• Login
    • Join
  • FOLLOW:
  • Subscribe Free
    • eNewsletter
    Checkout
    • Magazine
    • News
    • Printed Electronics
    • Raw Materials
    • Equipment
    • Services
    • Suppliers Guide
    • Resources
    • More
  • Magazine
  • News
  • Printed Electronics
  • Raw Materials
  • Equipment
  • Services
  • Suppliers Guide
  • Resources
  • Current & Past Issues
    Features
    Editorials
    Digital Edition
    Subscribe Now
    Advertise Now
    eNewsletter Archive
    Our Team
    Editorial Guidelines
    Breaking News
    Experts Opinion
    Financial News
    Manufacturers News
    Mergers and Acquisitions
    Online Exclusives
    Personnel
    Product Releases
    Suppliers News
    Live From Shows
    Displays and Lighting
    Photovoltaics
    Printed Batteries
    Printed Circuit Boards/Membrane Switches/In Mold Electronics
    Flexible and Printed Electronics
    RFID and NFC
    Sensors and Wearables
    Smart Cards and Packaging
    Touch Screens
    Adhesives, Barriers and Encapsulants
    Chemicals, Metals and Powders
    Conductive Inks and Coatings
    Electronic Materials
    Film, Paper, Glass and Substrates
    Graphene, Perovskites and Carbon Nanotubes
    Nanomaterials
    Printed Electronic Components
    Research Reports
    Semiconductors and Quantum Dots
    Energy Curing Equipment
    Lab and Testing Equipment
    Manufacturing Equipment
    Printing Equipment
    3D Printing
    Contract Manufacturing Services
    Product Design and Testing
    Research and Consulting
    Research Institutions
    Research Reports
    Universities
    Equipment
    All Companies
    Materials
    Categories
    Converting
    Printed Electronics Systems
    Associations
    Research and Services
    Used Machinery
    Add New Company
    Industry Events
    Live from show events
    Podcasts
    Videos
    Blogs
    Slideshows
    Infographics
    Webinars
    Whitepapers
    Equipment and Services
    Glossary
    • Magazine
      • Current & Past Issues
      • Features
      • Editorial
      • Columns
      • Digital Edition
      • eNewsletter Archive
      • Editorial Guidelines
      • Subscribe Now
      • Advertise Now
    • Breaking News
    • Suppliers Guide
      • Suppliers Guide
      • Add Your Company
    • Printed Electronics
      • Photovoltaics
      • Printed Batteries
      • Printed Circuit Boards/Membrane Switches/In Mold Electronics
      • Flexible and Printed Electronics
      • RFID and NFC
      • Sensors and Wearables
      • Smart Cards and Packaging
      • Touch Screens
    • Raw Materials
      • Adhesives, Barriers and Encapsulants
      • Chemicals, Metals and Powders
      • Conductive Inks and Coatings
      • Electronic Materials
      • Film, Paper, Glass and Substrates
      • Graphene, Perovskites and Carbon Nanotubes
      • Nanomaterials
      • Semiconductors and Quantum Dots
    • Equipment
      • Energy Curing Equipment
      • Lab and Testing Equipment
      • Manufacturing Equipment
      • Printing Equipment
      • 3D Printing
    • Services
      • Contract Manufacturing Services
      • Product Design and Testing
      • Research and Consulting
      • Research Institutions
      • Research Reports
      • Universities
    • Online Exclusives
    • Slideshows
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Infographics
    • Events
      • Industry Events
      • Live from show events
      • Webinars
    • About Us
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of Use
    Breaking News

    IDTechEx Research Analyzes In-Mold Electronics: Starting Simple to Reach $1 Billion

    IME will one day become a well-established process with a well-developed ecosystem and a mature, easy-to-use design-to-product workflow, per IDTechEx.

    IDTechEx Research Analyzes In-Mold Electronics: Starting Simple to Reach $1 Billion
    IDTechEx02.18.20
    In-Mold Electronics (IME) will one day become a well-established process with a well-developed ecosystem and a mature, easy-to-use design-to-product workflow.

    This process will become the basis of many novel structural electronic designs and products. This art-to-production platform transformation will take further time. It is often asked when and how this will happen.

    Dr. Khasha Ghaffarzadeh, research director at IDTechEx, shared some insights and analysis, drawn from the IDTechEx report, In-Mold Electronics 2019-2029: Technology, Market Forecasts, Players, which is the result of years research into IME or associated technologies such as inks, pick-and-place, printing, and so on.

    IME offers many clear benefits. It eliminates the board and structurally integrates the wiring and optical guides, saving space and enabling novel, thin, and light-weight 3D-shaped designs.


