Coventry-based Shipley Europe Ltd last week launched a new plating-on-plastics technology for eliminating electrogmagnetic interference from and on equipment installed in plastic cases. The Omnishield SST system is a described as a chemical solution to the interference problem, controlling radiated emissions at source. The system gives a plastic enclosure the conductive properties of metal: the plastic is immersed in a bath containing a highly conductive copper coating. Shipley has high hopes for its technology because there is a European Community directive on radiation emission due to come into force in 1992, and Shipley estimates that 487m square feet of plastic (now where did it get that figure?) will need to be metallised to comply with the radiation directive. Currently radiation shielding accounts for 40% of the costs of a VDU cabinet and the company claims that electrolysis plating combines the effectiveness of conductive paints with the advantages of cost, lightness, and appearance; manufacturers prefer to use electroplated plastic enclosures as they can mould and design equipment from plastic that has been electroplated at source, and the benefits in terms of costs are substantial. On cost, Shipley cites UKP12 a time for doing a VDU housing when you order a run of 10,000. The company says it has independent testing from Underwriters Laboratories as well as IBM to certify the qualities of adhesion, surface conductivity, and shielding effectiveness. According to the National Economic Development Council figures, it says, the value of raw plastic materials will reach UKP525m and it reckons that 130,000 tonnes a year will need to be electroplated.
