Patent ID: 8268217

Claim:
A method of encapsulating electronic components in a mould comprising: (a) placing an electronic component for encapsulating in a mould cavity of a mould comprised of plural mould parts; (b) following step (a), feeding an encapsulating material to the mould cavity; (c) following step (b), releasing the encapsulating material by moving the mould parts apart over a limited distance to form a supply channel; and (d) following step (c), feeding conditioning gas having a decreased oxygen concentration relative to the atmosphere to a contact side of the mould via the supply channel formed in step (c), whereupon a releasing gas pressure is exerted on the encapsulating material by the conditioning gas which causes release of the encapsulating material from the mould absent mechanically engaging the encapsulating material and which simultaneously conditions the mould cavity to limit adhesion between the encapsulating material and the mould cavity.