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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. 

This is the first in a short series on material viscosity, in which we will review what it is and how to measure it. We will start with the definition of viscosity. Viscosity is the internal friction of moving fluid and a measurement of the resistance of a fluid deformed by shear stress. It is measured in centiPoise. The lower the number, the less viscous the material, as can be seen by this comparison chart: starting with water at 1 cPs and ending with honey at anywhere between 2,000 – 10,000 cPs.

Modern hydrogen fuel cell technologies require ever more sophisticated and reliable electronic control systems to assure both safety and longevity. Hydrogen fuel cells are gaining in popularity in critical industries including automotive, aerospace, ocean transportation, military, and power microgrid systems among others. Protection of printed circuit boards and their components from physical, chemical, and thermal damage is essential to produce robust and reliable fuel cell systems for demanding applications.

The past few years have seen the introduction of a number of thinner-film circuit board protection products of various chemistries, many of which have been generically termed “nano-coatings” by manufacturers despite confusion regarding what this really means. There is no clear definition of a nano-coating as it relates to printed circuit boards, and the product offerings vary from vacuum-deposited films and microparticles of single digit nanometer thicknesses to more robust performing products with thicknesses in the hundreds of nanometers. It is critical to manufacturers that the properties of true nano-coatings be compared to more traditional protection technologies so an accurate evaluation can be made.

In a previous blog “How to Save Time and Money by Measuring the Right Amount of Viscosity,” viscosity was described as critical to the conformal coating process. This post will cover some of the technical details related to coating flow rate and the significant potential for savings of both time and money for PCB manufacturers.