Conformal coating

Conformal Coating

With the increased popularity of miniaturized electronics and circuitry, conformal coating use has skyrocketed to solidify its relevance in a wealth of modern PCB related applications. It is crucial to choose the ideal type of coating and application methods for your electronics.

Conformal coating is a specialty polymeric film forming product that protects circuit boards, components,and other electronic devices from adverse environmental conditions. These coatings conform to the irregular landscape of the PCB providing increased dielectric resistance, operational integrity and protection from corrosive atmospheres, humidity, heat, fungus, and airborne contamination such as dirt and dust.

Conformal coating is used to protect electronic circuit and its components from the environment and corrosion. Coatings can be applied in a number of ways, including brushing, spraying, dispensing and dip coating. POE is able to make conformal coating according to customers' requirement including thickness, area, material and so on.

Conformal Coating

Achieving maximum benefits from coatings requires coordination of the PCB design, coating selection, and application with the proper cleaning protocol. If there is ever a reason to decide to coat or not to coat... Here are the top 13 reasons to coat:

1. Reliability is critical for electronic devices

2. Inhibit corrosion and protect the assembly against chemical and corrosive attack

3. Provide resistance to fluids and humidity

4. Temperature resistance protect circuit boards from adverse environmental conditions

5. High abrasion and chemical resistance depending on its chemistry

6. Prevent arcing

7. Provide coverage of sharp edges (components)

8. Simple application in most cases

9. Specialized formulas to provide uniform, thin films (flexibility)

10. Prolong the life span of the product

11. Breathable protective layer

12. Insulating properties allow a reduction in PCB conductor spacing of over 80%

13. Minimal effect on component weight (lightweight)

The Different Types of PCB Conformal Coatings

Different types of conformal coating materials or chemistries are used depending on the specific needs of your PCB are. Frequentry used as below:

Acrylic Resin (AR): It is the most commonly used because it is economic and protects a broad range of contamination. It is not the highest level of protection, and do not protect against solvents or solvent vapors. It has a very high level of dielectric strength and can be easily removed, making PCB rework very practical.

Silicone Resin (SR): Silicon coatings have a wide temperature range of protection and are chemical, moisture, and salt spray resistant. Due to its rubbery nature, it isn' t abrasion-resistant, but it does hold up very well against vibration stresses. These coatings are often used for environments with high humidity but are difficult to remove and require specialized solvents for PCB rework.

Urethane Resin (UR): These coatings are excellent at resisting abrasion as well as being moisture and chemical resistant. Because of these qualities, urethane coatings are often used in aerospace applications due to their ability to resist fuel vapors. On the other hand, like silicone, this coating is very difficult to remove and requires specialized solvents for PCB rework.

Epoxy Resin (ER): Epoxy is somewhat different from the other conformal coatings in that it used to completely encapsulate the electronics in a solid layer of material. This provides excellent protection against humidity, abrasion, and chemical contamination. However,the hard coating is almost impossible to remove once they have cured.ent industry standards including IPC-CC-830B and IPC-A-610.

Which industry requires Conformal Coating?

The use of conformal coatings is particularly important in automotive, military, aerospace, marine,lighting, industrial and green energy applications. However due to the rapid expansion of the electronics industry, conformal coatings are also finding their way into the domestic and mobile electronics industries, providing the necessary combination of high performance and reliability within a vast array of electronic devices.

Conformal Coating FAQs

Please feel free to contact POE Sales Engineering Team

A: How do I apply a conformal coating?
A: How do I cure a conformal coating?
A: What are the electrical requirements?
A: What will the pcb board layout be?
A: Will it require rework and repair?
A: What will the volume of production be?
A: What will be the final enclosure be like?
A: How thick should I apply conformal coating?