Posted to News on 17th Jun 2026, 12:00
Encapsulation automation unlocks motorsport manufacturing
Working with adhesives supplier Intertronics, an electronics manufacturer has rebuilt its approach to encapsulation around automated dispensing and controlled UV curing, transforming production repeatability, eliminating a costly scrap problem, and enabling the business to grow with confidence.
Under pressure to use smaller components and meet tighter tolerances in search of quicker lap times, motorsport manufacturers must upgrade their processes accordingly. For one such electronics manufacturer, manual bonding and encapsulation reached its throughput and repeatability ceiling.
The automotive electronics producer makes custom exterior LED lighting and displays for the top level of motorsport. It discovered the limitations of its processes as its customers searched for smaller, lighter products. Increasingly precise requirements on the encapsulation protecting its assemblies from the racing environment began to expose problems.
"The bonding and encapsulation stages were heavily reliant on specifically skilled individuals, meaning our business model was vulnerable to disruption and limited from expanding," explained the company's managing director. "In our silicone potting step, around ten per cent of products had to be scrapped due to human error. The impact on profits led us to seeking Intertronics' help in summer 2020."
The first step in the partnership between Intertronics and the electronics manufacturer was a demonstration, and subsequent purchase, of a three-axis dispensing robot at the former's Technology Centre in Oxfordshire. The robotic dispensing system is capable of positioning adhesive to within five microns and delivering volumetric dispensing accuracy of 99.9 per cent.
"During discussions, it became clear that the issue was not whether the adhesive could be dispensed, but whether it could be dispensed consistently enough to meet the customer's repeatability and accuracy requirements," said Darren Rea, Lead Sales Specialist.
"Automating that process allowed the customer to remove operator error and reach their repeatability targets. It also supported quality and traceability efforts, using consistent adhesive volumes, movement speed, and flow rates," Rea continued.
Six years on from the initial enquiry, Intertronics has supplied multiple robotic dispensing systems to the manufacturer, each introduced in response to a new production requirement, as well as three bonding and sealing materials. The customer's business has risen to new heights with a more robust business model, thanks to the technical partnership with Intertronics.
"The simplicity that these robotics bring to the manufacturing process allowed us to outsource previously specialist work, like PCB assembly, making our expansion organic and natural," said the managing director. "The same encapsulation step that had a ten per cent scrap rate has since run through 400-500 cycles with zero waste, perfected by the robotic system."
