The CEO, Edward Hughes, of Aculon Inc. spoke at productronica 2017, a trade fair for the development and production of electronics. During two sessions, Hughes spoke to PCB and SMT manufacturers, fabricators and assemblers about incorporating water protection into PCB design and the different technologies used to ensure product performance while reducing device failures.
During both presentations, titled “Why PCB waterproofing will be a standard feature within two years and the new technology to make it happen,” Hughes discussed why waterproofing electronic devices is moving from a desired feature to an industry standard.
In the smartphone industry alone, liquid damage is a huge issue. According to research from IDC (International Data Corporation), more than 900,00 smartphones are damaged by liquids every day globally. IDC’s research revealed that liquid damage is the second-largest cause of damaged smartphones with the impact estimated to be worth nearly $100 billion each year. They also claim that by 2020, more than 1.7 billion smartphones will be shipped at a market value of $398 billion, with the problem of liquid damage only becoming more widespread if it is not addressed.
However, the need for waterproofing PCB’s goes way beyond smartphones. There has been tremendous interest by producers of tablets, IoT devices, appliances and even automotive component manufacturers. Hughes also addressed the different technology approaches to solving the problem including: gasketing, vacuum deposition, and next generation liquids, where new surface modification technologies can be used to create an outer skin of the PCB rather than physical gasketing.
The company’s NanoProof treatments are designed to treat all the typical materials found on a PCB including metals, semiconductors, and polymers. The series of hydrophobic treatments can be applied inline using standard equipment produced by manufacturers, such as PVA and Nordson Asymtek. This eliminates costly capital investment, masking, and bottlenecking batch processes, all of which are cost prohibitive.
Also, unique to this series is its Push Through Connectivity, which allows connection to the board after it has been treated, thereby providing assembly flexibility currently not found with other technologies.
