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Everything You Need to Know about Shielding Fabrics and Conductive Tapes

With the threat of electromagnetic interference (EMI) looming over modern electronic devices, our electrical engineers and manufacturers are coming up with new and innovative ways to safeguard sensitive equipment and maintain efficient performance. One such technique involves the use of shielding fabrics and conductive tapes. But what are these components and how do they fit into your project? Find out below.

Shielding Fabrics

The absorption and reflection of radio frequency (RF) signals impacts shielding effectiveness. While absorption depends upon the thickness of the shielding material, reflection occurs at the shield surface and thickness has no bearing on its effectiveness. Considering how reflection is the determining factor for high-frequency signal attenuation, you can achieve maximum reflection with our fabric shielding materials that consist of highly conductive metals like nickel, copper, or a combination of both, on the one hand, and light fabric on the other. All these materials are available in hot melt, non-adhesive or conductive adhesive backing.

Properties

While our standard sheets have dimensions of 41 X 36 inches, longer sheets can be custom ordered. Leader Tech also offers full rolls that are 325 feet long, but the conductive adhesive versions reach a maximum length of 164 feet.

Thanks to conductive adhesive or hot melt, our shielding fabrics can easily be laminated or bonded to complex geometrical shapes. Get the benefit of large surface coverage with minimal seams owing to the material width of 41 inches.

Applications

Our product is perfect for sealing enclosure panels and frames, joints or seams. You can even use our shielding fabric products for architectural shielding or to finish the ceiling and walls of shielded rooms. The RFI-EMI/ESD shielding attenuation of copper-nickel type shielding fabrics ranges from 70 dB up to 10 GHz.

Fabric Shielding Tape

Leader Tech’s fabric shielding tape is designed to offer outstanding shielding performance. It is manufactured with metalized fabric and high-quality adhesive for excellent adherence. These products are suitable for both EMI shieldingand grounding purposes.

Properties

Our fabric shielding tapes are made of copper-nickel metalized fabric and feature a conductive acrylic adhesive backing with the release liner. Copper tape is also available.

Our conductive fabric shielding tape can easily be applied to plastic housings for creating an EMI-shielded enclosure. The service temperature – the temperature at which this material can operate – varies between -40 degrees Fahrenheit to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, while the adhesion is 50 ounce per inch. The most significant advantage of this product is its resistance to abrasion and corrosion.

Applications

Leader Tech’s fabric shielding tapes can be used to shield printed circuit boards (PCB), irregular surface components, cables, room joints, and enclosures. In several applications, they provide a suitable substitute for custom die-cut shielding sections or gaskets.

If you are looking to ensure the highest degree of protection for your electronic equipment, trust Leader Tech’s shielding fabrics, and conductive tapes. For more information about these products and ordering information, refer to part numbers SF005PCN, SF030PCU, and SF050PNI for shielding fabrics and ST005PCN25, ST005PCN50, ST005PCN75, ST005PCN100, and ST005PCN200 for conductive tapes. –