Key challenges in production process
Co-Authors and contributors
- Dr Lee Hitchens, Nexus
There are many issues to overcome in the conformal coating process.
Nexus have identified four key areas that can have a direct impact.
These are:
Click on each area to find out more or read the summary below.
Machines
The equipment used for applying the conformal coating can have a huge impact on the production process.
We will consider from the point of view of the selective robotic coating machines and processes but the concepts are equally applicable to other types of application.
When examining a conformal coating production line you can be confronted with a wide range of setups for equipment.
This can be from the most basic robotic system that coats a simple pattern and the operator has to control all the variables. Or, it can be a state of the art selective system with every known option present ultimately attempting to control the machine process.
The word attempt is used because ultimately we are dealing with conformal coating liquids, people and the production environment.
These are variables that affect the ability of the machine to do its job effectively and completely dependent on each of these factors.
To find out more click key challenges for conformal coating – machines.
Materials
First of all the critical factor is that conformal coating is a liquid!
Yes, this does sound obvious.
But, the fact that it is a liquid, and we are applying coating to a 3D complex shape, instantly offers a chaotic flow to the material that can be slightly out of control.
This single fact, that there is a certain level of uncontrollability about the material flow, is the most important point.
What we now want to identify are all the factors that affect this chaotic flow. Then we can control them. Leave them uncontrolled and expect the coating to do things you don’t want it to do!
To find out more click key challenges for conformal coating – materials.
Staff
By definition, staff refers to everyone involved in the conformal coating process.
That is operators, technicians, supervisors and process engineers.
They all need to know the fundamentals of what we are discussing below.
After all, would it not be risky not to understand each other’s roles in the conformal coating process?
To find out more click key challenges for conformal coating – staff.
Upstream processes
One of the four key challenges in successful conformal coating production are the upstream processes.
Upstream processes refer to everything that occurs before the conformal coating production begins and that has an impact (influence) on the conformal coating quality.
In reality, there are a lot of factors that have a domino effect on the final results of the conformal coating production and understanding them can make a considerable difference.
These factors can be split into two sections.
They are
- Those factors that occur before production even starts
- Those factors that occur during the pre-coating production processes.
To find out more click key challenges for conformal coating – upstream processes.