As described in the article “What is the right application for Carnauba Wax Aerosol Spray?”, carnauba wax is described as a natural wax used as a mold release agent for epoxy mold compounds. The article also outlines that carnauba wax in its solid form is also used as a raw material in the manufacturing of epoxy mold compounds.
What is the composition of Epoxy Molding Compounds?
There is only a very small percentage of carnauba wax used in the manufacture of epoxy mold compounds used for integrated circuit (IC) and passive device manufacturer. By far, the largest composition of epoxy mold compound by weight is the filler, which accounts for somewhere between 60-90% of the composition.
After this, the epoxy resin and the hardener complete the bulk of the composition accounting for another 15-40%. Finally, catalysts, pigments, flame retardants, low-stress absorbers, adhesion promoters, catalysts, coupling agents and release agents combined making up less than 10% of the total composition. Of this, carnauba wax consists of less than 0.5% of the raw ingredients by weight and its primary function is mold release. To recap, the raw materials, listed in decreasing order of weight % used are:
- Filler
- Epoxy Resin
- Hardener
- Flame retardants
- Stress Absorbers
- Adhesion Promoters
- Catalyst
- Pigment
- Coupling Agent
- Carnauba Wax used for Mold release
Each of these raw materials has specific functions within the whole of the epoxy molding compound.
The function of Carnauba Wax Mold Release
Carnauba Wax within the Epoxy Mold Compound has two main functions:
- Acting as a flow promoter within the compound itself
- Providing a mold release for the epoxy mold compound in the mold cavity and chase
In an ideal situation, no additional mold release would be required, but as explained in What is the right application for Carnauba Wax Aerosol Spray? there are simply too many non-ideal situations which necessitate additional Carnauba Wax Aerosol Spray. To understand a little more, let’s take a look at how the carnauba wax functions as a mold release agent.
How Carnauba Wax Works as an Epoxy Mold Release Agent
As can be seen in the first schematic (click on it for larger view), before molding, the carnauba wax, represented by the shark-tooth shaped lines are randomly distributed within the epoxy mold compound matrix.
In the second schematic (again, click on it for larger view), you can see that the carnauba wax when heated escapes to the outside of the matrix, allowing the epoxy mold compound to release from the mold chase inside.
CAPLINQ is a specialty chemicals, plastics, and products company that offers a variety of epoxy mold release agents including MJ Gordon Permasil #909C, Chemlinq MRE-C909, and LinqSil S-100 mold release spray. Please contact us if you have any other questions about Carnauba Wax.
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