IPC CC-830 revision B is a conformal coating qualification standard mostly used by board fabricators, OEM design engineers, and coatings suppliers.
There are two fundamental uses of this IPC standard:
- Coatings’ performance capabilities
- Quality consistency
In this blog, we will go over some of the specifications along with tests requirements, passing criteria, and quality characteristics.
What is IPC-CC-830B?
The IPC CC-830 revision B was developed as a commercial alternative to the MIL-I-46058C specification which was made inactive in November 1998.
Also read: Explanation of the MIL-I-46058C Specification for Conformal Coatings
When testing under IPC-CC-830B standards, the outcome is utilized as a confirmation that the coating meets the base performance level disclosed in the specification. Some of these performance attributes are:
- Protection from moisture
- Contamination
- Electrical insulation
For the IPC-CC-830B standard, conformal coating materials are categorized into the following types:
AR — Acrylic
ER — Epoxy
SR — Silicone
UR — Polyurethane
XY— Paraxylylene
The upcoming revision of IPC-CC-830, Revision C, will include two additional types of the coatings:
- UT – Ultra-Thin Coatings: for special applications where the coating thickness does not exceed 12 microns
- SC – Styrenic Copolymer: with superior flexibility and higher operating temperature than the standard acrylics and urethanes conformal coatings
What's The Test Procedure?
The IPC-CC-830 standard is a self-certification, which means that it can be performed by an independent testing laboratory or by the coating manufacturer.
The standard uses the following test procedures and most of the tests are conducted using the IPC-B-25A test board. (See Figure 1 Above)
|
Test |
Procedure |
Pass/Fail Criteria |
|
Visual inspection |
On glass plate under white and black (UV) light |
Coating must have uniform appearance and consistency |
|
Fluorescence |
On glass plate under black (UV) light |
Coating must fluoresce under UV black light (typical wavelength 365nm) |
|
Fungus resistance |
IPC-TM-650 section 2.6.1.1 on glass plate |
Not attacked by biological growth |
|
UL 94 test strip for flammability |
UL 94 HB |
Must meet a minimum horizontal burning test |
|
flexibility |
IPC-TM-650 section 2.4.5.1 on tin panel |
No evidence of cracking or crazing of the cured coating |
|
Dielectric Withstanding Voltage |
IPC-TM-650 section 2.5.7.1 on IPC-B-25A Test Board |
No disruptive discharge, sparkover, or breakdown. Max 10 uAmps leakage rate |
|
Moisture and Insulation Resistance |
IPC-TM-650 section 2.6.3.4 on IPC-B-25A
|
Minimum 500MΩ for ER and 5GΩ for all other types after exposure to humidity within 1-2hours of exposure |
|
Thermal Shock |
IPC-TM-650 section 2.6.7.1 on IPC-B-25A |
Appearance and Dielectric Withstand Voltage after testing must meet the above-mentioned passing levels |
|
Temperature and Humidity Aging |
IPC-TM-650 section 2.6.11.1 on ‘‘Y Panel” test coupon |
No evidence of softening, tack, cracking, loss of adhesion, or reversion |
As part of the qualifications, the IPC-CC-830 includes quality characteristics that assure the user of batch to batch consistency. Material quality requirements include visual inspection, retention, viscosity, and FTIR. Furthermore, changes to the coating’s formula of more than 2% (non-volatile content only) constitute a product change, and as a result, must be renamed as a new coating material and subsequently requalified.
Conformal coatings continue to be a vital part of the protection for electronic assemblies. The IPC-CC-830 (current and future editions) provide users a certain level of confidence that the coating will have the quality consistency, physical characteristics, and the protection levels required by today’s electronics. The IPC committee for conformal coatings meets on regular basis and welcomes new members.
For further information, please contact HumiSeal technical support. We are always happy to help.