    Figure 1: Figure showing IDTechEx market forecasts. Here, the categories shown include automotive, white goods, and other, which includes consumer electronic applications. 

    There are markets in consumer, white goods, and automotive interior and exterior. In the long term, IDTechEx believes that the market will grow.

    Indeed, the global research company forecasts the market to exceed $1 billion by 2029 despite the slow take-off.

    The realization of IME, even up to this point, has required many innovations. Conductive inks here have been developed to withstand elongation, to adhere to PC or similar substrates, to match with other stack materials, and to survive the molding and in-field operational conditions.

    Special adhesives are being formulated to also withstand the process and operational conditions. Thin optical guides to spread the light have been demonstrated, opening new design features and allowing user feedback.

    Crucially, the ecosystem has accumulated know-how as it has spent years learning about the best design rules, the appropriate material stack, the optimized curing, forming and molding conditions, the matching IC package specs, and so on.

    Despite this, there is more to learn for scale-up high-yield production with long product lifetime, which is required in the absence of post-deployment repair opportunities.

    The ecosystem is also coming together. Material suppliers have been very active, engaging early in the technology development cycle and pushing their formulation capabilities. The processing houses and contract manufacturers were slower to jump on board. This is now changing, though.

    Some IMD companies have installed IME equipment. Some membrane switch and similar firms have extended equipment set. Today, some have indeed invested in lines to service the automotive market from 2022 onwards.

    In automotive, tier ones and OEMs have engaged, developing many prototypes, some of which are now progressing through qualification. Naturally, though, not every OEM is yet convinced, and many are awaiting real market validation.

    The first commercial product was released in 2012-13, an overhead console in Ford. This success story soon turned sour as the product was recalled due to malfunction. The underlying reasons were never officially confirmed but were generally attributed to false reading caused by moisture ingress.

    This well-known story demonstrates the long-standing market pull. It also re-emphasizes that automotive is a major addressable market. The attached figure, adopted from Faurecia, demonstrates the addressable market in the automotive interior.

    All these products potentially stand to benefit from better IME-enabled designs. The Ford story also demonstrates that to save costs, corners should not be cut by, for example, simplifying the material stack and reducing essential process steps. It also highlights the importance of materials whose properties exhibit no unexpected performance changes during the operation.


    Figure 2: The table is adopted from data from Faurecia. It shows the estimated addressable market (not actual IME market) in 2020 and 2025 in millions of Euros. The examples in the left side of the figure adjacent to the table also show examples of current benefits in which IME may help. The image on the right side of this figure shows IME or similar, e.g., film insert, products. From top to bottom, the first is a seat-controller developed by Geely, the second is a HVAC control panel developed by PolyIC, the third one is a LED cover heater by ADS, and the fourth one is a transparent heater using carbon nanobuds by Canatu

    The market deployment is, this time around, likely to start with simpler products. One example is the automotive exterior.

    Here, an emerging example is in the heaters embedded in light covers to accelerate defrosting when energy-saving LED lights are employed. Such products as retrofits are already available for purchase. Another automotive example is the interior.

    Here, transparent foils printed with fine metal mesh and conductive lines are conformed to a 3D shape to create an HVAC control panel. This process is very similar to a classic IME. Yet another interesting example is the use of carbon nanostructure (carbon nanobuds) to create 3D-shaped uniform transparent heaters for use in ADAS and autonomous driving perception sensors such as cameras or lidars.

    Another example is in a wearable/consumer product in which a simpler interconnect is molded.

    This product was rumored to already be in production, but IDTechEx analysts now believe this was not the case. Recently, a remote door lock switch was announced using IME.

    In general, the first generation of products to have reached the market, or to have come very close, represents simpler manifestations of IME.

    Of course, in terms of prototypes, a complex system incorporating multiple LEDs, light guides, many touch switches or slides, NFC antennas, etc. are demonstrated. These show the future development direction.


    Figure 3: Examples of various prototypes and products. References to the ones encircled with dotted red lines are made within the article.

    Overall, the market is beginning to change character in product production.

