Protective Gels: The Next Level of Protection for Your PCBs

Conformal coating of printed circuit boards (PCBs) has resulted in a steady evolution in performance and protection for modern electronics. It has allowed for lightweight and reliable controls in industries such as automotive and aerospace among others. This has brought about the possibility of increased length of warranties as well as fewer failures and claims. Nevertheless, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and consumers continue to raise their standards and expectations for longevity and reliability to levels unimagined just 10 years ago. In the automotive industry, as an example, thermal cycling testing might have involved as few as 10 or 50 cycles in the recent past. That standard is now often 500 or even 1000 cycles with no apparent ending in sight.
So what do I do when conformal coating is not enough?

Have you or your engineers either heard or asked some of the following?

• “We are seeing failures and corrosion on high profile pins and parts where there does not seem to be adequate coating.”
• “We do not want to coat over BGAs and QFNs due to the risk of wicking under the device. How do we protect the device leads?
• “Is there a method or approach other than masking to avoid our conformal coating flowing through larger holes and vias?
• How do we protect taller devices such as large capacitors and batteries from solder failures caused by vibration?

There is good news! In each of these cases the answer might be something quite simple and readily available.

Read the Humiseal blog: Protective Gels: The Next Level of Protection for Your PCBs

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