SnapShot® board level shields by XGR Technologies were introduced in the market in 2002 by W.L. Gore & Associates. These shields have been successfully installed across industries, including industrial, medical, military, and network computing. XGR Technologies acquired Gore SnapShot® EMI shielding business in 2018. This post offers insights on this acquisition and more.
About W.L Gore & Associates
W. L Gore & Associates was founded in 1958 by Wilbert L (Bill) and Genevieve (Vieve) Gore. The company designed and manufactured high-volume, wireless/convergence industry products such as board-level EMI shields, die-cut EMI gaskets, SMT EMI and RF grounding pads, and peel-and-stick strip EMI gaskets. Gore EMI shielding solutions have been successfully installed in small and complex RF circuits for several years. Later, Gore exited from EMI shielding business and discontinued certain products.
An Overview of Popular Discontinued Gore EMI RF Shielding Materials
The following are a few popular Gore EMI RF shielding products, which were discontinued in November 2019.
- GS2100 Series: These EMI RF shielding materials were approved for aerospace and military applications and combined properties such as lightweight, shielding effectiveness, and low outgassing. GS2100 Series adhesives were offered as sheets, peel and stick strips, and rolls. These materials could be customized for various gasket solutions. The GS2100 Series offered an effective barrier against water and dust to enable IP65 device compliance.
- GS2200 Series: These EMI shielding materials offered the most effective performance under compression. The GS2200 series materials met MIL-SPEC and DEF-STAN requirements, which made them suitable for military applications such as land-based military communications, military radios, high-frequency test equipment, wireless infrastructure, power amplifiers, and so on. These materials ensured reliable electrical performance over a wide temperature range. Like GS2100 series, these materials were IP65 compliant.
- GS8000 Series: These were die-cut shielding materials used for high volume electronic applications.
Many OEMs are challenged to find the suitable alternative to discontinued Gore EMI shielding products. This is where XGR Technology’s SnapShot® EMI shielding can make a difference.
About Acquisition of Gore SnapShot® EMI Shielding Solutions by XGR Technologies
In 2018, William Candy – former W.L.Gore & Associates Engineer, partnered with a group of technology investors to acquire all SnapShot® intellectual property, manufacturing, and EMI shielding business assets from Gore. As a result, XGR Tech manufactures these EMI shielding solutions to the same high quality standards at the same location, using the same materials and equipment by the same skilled operators. The company’s quality management system is ISO 9001:2015 certified and ITAR registered.
Features of SnapShot® Board Level EMI Shielding Solutions
Snapshot EMI shielding solutions are single or multi-cavity shields that assure more effective shielding performance than many other single cavity solutions in the market. The following features of these EMI shielding solutions have contributed to their immense popularity.
- Made of lightweight and metalized plastic material that can be thermoformed to any design and shape.
- Snapshot EMI shielding solutions can withstand aging, vibrations, shock, and moisture.
- They are intensively tested against mechanical shocks, bumps, vibrations, thermal shocks, dry heat aging, and moist heat aging.
- The EMI shielding solutions can be easily installed after the reflow process, which allows unobstructed rework and inspection.
- Made of specialized thermoplastic material with tin metallized outer surface, these shielding solutions are lightweight and suited for applications where weight can be a concern.
- SnapShot outperforms many other competitor products by offering shielding effectiveness from below 1 GHz to 12 GHz.
Do you still have queries on how Snapshot shielding solutions are superior to most other EMI shielding solutions in the market? If that sounds yes, you can get in touch with the experts at XGR Tech to discuss your requirements.
Note: Gore® is a registered trademark of W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
