Using custom masking boots for the conformal coating masking process saves time, money and improves quality. Find out why….
The use of various masking materials such as tapes, dots, and liquid latex can be an effective process in protecting components from ingress of conformal coating on a printed circuit board assembly.
However, the masking process can be difficult and time-consuming. This can increase the process costs significantly.
In fact, in many cases, the masking and de-masking processes can be >75% of the actual conformal coating process time and costs.
Using recyclable masking boots as an alternative to masking tapes, dots, and latex
Here are three good reasons to change to masking boots and save up to 80% of your costs compared to traditional methods like masking tape and dots:
- The masking time is reduced significantly. Masking boots can be 4-5 times quicker to use than masking tape.
- De-masking time is reduced significantly. Again it is much quicker to remove masking boots than tape.
- Masking boots don’t leak as easily as masking tape. So, there is less likely to be repaired.
These reasons mean you can save a lot of money very quickly when switching to masking boots.
Want to find out more about conformal coating masking boots?
Contact us to discuss your needs and let us explain how we can help you.
Contact us now.
Why does the solids content of my conformal coating matter for costing a printed circuit board for application?
The amount of solids content in a conformal coating is the amount of actual material available to be applied to the circuit board and that will protect the circuit board assembly.
The more solids you have the more circuit boards you can coat.
So, you want to have as much solids as possible per liter when you buy the material.
Caution –Check the conformal coating solids is at the right viscosity for application!
You also need to take care when comparing individual materials from different companies.
The differences in both solids content and viscosity can be striking and you can be wasting a lot of money on solvents that literally evaporate away.
The first stage in checking this is to determine the final solids content of the material that you will use in production. That is the correctly blended coating ready for application at the right viscosity.
Take the following example that is typical of conformal coatings sold commercially around the world.
Material X is 35% solids as sold.
Its viscosity is 190 cps approx. at this solids content.
However, to spray the coating it must be at 24 cps approx. So, the coating must be diluted by 50% with thinners to reach this viscosity.
This means material X is now 17.5% solids and a viscosity of 24 cps approx. This also means there is >80% of the material that evaporates away!
Check the market!
You cannot assume that all conformal coating materials are similar.
For example, SCH have a UL approved acrylic conformal coating that is 44% solids at 24 cps and ready to spray.
Comparing Material X (17.5%) and this particular material means that the higher solids coating has more than twice as much coverage power for the same liter of material.
If the coatings are similar in price at this viscosity then you need to buy at least 2x more of material X than the higher solids product to get the same coverage.
Quite a saving can be made if care is taken!
Want to find out more about coating coverage?
If you would like a spreadsheet that you can just punch the values in to calculate coating coverage and costs per PCB then contact us directly and we can send it through to you to help you.
Contact us to discuss your needs and let us explain how we can help you.
Contact us now.
What are the main uses of Molecular vapor deposition (MVD) in protecting components?
Molecular vapor deposition (MVD) is a combined Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) and Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) process that was developed to improve the protective performance properties of the individual ALD and CVD processes.
The MVD process provides protective thin films to many industries including:
- MEMS (Microelectromechanical systems)
- Semiconductors
- Industrial Inkjet Heads
- Display Technology
- Advanced Packaging
- Data Storage Industry
- Biomedical
- Genome Sequencing
- µfluidics
How is the MVD coating process used in different industries?
The MVD process provides low temperature vapor deposition of coatings with many different properties in many sectors.
Consider the examples below where an MVD coating has been used to provide the appropriate film properties:
Surface Energy Control
- Anti-stiction
- Hydrophobic
- Hydrophilic
- Oleophobic
- Oleophilic
- Lubrication
- Bio-functional layer
Device Protection / Package Sealing
- Moisture barrier
- Corrosion barrier
- Chemical barrier
- Gas/Oxygen barrier
Optical Films
- Anti-reflection coatings
Dielectric Films
- Electrical insulation
- Conformal films on high A/R
Adhesion
- Adhesion promotion
- Improved thermal stability
- Improved mechanical durability
The MVD process offers great flexibility of processing thin films and it has now been considered for electronics protection.
Want to find out more about MVD?
Contact us to discuss your needs and let us explain how we can help you.
Contact us now.
Requirements for setting up a conformal coating facility
The set up of a conformal coating production line regardless of the application method has many similar characteristics.
Any coating facility will need the basic requirements put in place that would be standard for any piece of electronic manufacturing process.
These include ESD systems, facilities for the machines, the environmental requirements and the normal Health & Safety (HSE) considerations.
Also, the conformal coating production line, whether it is an operator manually brush coating printed circuit boards (PCBs) or an inline robotic spray coating process is typically made up of several stages.
These stages are shown below:
Not all the stages are mandatory or may be required. However, each should be considered on an individual basis.
Want to find out more about setting up a conformal coating facility?
Download our technical bulletin on setting up a conformal coating application process.
Or, contact us to discuss your needs and let us explain how we can help you.
Contact us now.
Three key points you should know about polyurethane conformal coatings when using them for protecting electronic circuit boards
A polyurethane (urethane for short and designated UR by IPC) conformal coating is part of the organic family of coating materials that also includes the acrylic and epoxy coatings.
Here are three key facts to consider when examining polyurethane conformal coatings:
- Most conformal coatings provide good humidity and moisture protection although some are slightly better in performance than others. UR type coatings are just as good on average as acrylic materials.
