Dow Corning, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, introduced to the North American market here today at Labelexpo Americas a comprehensive portfolio of pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) and coatings for protective films used throughout the lifecycle of electronic devices. On display at the Dow Corning booth (booth #2029), these advanced, silicone-based materials include low-migration, platinum-cure PSAs and a high-performance hard coating. All of the new products have been designed to help Dow Corning’s customers optimize the performance of protective films used in electronics processing, assembly, shipment, storage and aftermarket applications. More broadly, they underscore how Dow Corning is enabling its customers to stay ahead of the latest electronics industry trends.

“Protective films utilizing silicones already play a critical role in optimizing device quality, reducing waste during manufacturing and enhancing the end-user experience,” Joanna Giovanoli Potts, Americas market manager, Packaging at Dow Corning. “Emerging electronics trends – such as new curved-edge screen designs and more-sensitive touch-screen technologies – require new types of protection, making it even more important to find the right PSAs and coatings. Dow Corning gives its customers an exceptionally wide array of material options to meet current and future needs, with advanced performance properties.”

Dow Corning is launching to the North American market here at Labelexpo Americas six PSAs that are engineered for industrial and aftermarket screen protection. Although each has specific properties, they share common advantages over competitive organic PSAs, including better wet-out and heat resistance; more stable adhesion and anchorage over time to prevent migration; greater optical clarity (non-yellowing); cleaner removal without residues; and easier repositioning for rework.

The following new PSA grades are designed for protective films used in processing and assembly of electronic devices. They offer a range of adhesion levels to meet the needs of different customer applications.

• Dow Corning 7647 Adhesive provides stable, ultra-low adhesion and excellent wet-out for protective films used in electronics processing.
• Dow Corning 7657 Adhesive offers medium adhesion for electrical and electronics specialty tapes applications.
• Dow Corning 7660 Adhesive delivers ultra-low adhesion for protective films used in electronics processing.
• Dow Corning 7667 Adhesive offers low adhesion for two-layer protective films used in electronics after market applications and processing.

The next two new PSA grades are designed for protective films in aftermarket applications, primarily to prevent damage during everyday use by consumers:

Dow Corning® 7645 Adhesive provides super wet-out performance and stable low adhesion.
Dow Corning® 7646 Adhesive offers low adhesion and good wet-out performance.
Silicone Hard Coating for PET Film
The company is also exhibiting Dow Corning® AY 42-260 Coating for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film. This ultraviolet (UV)-cure silicone hard coating surpasses acrylate coatings in water and ink repellency, mar resistance, hardness, anti-graffiti performance and ease of cleaning. The use of Dow Corning AY 42-260 Coating on PET substrates can help preserve the aesthetics, performance and value of consumer electronics.

Application areas for Dow Corning silicone PSAs and coatings include surface protection for touch-screen mobile devices, thin-film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, touch panels, flexible printed circuit boards and components with sensitive surfaces, as well as screen protectors for consumer use.

Labelexpo Americas 2016 runs from Sept. 13-15, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill.