Maintain Safety with Electrical Insulation
Sourcing effective Electrical Insulation is a must for anyone working in Electronics. Wherever there is electrical flow there is a requirement to maintain electrical isolation within the assembly and also to maintain safety for the users.
Materials Direct understands the importance of electrical insulation and provides our clients with the highest quality electrical insulators and materials, custom made from sheet materials to meet your specification.
Latest Electrical Insulation Products
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Select options
- All purpose – can be laminated, diecut, slit, formed, or adhesive-coated.
- It does not melt. It can be used at both high and low temperature extremes.
- Kapton® polyimide films can be used in a variety of electrical and electronic uses.
-
Select options
- All purpose – can be laminated, diecut, slit, formed, or adhesive-coated.
- It does not melt. It can be used at both high and low temperature extremes.
- Kapton® polyimide films can be used in a variety of electrical and electronic uses.
-
Select options
- All purpose – can be laminated, diecut, slit, formed, or adhesive-coated.
- It does not melt. It can be used at both high and low temperature extremes.
- Kapton® polyimide films can be used in a variety of electrical and electronic uses.
Custom Cut Materials
Materials Direct is approaching this market in a way that is easy to order and specify in Electronics across all industries. Customers who need a certain brand of material that does not appear on the site can apply for us to add this stock to the site’s portfolio based on potential usage.
No Tooling Charge
There is NEVER a tooling charge for manufacturing
Fast Manufacturing
Parts made & shipped worldwide in as little as 24 hours
Technical Support
Technical expertise available from our specialists
100% Payment Secure
We ensure secure payment with a wide array of options
Instant Quotes – Purchasing Made Easy
The main problem for design engineers and purchasing has been until now the quick supply of parts as often the custom pad is one of the last items to be specified in the design of an Electronic assembly.
Materials Direct not only provides an instant quote but gives the buyer the offer of uploading their custom design for it to be manufactured within 24hours if the material is in stock.
1
Get an online quote
for the part / gasket
2
Upload your design
and approve
3
Place and pay
for your order
4
Parts dispatched to you
in as little as 24 hours.
Avoiding Short Circuits with Electrical Insulators
In order for Electronics to run safely, it is essential to avoid short circuits. Whether you’re looking to isolate a complete printed circuit board or a section of it from its enclosure, we can produce a custom shape to suit your PCB.
Often the Electrical insulators need to be bigger than the items needing to be isolated as there is a requirement for creepage and clearance to maintain safety and avoid short circuits in higher voltage applications.
Understanding Clearance and Creepage in Electronics
Clearance is the shortest distance in the air between two conductors. Creepage is the shortest distance to another conductor along the surface of the insulating material.
With creepage the choice of insulating material matters. This is because when a voltage creates a conductive path along the surface of the insulator it can break down that surface, resulting in a more conductive path between components with high potential.
The characteristic that measures this is called the CTI (Comparative Tracking Index). The higher the CTI of a material, the more insulating it is. Selecting a material with a higher CTI provides greater protection of creepage.
Standards such as IEC 60601 and IPC 2221 give the specific creepage and clearance requirements for your assembly.
Pure Electrical Insulation
Complete and effective Electrical isolation can be achieved with high spec materials such as mica, Mylar Melinex, Nomex, and many others. Many other properties are catered for including electrical isolators which also have thermal conductivity.
Electrical Isolation materials available from Materials Direct have excellent dielectric breakdown performance enabling the management of high voltages within your electronics. Some Isolation materials have additional properties of EMI and thermal protection.
Material Specifications
At Materials Direct we offer materials, you’ll find a range of materials that protect against high voltage, high temperatures and moisture. We also offer a range of materials that are thermally conductive.
High Temperature
Chemical Resistant
Moisture Resistant
Flexible
Lightweight
High Voltage
Rigid
Thermally Conductive
Quality Assured
We Provide Electrical Insulation Materials from Trusted Brands
Electrical Isolation comes in many forms and at Materials Direct, we cater for the conversion of sheet materials into cut parts available as custom pads, gaskets, and standard shapes to suit particular components such as TO220 and TO247 power semiconductors, from a large variety of materials from trusted brands.
Very fast reply, very good order following and delivery in 24H. to recap a verry good experience with Materials Direct for a verry urgent need. I recommend a lot.
'Having the ability to be supplied with precision cut materials for prototypes within 2 days has been excellent!’
'We have the need for small to medium batch sizes of various technical materials and Materials Direct have been highly responsive to our urgent needs'
‘We have had to change our designs in the development stages three times. Materials Direct did not charge for these changes as the sizes stayed the same. Excellent!’
‘Precision and high quality of parts received have been consistently to a high standard.’
'Buying online with Materials Direct has proven to be more efficient in time and deliveries, especially when scheduling future orders.’
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Frequently Asked Questions
What material is best for electrical insulation?
When selecting the most suitable insulation material you must consider many things:
- The breakdown voltage of the material
- The CTI of the material
- Creepage and clearance distances
- Thickness of the material
- Corona effect of the current becoming airborne (Like a spark plug)
- Stress testing and the effect of depleting the dielectric strength with each test
- Operating temperatures
- Any chemical or moisture considerations
- Any conformal coating requirements after assembly
- How to mount the material in the application
- Adhesive coating requirements
- Should the material need to be folded to form a box construction
- Does it need to be layered to gain electrical isolation certification
- Refer to standards on electrical isolation requirements in your Country.
Do you only manufacture from sheet materials?
Materials Direct stock sheet materials and convert them into precision cut parts to isolate your electronic assemblies. We are also able to offer rolls and die-cut parts on a roll on request.
Why is electrical insulated important?
Without electrical isolation, your electronic assembly is at risk for itself and the users. Careful selection of materials is extremely important to maintain the integrity of your assembly and also keep it from the risk of fire and dangerous shorts.
What is the most common material used for electrical insulation?
There are very many isolating products to choose from but some very good insulating products such as Kapton, Mylar, Melinex, Mica, and Nomex have been in the market for many years and are tried and tested in very high demand applications.
How can I make the assembly of my electronics easier?
With the addition of Adhesive on one side of the insulator pad it becomes easier to assemble the components together without the insulator moving around.
Does electrical insulation affect the performance of electrical equipment?
Selecting the wrong materials can lead to fire risk, injury or death of the people coming into contact with your electronics. It is a serious business and needs careful consideration.
How long does electrical insulation last?
This depends on many things such as the testing regime; you must not over test the insulator as this will deplete the dielectric strength leading to latent failures in the field. The operating temperatures and exposure to UV light can seriously affect the longevity of the insulation.
When does electrical insulation need to be replaced?
Often the insulation is designed to out live the assembly and therefore replacements should not be required in the life of the product. Depending upon the application electrical insulation should be a robust choice and most often a one time fit.
Some materials come with installation tips and instructions?
Please ask for help with this information should it be needed.
Supplying Technical Materials
To a Range of Sectors
Each sector has its own unique requirements and specifications. Materials Direct works to ensure that each sector we supply to, receives the highest quality and best-performing products in relation to their industry and specific need.
Aerospace
The Aerospace industry demands the highest performing, most reliable technical materials to protect their electronic assemblies.
Automotive / EV
Automotive applications range from Engine management systems to motor drive controllers and custom-made gaskets and pads.
Industrial
Industrial electronics are robust, have long lifetimes, are cost-sensitive, and suitable for use within difficult environments.
LED Lighting
Sufficient thermal management in LED lighting can preserve longevity, increase reliability and optimise performance.
Military
Materials used in military applications need to be of the highest quality and performance, often very rugged to very exacting standards.
Power
Coupling discreet heat-generating semiconductors to heatsinks remains commonplace in power supply assemblies.