored for the electronics industry, providing a diverse range of adhesive technologies for applications including potting, sealing, and encapsulation. Permabond’s solutions range from optical clarity and tack-free surfaces to thermal and electrical conductivity, moisture and chemical resistance, and high-temperature resistance, all pertinent to the electronics industry. For more information regarding Permabond products for the electronics sector, view the Antala Brochure for Electronic Protection and Thermal Management, here. Or to speak with the technical expert regarding Permabond adhesives in the electronics sector and beyond, contact us today via our website, or call 0161 494 1345.
