How do I correctly dip coat my circuit board in conformal coating?

April 21, 2017 Blog, conformal coating

The dip process for conformal coating is a method used to coat printed circuit boards for a very long time. The process in its simplest form is as follows:

The printed circuit board (PCB) is lowered into a tank of coating.
This can be complete submersion or partial dip.
The board can be dipped vertically, horizontally or at another angle.
The board can be dipped manually or automatically.
The board is removed from the coating and the excess coating drains away.

This process is highly effective in applying a conformal coating to a printed circuit board (PCB).
Dip conformal coating process showing a PCB being immersed using dip coating equipment for consistent, high-volume application

A simple approach involves dipping a circuit board by hand into a container of conformal coating, which can deliver acceptable results for low-volume work. However, dedicated dip coating equipment is typically used—particularly for medium- and high-volume production—where consistency, control, and repeatability are critical.

What equipment may you need for dipping circuit boards?

The reason for using dipping machines in conformal coating is because the process has variables that are critical to film integrity and they are controlled by the system. The variables that are critical for film quality and thickness are:

The speed of immersion
Dwell time in the coating
The withdrawal speed of the board

These factors, plus the viscosity of the conformal coating, are important to create a high quality finish and reduce costs.

How cost effective is the dip process for conformal coating?

The conformal coating dip process itself can be extremely low cost. The cost of a dip system can be low compared to many other processes and when balanced against the speed of application.

However, if the circuit board demands a lot of components be masked before processing then the overall coating process can be expensive. Masking for dipping can be very demanding and very difficult to complete successfully.

Find out more about effective masking strategies for dip coating at our Conformal Coating Masking Hub.

Need to know more about using a conformal coating in your application process?

Contact us now and we can discuss how we can help you. Give us a call at (+44) 1226 249019 or email your inquiries at sales@schservices.com

What are conformal coating masking boots and how can they save you money?

March 10, 2017 Blog, masking boots

The use of masking materials such as tapes, dots and liquid latex can be a highly effective process in protecting components from ingress of conformal coating. However, the masking process can be labour intensive, difficult and time consuming.

Using reusable, custom masking boots offers a labour saving alternative in both the masking and de-masking stages of the coating process. This can save you lots of time and money.

Conformal coating masking boots used on Printed circuit board as an alternative to masking tapes

Three simple reasons why conformal coating masking boots can save you money

Masking time is reduced. Using masking boots as an alternative can be 4-5 times quicker than masking tape.
De-masking time is reduced. Again it is much quicker to remove masking boots than tape
Masking boots don’t leak as easily as tape. So there is less chance of a need to repair or remove leaked coating.

This means you can save a lot of money very quickly when switching to custom masking boots.

How Diamond MT saved nearly 60% of their process time switching to masking boots

Diamond MT, a conformal coating and Parylene coating service provider, found they saved 60% of their current costs by switching to the SCH range of conformal coating masking boots.

Sean Horn, Diamond MT, explains how they did it.

“We had initially wanted to try SCH’s conformal coating masking boots for price savings. However, once we began to work with Lee on our specific masking application, we realised that we could extend the life of our boots over 200%. We switched immediately!

We then realised the importance of working with someone who understands conformal coatings. We will not being going back to our previous supplier.”

Sean Horn, Director, Diamond MT, Parylene and conformal coating subcontract service provider.

Request Your Free Masking Sample Pack

You can experience the quality of our masking solutions first-hand by requesting a free sample pack. The pack includes a selection of our masking tapes, dots, boots and pre-cut shapes, allowing you to test their performance directly in your coating process. It’s a quick and risk-free way to see how our materials ensure clean removal, precise coverage, and time-saving application.

Find out how much you can save by switching to custom boots

We are happy to provide a quotation for our masking boots so you can see for yourself how much you can save.

Just provide us with three pieces of information:

Provide a picture of the board you wish to test
Identify the components you need to mask
Provide the component identification codes (manufacture details etc)

Contact us today to request your quotation for conformal coating masking boots. Call us on +44 (0) 1226 249019, email your requirements on sales@schservices.com

Conformal Coating UK

How do I correctly dip coat my circuit board in conformal coating?

What equipment may you need for dipping circuit boards?

How cost effective is the dip process for conformal coating?

Need to know more about using a conformal coating in your application process?

What are conformal coating masking boots and how can they save you money?

Three simple reasons why conformal coating masking boots can save you money

How Diamond MT saved nearly 60% of their process time switching to masking boots

Request Your Free Masking Sample Pack

Find out how much you can save by switching to custom boots

Conformal Coating UK