Brushing – "Expertise, Right Across the Board"
The application of a conformal coating using a brush to “paint” on the material to the circuit board is a common practice.
This can be done in main stream production or as a touch up process before final inspection.
The conformal coating is applied selectively by the operator according to the requirements of the circuit board.
Areas not be coated are avoided by the technician.
Process control and finish are completely operator dependent.
Is Brush Coating a complex process?
What equipment do you need for brushing conformal coating?
Which conformal coatings can be brush coated?
Is brush Conformal Coating a batch or inline process?
How cost effective is the brush coating process?
Is brushing conformal coating a low, medium or high volume technique?
What variables control the quality of conformal coating finish with brushing?
How fast is the brush coating process?
What are five advantages and disadvantages of brushing conformal coating?
On first examination it is a very simple process.
However, brushing conformal coating is a manual process and the process quality relies completely on the operator.
That person is completely responsible for the quality and finish of the coating.
This can be a highly skilled process.
They are also ensuring the conformal coating is applied in the right place using the instructions supplied.
This is a very low cost set up.
Consideration should be made to the workstation. Lighting conditions can make the difference when applying coatings. Hand brushing under a UV light can help an operator to complete the task.
This will be more successful if there is a UV trace in the conformal coating.
Also, if the conformal coating is hazardous how the fumes are handled and removed is important.
The use of a dedicated UV inspection booth makes the whole process of inspecting conformal coating much easier. Photo courtesy of SCH Technologies.
The correct technique for applying conformal coating by brush is to flow the coating on.
The material should not be brushed on like a paint.
All conformal coatings can be applied by brush.
Most conformal coatings lend themselves well to the technique.
The pot life of the material may be finite so the coating could cure.
This may make the material useless to apply after a certain amount of time.
The way the conformal coating flows is critical when applied by brush coating.
The viscosity of the material is highly influential on the flow so control of the viscosity is critical to allow good coverage.
A highly viscous coating will be harder to apply correctly than a lower viscosity material.
It certainly is a batch application process as it a completely human process.
At low volume it can be highly cost effective depending on the cost of labour.
It is also a great technique for finishing and reworking circuits after the de-masking and touch up stage.
At medium and high volume it depends on the area to be coated, the quality of the finished required and the labour costs.
Depending on the cost of labour and the quality of the coating finish required then this could be high volume technique.
However, normally brushing is considered a low volume process.
The operator determines the quality and thickness of the conformal coating finish.
Using the correct brush coating technique can reduce defects like bubbles significantly.
Use a cheap, poor quality brush and you get a poor quality finish.
Use a high quality brush and the material finish quality can be much higher.
If the conformal coating is too thin, then it will capillary into areas that you do not want to coat.
If the area is designed for conformal coating then this can significantly improve the quality of the coating process.
For example, if the area is well lit for UV light then this helps.
If the board is complex or large then the operator has to be more skillful in his approach and ability.
Some materials are easy to brush coat and others are more difficult.
Some dry quickly and give a short pot life.
It depends on how much area of the board is to be coated and the complexity of the board design.
A large, complex board will take a lot more time to process on an individual basis compared to a small board with a small area to coat.
What are five advantages of brushing conformal coating?
What are five disadvantages of brushing conformal coating?