BIG PICTURE
State of The Coating Industry with Phil Kinner, Global Business/Technical Director - Coatings Division at Electrolube Niloy from BIsinfotech in talks with Phil Kinner, Global Business and Technical Director of Electrolube’s Coatings Division, discuss the impact of 2020, the innovation of new materials, issues of growing importance to the electronics industry and how the future is looking right now. Phil also describes the increasing prominence of condensation resistance and environmental issues that specifically preclude the use of solvent-containing or solvent-emitting conformal coating materials.
Q
It goes without saying that 2020 presented all kinds of challenges for people all over the world, how did the year impact on you? 2020 was certainly an interesting year; one that most of us will choose to forget. Plant shutdowns, project cancellations, component shortages, furlough, working from home, Microsoft teams, Brexit, the list of challenges seemingly endless. Fortunately, life continued largely unchanged for those of us in the R&D team at Electrolube and we were able to complete many of our longer-term projects without the usual day to day interruptions; after all, a win is a win!
Q
As a result of the tremendous progress heralded by the vaccination programme, hope of a return to ‘normality’ is high. However, what does normality look like now, and looking ahead to the future? Several trends have really stood out as the first half of 2021 comes to a close. Firstly, 150°C appears to have become the new ‘normal’ for the maximum required operating temperature of conformal coatings for automotive use. This is an increase from 85°C or 120°C on the last generation of products. This new high is really pushing the limits of availability from traditional coating chemistries, but happily for us, this is not a surprise. Here at Electrolube, we have been preparing for this very moment over the last few years; applying ourselves to the generation of solutions and products that support the new requirements.
Q
We have been reading about your extensive work in condensation testing. What is the reason for this? Condensation resistance continues to grow in importance, increasing in prominence within many new customer specifications. Historically, conformal coatings have predominantly applied to provide a barrier against the effects of humidity affecting the underlying circuit. This is not nearly as challenging a scenario as a condensing environment, where the presence of liquid water provides new tests, both to the thickness and coverage achievable. Liquid water will seek out any weak spots in the protection afforded and corrosion takes place much more quickly if this is present. Liquid water
Phil Kinner
Global Business and Technical Director of Electrolube’s Coatings Division
40 10 | 2021 BISinfotech
