A sample assembly
Ideally a few, including some you're happy for us to break.
Sealed hardware · electronics in silicone
Hardware encapsulation.
Wrapping a sensor, board or cable joint in silicone protects it from water, dust, vibration and hands. Done badly, it cracks solder joints or cooks components. Done carefully, it's the most robust seal you can give a small assembly.
The real challenge
Silicone is gentle. Heat and pressure aren't.
Most of the difficulty in encapsulation has nothing to do with the silicone. It's about what the moulding process does to the thing inside: heat from the tool, pressure from the injection, and movement as the material fills around delicate parts.
So the first conversation is about your hardware, not our press. What temperature can the components take, and for how long? Where are the fragile joints? Which surfaces must stay exposed — connectors, sensor windows, contacts?
From there we choose a route. Low-temperature curing grades, gentle fill paths, supports that hold the assembly still, and sometimes a two-stage approach where a soft first layer protects the parts before the outer shape is moulded.
Encapsulation sits close to overmoulding and electronics-grade manufacturing. The difference is that the part inside is live, fragile and usually expensive.
What we encapsulate
Three common jobs.
Sensors and probes
Temperature, pressure and proximity sensors sealed for washdown, outdoor or immersed use.
Small boards and modules
Compact PCBs and modules given a soft, sealed outer that also acts as the product's grip or housing.
Cable joints and breakouts
Splices and breakout points sealed and strain-relieved in one moulded body. See cable and connector overmould.
How we approach it
Protect first, shape second.
Every encapsulation job starts with sacrificial parts. We'd rather break a few in trials than one in your customer's hands.
Hardware review
We go through the assembly with your engineers: heat limits, pressure-sensitive areas, keep-out zones and test points.
Grade and cure selection
Low-temperature or room-temperature curing silicone where the hardware demands it. Adhesion primers where a bond to the board or cable jacket matters.
Fixture and fill design
The tool holds the assembly still and fills gently around it. Vents are placed so air doesn't get trapped against components.
Sacrificial trials
Early shots use test assemblies. You power them up, run your functional tests and tell us what survived.
Production with functional checks
Once the process is proven, every batch includes the functional check you specify, recorded against the batch.
To quote it
Bring the hardware and its limits.
Temperature and pressure limits
From your component datasheets. These decide the grade and the process.
What must stay exposed
Connectors, windows, vents, labels — anything the silicone mustn't cover.
How it will be tested
Your ingress, drop or functional test, so we can build the process around passing it.
Related routes
Where this connects.
Overmoulding
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At a glance
The ideas in pictures.
How overmoulding works
Swipe to see the whole diagram
From drawing to delivered parts
- 01Drawing or sampleYour part and where it is used
- 02Material and routeCompound and process agreed
- 03PrototypeReal parts to test
- 04Sign-offYou approve the samples
- 05Production toolBuilt for your volumes
- 06Batches and checksInspected and delivered
Swipe to see the whole diagram
Get in touch
Tell us the part, the volume, and the timeline.
Rough annual volume, target unit price, and any deadlines. That's enough to work out whether compression, LSR injection or something else is the right tool.
Real people, a real workshop
You deal with the people who make it.
No call centre and no middlemen. When you contact TCI Products, you speak to the team who design, build and check your mould.
- A real Warwickshire workshopUnit 15, Waterloo Park, Bidford-on-Avon, Alcester B50 4JG.
- Real people on the phoneCall the team on 01789 224228, Monday to Friday.
- The same team on every jobDesign, production and aftercare come from the people you see here.
- Part of TCI GroupFive specialist brands, one engineering team. Visit TCI Group.
Thomas LaneManaging Director
George PrestonDesign & Project Manager
Kelly BallingerHead of Partnerships
Jim AndertonProduction Manager
TheodoreEmployee Welfare