Venting design considerations for the engineer or designer

Venting plays a crucial role in the performance and life span of today’s devices, especially for products exposed to external or harsh environments, such as the growing number of portable electronic devices.

A simple venting component can protect devices by managing temperature, humidity, gases and pressure, as well as preventing the ingress of liquid, dust and chemicals.

For these reasons, it’s important that venting is considered as one of the first design steps in new product development. Product teams should select a vent material and implementation to meet the airflow, fluid ingress resistance and mechanical requirements of the application.

Design considerations for the engineer or designer to determine include:

What conditions will the product be subject to?

• UV
• Dust /debris
• Liquid contact and pressure (immersion, splash or spray)
• Chemical contamination
• Temperature extremes
• Internal pressure build-up
• Condensation/moisture build-up

What are the mechanical requirements?

• What is the desired vent construction e.g. adhesive backed (zone coated) for bonding in place, or non-adhesive for press-fit (interference fit) plug, or screw-in vent?
• If adhesive backed, what substrate(s) you will bond to?
• What is the optimum vent shape (disc, rectangle, custom) and size to achieve the desired venting?
• How many vent ports are required to achieve the desired venting?
• What rigidity and strength is required?

Are other features/criteria required?

• Acoustic transparency
• UL flammability rating
• IP rating
• FDA compliance
• Sterilisation compatibility
• Assembly aids

Understanding the above factors will ensure optimum product and venting component design, as well as assist in material specification.

For complete design freedom, ADDEV Parafix removes the constraints of pre-determined vent dimensions by offering parts to your exact requirements, be it custom rolls, sheets or shapes. Our experienced team can advise the optimum material for your application, such as PE and PTFE materials from Porex, which can also be supplied with an adhesive laminate for bonding in place.

Your parts can also be supplied in a presentation which provides ease of handling or automated assembly.

Venting components are already being used in numerous medical, automotive, electronics and industrial applications. Get in touch today for advice on your unique application needs.