TekRex Case Study: Customized Potting Solution

Fragile cable breakouts often need overmolding for protection, but lead times and limited volumes make 3D printing a better option than traditional overmolding.

Welcome to another installment in TekRex’s case studies video series. Here at TekRex, our focus on our clients’ success has led to some remarkable solutions, some of which we’ll dive into here. This case study came from our sister company, iRex, which works primarily in custom cable assembly. One of their clients had an assembly with a cable breakout, which are fragile, but the timeline and volume needed couldn’t justify traditional overmolding.

Keeping these constraints in mind, TekRex was able to design and print a protective case for the breakouts, which iRex then potted and assembled. The kicker? All of this happened within a week, as opposed to the average 6 weeks it would have taken using traditional overmolding.

Given the quick turnaround and a cost point otherwise impossible, this solution resulted in a very happy customer – but we weren’t done. The custom designed shape actually strengthened the breakout and TekRex’s suggestion to introduce different potting solutions makes increased signal integrity possible in future projects.