Intops Develops New MID Technique... "Applied to Japanese Products"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Intops announced on the 23rd that it has developed a new MID (Mold Interconnected Device) process and started mass production after being adopted in products by Japan's Kyocera.

The existing middle case module that constitutes smartphone cases contains various antennas (NFC, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 4G, 5G, etc.) and dome switches. These components are made of small plastic injection parts or flexible printed circuit boards (FPCB) and are produced through separate assembly processes. This results in a complex structure and long assembly processes, leading to inefficiencies in manufacturing costs.

Intops succeeded in process improvement using MID technology through continuous research and development. By implementing a plating circuit that allows the installation of various antennas and dome switches with just one MID process on the middle case module, it can replace the existing complex structure.

Smartphone case manufacturers continuously demand reduction in the number of parts, simplification of processes, and cost reduction. The advantages of this process have been recognized to meet these needs, leading to its new adoption in products by Japan's Kyocera. Starting with 500,000 units, it is expected to expand to other customers and models in the future.

Intops has also devoted efforts to developing applicable components and recently succeeded in simplifying the process of touch-lighting system components, which have been attracting attention. The existing touch-lighting system consists of a plastic exterior injection part, expensive touch sensor film, LED, and electronic components on a PCB. The current process has drawbacks such as high costs of touch sensor films, lamination process costs between injection parts and films, and increased product size due to the PCB.

Using the MID process, Intops developed a solution that implements a plating circuit with touch sensor and electrical circuit functions on the back of the plastic exterior injection part and directly bonds LEDs and electronic components on the circuit, replacing the touch sensor and PCB.

This technology, named IME (In Mold Electronics), can reduce thickness by 70% compared to existing products. It also enables a 90% reduction in weight and can be applied to curved structures, which are limitations of PCBs, significantly enhancing design freedom as an innovative technology.

With the expected increase in demand for electric vehicles and the premiumization of home appliances, the application of touch-lighting systems is anticipated to expand comprehensively. The IME technology, which offers various advantages such as cost reduction through component and process simplification, thickness and weight reduction, increased space utilization, and improved design freedom, is expected to be actively applied to products and expand in the market.

Kim Geunha, CEO of Intops, emphasized, "We are encouraged that our long-term technological development efforts have been applied to mass-produced products, and we plan to demonstrate our capabilities to provide new inspiration that meets the innovative process solution needs of our customers' product designers in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.