Injection molding with embedded electronics (IME): what it is and why it is a new trend

Photo source: TactoTek, a Finnish company that develops IMSE (In-Mold Structural Electronics) technology.
Photo source: TactoTek, a Finnish company that develops IMSE (In-Mold Structural Electronics) technology.

For several years now, electronics manufacturers have been talking about a new breakthrough technology that will change the devices we are used to and the approach to their design: no more mechanical buttons and switches, a decrease in thickness to 2 mm, a decrease in weight by 70%, and a cost price by 30%. And we are not talking about future serial devices such as a double-fold screen, which Samsung recently introduced, but about a production technology that is already used in cars, household appliances and IoT gadgets. This technology is called "molding with integrated / embedded electronics" or In-Mold Electronics (IME). 





For some reason, on HabrĂ©, this interesting topic has not yet been touched upon. We are correcting this annoying misunderstanding. 





, (IME) — - , , . , , , , . 2D 3D- , , , , . 





. —   , . In-Mold Decoration (IMD). , - .





, , .





(In-Mold Labeling, IML) : Maspi S.r.l.  





IMD IML: 





  1. — , (, - ). . «».  





  2. - .





  3. , - — . 





  4. , . 









. . 





— , (IMD). , :  , , .





(IMD) (IML)?

- — , , , « -» In-Mold Labeling (IML).  , .   





IML , , , -. .  





(In-Mold Electronics), . , IME Ford 2012 . IME , , , . 





IMD- . , , , . ( 2 ) , , , .





, :





: Functional Ink Systems for “In Mold Electronics” by DuPont





  1. , . 





  2. , .





  3. .





IME, , , . . 





— (PET), , . , .





, - . :-) hardware- . 





: IDTechEx 2020 .





— , In-Mold Electronics. 





  , . 





, . — . IME , , .





, . - , , .  





IME.    . . , .  , ,   , .





, Dupont, IME, :





Image Source: Functional Ink Systems for “In Mold Electronics” by DuPont
: Functional Ink Systems for “In Mold Electronics” by DuPont
Image Source: Functional Ink Systems for “In Mold Electronics” by DuPont
: Functional Ink Systems for “In Mold Electronics” by DuPont

— IME, . . , , , TactoTek, in-mold structural electronics (IMSE):





Photo Source: Functional Ink Systems for “In Mold Electronics” by DuPont -
: Functional Ink Systems for “In Mold Electronics” by DuPont —









IME













650





150





−77%









45





3

( )





−93%









64





2





−96%





PCBA





10 4





10 3





−25%





, , , , , . , IME, 2023−2024 , — . hardware, . , . 





If you have experience in this area or ideas for implementing IME in new devices, tell us about it in the comments. It will be great if engineers, technologists, industrial designers and ordinary users join the discussion. We are now burning with this topic, so we will be happy to talk. 








All Articles