Conformal coating workshop, 6 June 2000
Conformal coating workshop, 6 June 2000
Keywords Conformal coatings, Training
The use of conformal coating has provided benefits to industry for many years, either in the high reliability market sector or where products have to deal with extreme environmental conditions.
This was the first SMART Group workshop specifically on conformal coating organised with the full support of Cookson Electronics at their Speedline facility at Reading. A total of 30 people were involved in the day including users and suppliers of coating materials.
Presentations were given by Gordon Pryor, General Manager, and Desmond Morris of SCS Speciality Coating Systems; Andi Maratos, Hansatech Surface; Bob Pitchford, Speedline Technologies.
There was also an impromptu talk given by Alan Brewin of Concoat on the latest development on SIR testing which was very relevant to the day's discussion. He referred to the European Study that is casting doubts on current SIR testing.
The workshop provided a simple guide to the use of coatings, their application and process and product benefits. The practical hands-on sessions also allowed delegates to examine coated boards using different materials and techniques as well as a program using a selective coating system. Desmond Morris demonstrated some of the simple quality control techniques that can be employed to measure and detect coating presence on the surface of the board.
The day was well balanced between materials, equipment and users' views on the use of coating materials. Views were also considered on the use of in-house contract coating services.
A CD-ROM with a copy of the papers and interviews with a coating user are available from: Tony Gordon, The SMART Group. Tel: +44 (0) 1494 465217; Fax: +44(0) 1494 473975; E-mail: info@smartgroup.org
