NPL to Hold Conformal Coating Inspection and Measurement Webinar

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The lifetime and reliability of electronics made to operate in harsh environments can be enhanced by conformal coatings applications. These polymer-based coatings provide a barrier to air-borne contaminants from the operating environment, thus preventing attack from moisture, aggressive chemicals, salt sprays, etc. The protection of discrete components mounted on PCBs, such as resistors, capacitors, packages and passive components, can be achieved by the application of conformal coating using methods such as dipping, selective robot coating, spraying and brushing.

Conformal coating should completely cover the assembly and provide a good cover of sharp edges and other contours. There are, however, no reliable non-destructive methods for monitoring the coating thicknesses on common problem areas on PCBs.

In line with this, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) will be holding a free webinar on May 9, 2017, to discuss a novel, non-destructive, UV inspection system capable of measuring the conformal coating thicknesses on step edges of components.

To be presented by NPL’s Vimal Gopee, this webinar will run for between 45-60 minutes and have a Q&A session. Topics covered include:

• Conformal coatings for the protection of electronic circuits - a brief introduction
• Common conformal coatings and Application methods
• Common issues with conformal coatings
• A review of common methods for conformal coating thickness measurements
• Using UV tracers for monitoring conformal coating thicknesses
• The theory behind UV tracers for thickness monitoring
• Experimental methods and materials
• Equipment design
• Results and discussions
• Conclusions and future work

For more information or to register, click here.