Publications Details

Arathane 5753 HVB: An Alternative to EN-7/EN-8 Encapsulants

Whinnery Jr., Leroy L.; Nissen, April E.; Barth, Rachel; Mystry, Vipul

Conathane EN-7 (referred to as EN-7) has been used for decades to pot electrical connectors, providing mechanical support for solder joints in cables. Unfortunately, the EN-7 formulation contains a suspect carcinogen and chemical sensitizer, toluene diisocyanate (TDI). Because of this, various groups have been formulating replacement materials, but all have come up short in final properties or in processing. We propose Arathane 5753 HVB as a replacement for EN-7. The properties compare very well with EN-7 and the processing has both advantages and disadvantages over EN-7 as discussed in detail below.