- A polyurethane coating has traditionally been used to protect electronic circuit boards against chemical attack due to their excellent chemical resistance. This protection allows electronic circuit boards to survive in highly aggressive environments and atmospheres such as the aerospace, military and industrial sectors. However, it does make repair a little more difficult as chemical resistance to a coating means more difficult to remove.
- Times are changing and whereas acrylic conformal coatings used to dominate 70-80% of the market, there is a shift in emphasis towards alternative materials due to higher specifications for protecting electronics. Many new conformal coatings (UV cure, two part thin film coatings) now comprise of urethane resin bases and are becoming more popular in high volume sectors such as automotive electronics. This is because the urethane resin lends itself to this type of technology more easily than the acrylic based resins.
Want to find out more about polyurethane conformal coating?
Contact us to discuss your needs and let us explain how we can help you.
Contact us now.
What are conformal coating masking boots and why do they save you money?
Reusable conformal coating masking boots are a highly cost effective alternative masking material to masking tape.
Many components on printed circuit boards must remain uncoated when applying conformal coating. The purpose of masking is to prevent migration of the conformal coatings into components and keep out areas.
The use of masking tapes, dots and liquid latex can be an effective process in protecting components from ingress of conformal coating.
However, the application of the masking can be labour intensive, especially in higher volume applications.
The use of masking tapes, dots and liquid latex can be an effective process in protecting components from ingress of conformal coating. However, the application of the masking materials can be labour intensive, especially in higher volume applications.
Custom made masking boots can offer a labour saving alternative in both the masking and de-masking stages of the coating process.
These completely reusable masking boots are applied over the components such as connectors, plugs and sockets that require protection from the conformal coating applied. They can be simple boots that fit over the top of a connector or a more sophisticated design such as the examples below.
They provide reliable protection for many different types of components for all the conformal coating application techniques that include batch and selective robotic spraying (as an alternative to difficult technical programming), vertical and horizontal dipping and vapour deposition of coatings such as Parylene.
Three reasons to switch from tape to reusable masking boots for conformal coating masking
These simple reasons can save you up to 80% of your costs compared to masking tape:
- The masking application time is reduced. Masking boots can be 4-5 times quicker than masking tape.
- The de-masking (removal) time is reduced. Again it is much quicker to remove boots compared to masking tape.
- It is much less likely that the masking boot will leak and the component requires rework. Masking boots don’t leak and tapes can.
This means you can save a lot of money very quickly when switching to conformal coating masking boots compared to masking tapes.
Want to find out more about masking printed circuit boards before applying conformal coating?
Contact us to discuss your needs and let us explain how we can help you.
Contact us now.
What are the different methods available for cleaning electronic circuit boards?
The topic of cleaning printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) effectively before application of conformal coating can be daunting. This is because the process of cleaning circuit boards can be difficult especially with so many variables to consider.
When considering cleaning the circuit you need to assess many factors including:
The board and component compatibility with the cleaning method
The ability of the cleaning method to remove the contamination effectively from the circuit
Any residues the cleaning process may leave behind that may be harmful to the circuit in the long term.
The reasons for cleaning the circuit (e.g. contamination removal, adhesion promotion etc.)?
After considering these factors you can compare with the processes available.
The main methods of cleaning printed circuit boards
The main methods of cleaning used in everyday electronics processing before conformal coating application can include:
- Aqueous washing
- Semi-aqueous washing
- Solvent & chemical washing
- Plasma surface cleaning
These processes can be mixed, the method can be varied but the fundamental concepts still apply.
However, whatever method you choose you still have to consider that the key to success in cleaning circuit boards is similar to the success made with conformal coating.
You need to match the cleaning process, the cleaning materials and the circuit board together.
If you do this then this will give you the best results for cleaning the circuit board assembly.
Want to find out more about cleaning?
Contact us to discuss your needs and let us explain how we can help you.
Or, read more on cleaning circuit boards on our website now.
Contact us now.
Nexus article on, “Outsourcing your conformal coating project – The key points”
Nexus, the independent conformal coating resource, recently published an article on subcontracting your conformal coating services out to a third party.
I thought it would be useful to signpost people to this article and republish the points they raised since getting it right can be so critical in outsourcing.
Nexus identified that there are, “three key points to consider when choosing a subcontractor”.
Click here to read more about Nexus’ article on, “Outsourcing your conformal coating project – The key points”
Find out how we can help you with your conformal coating process now.
Contact us to discuss your needs and let us explain how we can optimize your process for you.
Contact us now.
How do I selective apply my conformal coating?
Selective application of conformal coating is this case is applying the conformal coating without using masking to shield components from ingress.
Technically using masking tapes, latex and boots is a selective process. But, we want to look at coating application without masking.
This leaves a couple of different options.
The first is brushing. This is a simple selective process that can be highly effective.
The second, and the more obvious option, is selective robot.
This process uses a small spray valve (there are many conformal coating spray valve types) that is attached to a robot that follows a set pattern applying the conformal coating selectively to the circuit board.
To read more about how to selective apply conformal coating, click here…
Find out how we can help you with your conformal coating process now.
Contact us to discuss your needs and let us explain how we can optimize your process for you.
How do conformal coating masking boots save money in your production process?
Three reasons conformal coating masking boots save you money
Here are three reasons that can save you up to 80% of your costs compared to masking tape:
- Masking time is reduced. Masking boots can be 4-5 times quicker than masking tape.
Click to read more on about how do conformal coating masking boots save money in your production process
Find out how we can help you with your conformal coatings now.
Contact us to discuss your needs and let us explain how conformal coatings could work for you.
Conformal Coating 