    IDTechEx expects the market to show accelerated growth from 2023-24 onwards, starting from simpler small-area devices then progressing towards more complex larger-area and higher-volume applications with more stringent reliability requirements.
    Related Searches
    • conductive inks
    • electronic
    • LED
    • polyic
      Loading, Please Wait..
      Trending
      • ASSA ABLOY Receives Clearance From Mexico For HHI Acquisition
      • Printed Electronics Now Interview: Francisco Melo Of Avery Dennison
      • GlobalFoundries, STMicroelectronics Partner On New Facility
      • CircEl‐Paper: Recyclable Paper‐Based Electronics
      • With Its Ambient IoT, Wiliot Makes Inroads In IoT
      Breaking News
      • Sensormatic Unveils Sensormatic Synergy Media Display
      • ams OSRAM Receives the German Innovation Award
      • ASSA ABLOY Receives Clearance from Mexico for HHI Acquisition
      • Christoph Ostermann Named Chairman of Heliatek‘s Advisory Board
      • IMI Europe Announces InnoLAE 2024
      View Breaking News >
      CURRENT ISSUE

      Winter 2021

      • Printed Electronics Now’s International Suppliers’ Directory
      • The Automotive Market and Flexible and Printed Electronics
      • Flexible and Printed Electronics in Healthcare
      • Flexible and Printed Electronics Make Gains in Smart Packaging
      • PAPERONICS: Low-cost multisensory paper and packaging applications
      • View More >

      Cookies help us to provide you with an excellent service. By using our website, you declare yourself in agreement with our use of cookies.
      You can obtain detailed information about the use of cookies on our website by clicking on "More information”.

      • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms And Conditions
      • Contact Us

      follow us

      Subscribe
      Nutraceuticals World

      Latest Breaking News From Nutraceuticals World

      Blue Diamond, Brightseed Partner To Discover New Almond Bioactives
      GOED Publishes Report on EPA and DHA’s Impact on Brain Health
      Alkemist Labs Creates Validated Method for Plant and Fungi-Based Psychedelics
      Coatings World

      Latest Breaking News From Coatings World

      Sandrine Garnier Joins ChemQuest as a Director
      Greenbuild Announces 2023 Keynote Speaker
      PPG’s New Paint for a New Start Initiative to Beautify Schools Worldwide with Colorful Makeovers
      Medical Product Outsourcing

      Latest Breaking News From Medical Product Outsourcing

      Implicity Introduces New Algorithm to Address Alert Fatigue in AF Care
      Teleflex’s Wattson Temporary Pacing Guidewire Cleared by FDA
      PDC Partners with David Schnur Associates to Provide Manufacturing Solutions
      Contract Pharma

      Latest Breaking News From Contract Pharma

      Lotus Clinical Research, Trialogics Partner for Clinical Trial Software Services
      Qosina, Carolina Components Partner to Market Bioprocess Components
      Astellas, KateTx Enter Exclusive License Agreement to Develop KT430
      Beauty Packaging

      Latest Breaking News From Beauty Packaging

      Mary Kay Supports Ocean Conservation & Coral Reef Protection
      TerraCycle and Wrinkles Schminkles Announce Recycling Program
      Boots CFO Michael Snape Resigns
      Happi

      Latest Breaking News From Happi

      Curio Brands Acquires Candle Maker Otherland
      LBB Specialties To Represent Verdant's Personal Care Surfactant Portfolio
      The Fusion of Clean and Clinical Skin Care Drives Beauty Trends in 2023
      Ink World

      Latest Breaking News From Ink World

      Evonik Receives ACC’s Sustainability Leadership Award
      SICPA Inaugurates Its unlimitrust Campus
      Siegwerk’s Center of Excellence in France Receives Facelift
      Label & Narrow Web

      Latest Breaking News From Label & Narrow Web

      Gallus to celebrate 100 years, opening new Gallus Experience Center
      Mark Andy holds successful Low Migration Workshop
      Ryback & Ryback Consulting launches Machinery division
      Nonwovens Industry

      Latest Breaking News From Nonwovens Industry

      ITMA ASIA + CITME Announce Second Location
      Andritz Partnership with Pellenc ST and Nouvelles Fibres Enters New Phase
      Terra Baby Diapers, Wipes Launch in U.S. and Canada
      Orthopedic Design & Technology

      Latest Breaking News From Orthopedic Design & Technology

      Orthopedic Prosthetic Market to Eclipse $3.39 Billion by 2030
      Osso VR Launches Virtual Reality Training Program
      Catalyst OrthoScience Names Mark Quick as CFO
      Printed Electronics Now

      Latest Breaking News From Printed Electronics Now

      Sensormatic Unveils Sensormatic Synergy Media Display
      ams OSRAM Receives the German Innovation Award
      ASSA ABLOY Receives Clearance from Mexico for HHI Acquisition

      Copyright © 2023 Rodman Media. All rights reserved. Use of this constitutes acceptance of our privacy policy The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Rodman Media.

      AD BLOCKER DETECTED

      Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
      Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.


      FREE SUBSCRIPTION Already a subscriber? Login