Customer Challenge
Snowplows operate in some of the toughest conditions, facing cold temperatures, high winds and constant exposure to moisture and salt. Visibility is paramount to snowplough operators and though weather conditions are outside their control, technological innovation can ensure they have sufficient light to work with. Specifically, by designing simple resistor circuits within the plows’ headlamps, the LED lamps can produce sufficient heat to ensure no buildup of ice or snow and subsequent loss of visibility. For the customer, the challenge was to find an electrically conductive material with the right consistency to fabricate a reproducible pattern that could heat up the LED lamp and avoid fogging and ice buildup.
Key Customer Requirements
- Electrically conductive material that bonds to Polycarbonate
- Thin enough material to accurately dispense into a defined pattern
- Dispenses as a single component
Solution
MG Chemicals’ 8331S is a 2-part electrically conductive epoxy adhesive. Its relatively low silver content gives the adhesive more fluidity, making it suitable for precision dispensing. For this application – which required the material to be dispensed – MG was able to engineer a solution that took advantage of the material’s 4 hour working time. Specifically, MG pre-mixed the two components together, packaged them as single-component cartridges and kept the finished goods at sub-zero temperatures, rendering the mixture stable and non-reactive until needed by the customer.
Conclusion
LED headlamps provide superior brightness and visibility for outdoor equipment; however, in harsh environments, light can become compromised under buildup of moisture and ice. Our customer’s product prevents this with an innovative LED headlamp array that uses electrically conductive adhesive to generate sufficient heat to melt away ice and sustain visibility.