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Chapter 4: Advantages of UV Conformal Coatings, Case Studies
Sustainability means avoiding resource depletion to preserve ecological balance, while reliability refers to consistent trustworthiness or performance. In electronics, these concepts translate to efficient manufacturing and durable devices that function well over time and are thus intrinsically connected. Over half of American homeowners replace broken appliances rather than repair them, resulting in unnecessary waste and resource use. Prioritizing the reliability and durability of goods reduces frequent replacements, conserves resources, and lowers environmental impacts from production and disposal.
To ensure a reliable device, manufacturers should select materials that offer energy efficiency, minimal solvent use, faster processing, a reduced footprint, and long-term protection. UV conformal coatings, particularly silicone-based ones, are optimal for efficient manufacturing and lasting reliability.
The following UV conformal coating case studies are derived from real-world examples. They were dependent on critical input parameters, including the manufacturing schedule, conformal coating type, masking or non-masking steps, production rates, process steps, equipment costs, utilities, and labor. Outputs included total material consumption/reduction, energy costs, square footage for production, time savings, and cost per board/coating.
Case Study 1:
UV spray conformal coating replaces dip coating and heat cure
In our first example, an existing manufacturing line was producing 1 MM boards annually through a solvent dip process followed by a heat cure oven step using a solvent-based silicone coating. Additionally, critical components were masked for protection from the dip coating process. The steps for this process included masking, dip coating, heat cure, demasking, and quality control inspection. For each of these steps the number of laborers, non-renewable material consumption, energy usage, time, and footprint of production line were tracked.
This was then compared to swapping the dip coat process to a spray coating system leveraging a UV-curable silicone solution. In this process line, demasking steps were eliminated due to the robotic spray coating capability which could deposit the coating where it was needed and avoided the critical components. Spray UV conformal coating allowed for labor to be reduced by up to 57%, reduced coating consumption by up to 77%, floor space by up to 85%, energy usage by up to 50%, and time to fully manufacture 1 MM boards by up to 68%.
Using UV conformal coatings, the dip process takes 1296 days while the spray process requires only 405 days. This saves time by either shortening manufacturing line operations or eliminating the need for a secondary line, as the current setup supports future growth.
Heat flow ovens occupy substantial space, typically measuring 4–5 feet in width and over 20 feet in length. Transitioning from a heat flow oven to a UV cure chamber can reduce manufacturing footprint by up to 85%. This offers significant advantages for manufacturers establishing new production lines, as it allows the purchase or rental of smaller facilities, minimizing both capital expenditures and ongoing costs such as HVAC requirements. Furthermore, installation costs and complexity are higher for 240V or 480V reflow ovens compared to 120V UV cure chambers.
