Boost PCB Durability with Conformal Coatings
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- Опубликовано: 28 мар 2023
- Explore the basics of conformal coating with Mark Harris. Conformal coating is a protective layer applied to electronic circuits to guard against environmental factors such as moisture and dust. The article will examine the different types of conformal coatings, including acrylic, silicone, and urethane-based options, and their unique properties and advantages. It will also provide information on how to specify where conformal coating should be applied on your PCB designs, making it a valuable resource for anyone looking to protect their electronics.
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Good intro to conformal coatings, but it would have been nice to see a comparison of different coatings under various environmental conditions.
Silicone Modified Conformal coating is the Gold standard for the RC Hobby and a godsend to prevent frying an expensive electronic speed control when one drives through a puddle or for those whom love to drive on snow!
Obviously, it’s not intended to turn your RC vehicles into a submarine but proper application can tolerate brief submersions!
Godspeed🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Good video. Your voice pace was good for people where English is not a first language. For native English speakers, just speed up playback speed (1.25) and it is great.
Thanks for the video! I've always been intimidated by conformal coatings, but this was very informative.
Great video as always!
I never knew there were so many factors to consider when choosing a conformal coating. Thanks for the insights!
And really, he barely scratched the surface. Coatings are much more complicated design decisions than they would seem.
I want learn more but i think that :you are the solution 🎉
Great video! What are the most common mistakes you see people make when applying conformal coatings?
It's interesting to hear your thoughts, but I have had success using urethane-based coatings even in small batch sizes. It's all about technique and equipment.
In my experience, conformal coatings are only ok for mild conditions.
We make weather stations and have tried various acrylic, urethane and silicone coatings, silicone dipping compounds as well as plastidip. The only thing that works properly without much hassle is potting the PCBs entirely in a hard PU resin. They are also typically better thermal conductors than air.
Paralene would do wonderfully in your application.
I think it's essential to highlight that not all conformal coatings are created equal. A high-quality coating can make all the difference in performance.
Absolutely. And, in fact, the MG Chemicals coating shown in this video is a particularly poor performer.
What are your thoughts on nano-coatings as a potential alternative to traditional conformal coatings?
While not officially a Nano-Coating, see 3M Novec for reference.
Mark, could you explain the differences between conformal coatings and potting compounds?
Do you have any tips for small businesses that want to start using conformal coatings on their PCBs?
Can you provide a comparison between brush application and aerosol-can application of conformal coatings?
Brush coating is generally used for one-offs or repair re-coat. Control of coat thickness is difficult. Spray application is industry standard.
As an experienced engineer, I feel like this video barely scratched the surface. There's so much more to consider when choosing the right conformal coating.
How do you determine the cost-effectiveness of using conformal coatings in a production environment?
Decent video, but I wish you would have gone into more depth about the curing process for different conformal coatings.
Can you talk more about the pros and cons of using a robotic system to apply conformal coatings?
Pros: fast, consistent and repeatable, less masking required.
Cons: expensive, cleaning can be a real PITA, and only conducive to large quantity production. Robotic application isn't even remotely cost effective for small quantity runs.
Can you explain more about the thermal expansion coefficients and how they can impact component longevity?
I'll jump in and answer this. Some types of conformal coating are surprisingly "hard". Once applied, they bond to the PCB and to the components. As the different materials expand and contract according to their CTE, the coating both imparts stress on the components and solder joints, and prevents the joints from flexing as they normally would.
The primary failure mode due to CTE mismatch of coated boards is in the solder joints.
Silicone and synthetic rubber coatings are soft enough to mostly eliminate these concerns, which is why both are popular for boards that will experience a wide temperature range.
For consumer grade boards that will only see a limited range of operating temperatures, these concerns aren't terribly relevant though.
How would you go about removing a conformal coating if it needs to be reworked?
Can you provide any advice on how to choose the right thickness for a conformal coating?
Going to be 100% dependent on the particular coating chosen. Most manufactures provide a best practice thickness for their coatings, and from experience I can tell you their suggestions are typically very good.
Do you have any suggestions for a good, affordable conformal coating for a hobbyist project?
HumiSeal 1B31 is a great performer as long as your temperature range isn't extreme.
Can you recommend any particular brand of conformal coating that you've had a good experience with?
HumiSeal products preform well across the board. They're an excellent "Jack of all trades" coating manufacturer. Our "Stock" coatings are HumiSeal 1B31 Acrylic and 1C49LV Silicone.
The video was helpful, but I've found some of the information to be a bit oversimplified. It's more complex in real-world applications.
Would this coating affect impedance controlled traces❓
I appreciate the effort, but I think you missed a few key points about the importance of surface preparation before applying conformal coatings.
It's interesting to hear your thoughts, but I have had success using urethane-based coatings even in small batch sizes. It's all about technique and equipment.
Not a bad video, but I think you should have mentioned more about the challenges when conformal coating is applied too thickly or unevenly.
How important is it to use a certified conformal coating for non-critical applications?
Probably not very important at all. It's almost impossible to find a coating that isn't certified to some standard though, so it's not a big concern anyway.
Is it possible to apply conformal coating to only specific components, rather than the entire board?
With a higher viscosity coating, absolutely.
What is solution for carogan PCB
I've been using conformal coatings for years, and I still think epoxy has its place in certain applications. Don't write it off completely.
Having performed extensive testing on many brands of conformal coating (MG Chem, Humiseal, Miller-Stephenson, DowSil, etc), I can tell you that MG Chem products almost universally performed horribly. Their silicone coating, in particular, was truly awful. It's not a pure silicone, but is really a "silicone modified acrylic" - all of the downsides of both chemistries with none of the benefits of actual silicone.
Which one you find to be best among the brands you have tested so far?
@@7006608 Depends too much on what type and what specifications you're most interested in to make a general answer. HumiSeal products all performed well across the board, and had the added benefit of being generally easy to source.
Acrylic 1B31 and Silicone 1C49LV became our "go to" coatings of that type. We also stock Miller-Stephenson Silicone.
3M Novec is an incredibly good performer, but it's cost will make your eyes bleed. We do use it though when we have a need for very, very thin coating for whatever reason.
Why do you keep slowing down your speech mid word. It's Annoying as Heck. ARE you trying to make this for people with learning disabilities? If not, then STOP its annoying, distracting and just plain sounds messed up.