Osprey Measurement Systems Chooses Overmould to Protect Electronics From Water Ingress

Osprey Measurement Systems manufacture precision monitoring equipment for the civil engineering industry. Their devices measure ground settlement and deformation during construction of road or rail embankments, tunnels, or deep excavations, ensuring an efficient construction process and safe infrastructure during its lifespan.

Osprey equipment is used in tough working environments, and whether installed in a borehole, buried beneath an embankment or fixed to railway track, the instruments need to withstand impacts, vibration and high pressures.

In such hostile environments one key challenge is to protect the electronics from water ingress. One particular device has a cable entry and exit as well as ports to expose sensors to external fluid pressure. This meant there were two materials that the moulding needed to interface with and provide ingress protection.

Overmould provided Osprey with a cost-effective overmoulding solution that had the bonding properties to withstand water ingress at high pressure, and the mechanical properties to withstand ongoing vibration and occasional shock impact.

The overmoulding material selected provides adequate bonding to the cable used, it is flexible enough to relieve cable strain at entry and exit points and has bonding properties sufficient to protect the internal electronics.