Blog

Durable Protection for Demanding Automotive Requirements

HumiSeal chemists have been designing state-of-the-art conformal coatings for nearly 70 years, first producing UV curable coatings more than two decades ago. At that time, UV curable technology was considered the next generation of coatings, mainly due to its advantages; including:

Counterfeits exist. Our industry is no exception. We’ve pointed out counterfeit conformal coatings on two separate occasions, but it is time to do so again. Unlike most electronics components, damage attributed to counterfeit conformal coatings is often unreported as it can be challenging to tell the difference between counterfeit brands and the original coating. The best way to protect yourself against this is to purchase directly from HumiSeal or one of our authorized channel providers. 

One of the most basic and common questions we at HumiSeal^® are asked by both existing and potential new customers is,

“How much does it cost to conformally coat my printed circuit boards?”

Since conformal coatings are usually sold in liquid form by the liter or gallon, it is necessary to go through a fairly basic calculation that we will present here.

The simplest and most common way to evaluate cost is by determining the cost in dollars of coating per PCB.

The PCB industry continues to evolve with ever increasing demands for efficiency and manufacturing cost reductions. From the design phase onward, suppliers and contract manufacturers are being asked by their OEM overlords for increased performance at lower and lower costs. An obvious potential source for cost reduction is the use of alternative cheaper raw materials or their elimination where possible. At some point in the discussion, it is sometimes asked,  “Why don’t we just eliminate the conformal coating?” or "Are conformal coatings necessary".

Picking a Conformal Coating

You and your organization have spent weeks or months researching conformal coatings to meet the demanding specifications of your customers. These can include factors such as dielectric strength, thermal and mechanical shock properties, processing considerations, and so on. At some point, the critical consideration of price and cost must be added to the equation. The amalgamation of cost and performance could be considered a measure of the true value of any specific coating.