Technical Bulletin Mar 09

Conformal Coating Inspection
 
In the process of conformal coating, one of the most critical areas is conformal coating inspection. There
are several purposes for coating inspection including the assessment of the conformal coating quality
applied to the PCB. This assessment is measured against standards, whether internal, national or
international, and the criteria defined in the standards of what is acceptable and unacceptable,
ultimately help determine the long term reliability of the circuit board.

Conformal Coating Inspection and the IPC A 610 Acceptance Standards Summary
International Standards Class 1, 2, 3
With standards it’s important to distinguish between • Completely cured and homogeneous
application and selection of coating, and qualification
• Coating only in those areas where coating is
and manufacture of coating. Generally, the first is for
required
the user of the conformal coating in production and
the second is for the manufacturer of the conformal • Loss of adhesion adjacent to masking
coating. • No bridging of adjacent lands or conductive
The Interconnections & Packaging Conference (IPC) surfaces from:
standards are very good for both these areas and their 1. loss of adhesion
details can be found on www.ipc.org . 2. voids or bubbles
For manufacturing conformal coating the standard 3. de-wetting
IPC-CC-830B details the manufacturer’s requirements to 4. cracks
self-certify the quality of their product. 5. ripples
6. fisheyes or orange peel
In the case of production the IPC A -610 standard is an
ideal starting point. The IPC-A-610 gives some minor • Foreign material does not violate minimum
references which are of limited help except for electrical clearance between components,
specifying acceptance criteria. This standard also is a lands or conductive surfaces
self-regulatory document. • Coating is thin but still coats component /
device edges

These Acceptance criteria are taken from the

IPC-A-610 standard.

The references the IPC standard makes to the

defects can be checked against the recent
technical bulletins and FAQs on Conformal
Coating Failure Mechanisms contained on the
SCH website.

Using these two information sources, this enables

the acceptance criteria to be drawn up and a
work instruction produced for conformal coating
A conformal coated PCB under UVA ultraviolet light inspection.  
to aid inspection
SCH Technologies is a Trading Name of SCH Services Limited 
Newburgh Building, McLintock Way, Barnsley, South Yorkshire. S70 6BF 
 
Tel: +44 (0)1226 297711 Fax: +44 (0)1226 297733 
www.conformalcoating.co.uk  SCH Technologies are ISO9001 and ISO14001 certified
  
 

IPC A  610 Defects Standards Summary Automated Conformal Coating Inspection

Defect - Class 1, 2, 3 It is now possible to automate the inspection
 
• Coating is not cured (exhibits tackiness) process with the ACCIS Automated Conformal
Coating Inspection System.
• Coating is not applied to required areas

• Coating is on areas required to be free of

coating

• Any bridging of adjacent lands or conductive

surfaces from:

7. loss of adhesion (mealing)

8. voids or bubbles
9. de-wetting
10. cracks
11. ripples
12. fisheyes or orange peel The ACCIS, developed by SCH, eliminates many of
the problems associated with conformal coating
• Any foreign material that bridges lands or
inspection including
adjacent conductive surfaces, exposes circuitry
or violates minimal electrical clearance • Operator error due to manual process
between components, lands or conductive • Different standards between operators
surfaces • Time consuming process
• Discolouration or loss of transparency • No traceable recording of inspection

• Coating wicking into connector housing Contact SCH for details or check the website.
• Coating wicking into mating surfaces

These Acceptance criteria are taken from the IPC-

A-610 standard.
SCH Technologies offer

Mil-I-46058C • Conformal coating Subcontract Services

Another standard often mentioned is Mil-I-46058C • Global supply of Conformal Coating
which is an old military standard from which the Application Equipment
IPC committee developed the IPC-CC-830
standard and is related to materials. • Humiseal Conformal Coatings

This standard is relevant where the conformal • Conformal Coating Training courses
coating material must be qualified for military Consultation & troubleshooting
approval and placed on a Qualified Product List PLEASE CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR DETAILS
(QPL) which is constantly updated.
www.conformalcoating.co.uk

Future Bulletins

• Automated Conformal coating inspection. How effective is it?

• Conformal coating CTI (Comparative Tracking Index).

SCH Technologies is a Trading Name of SCH Services Limited 
Newburgh Building, McLintock Way, Barnsley, South Yorkshire. S70 6BF 
 
Tel: +44 (0)1226 297711 Fax: +44 (0)1226 297733 
www.conformalcoating.co.uk  SCH Technologies are ISO9001 and ISO14001 certified