The EMS service provider Lacroix has been coating electronic assemblies in its German plant with a new fully automated coating system since the beginning of the year. The final application of protective coatings is essential for the use of sensitive assemblies under adverse environmental conditions in order to guarantee the function of the assembly there as well. Particularly in the case of very small and densely populated assemblies, care must be taken in series production to ensure that certain areas are reliably covered with the protective coating, as the distances between the components and solder joints can be less than 1 mm.
The new system meets these requirements, coating precisely and reliably even at high throughput rates. The fully automatic system achieves consistently high coverage quality with short throughput times for both small and large quantities (100 to 40,000 units p.a.). Thanks to the option of selective coating, it is possible to reliably cover precisely those areas that require it later on. Other areas on the assembly, such as connector contacts, are not coated. With the 90° rotatable application nozzle and two additional cannula-shaped nozzles, fine structures and highly viscous protective walls can be applied in a single operation. The process parameters of the new system can be easily adapted to individual specifications. The short set-up times of 30 minutes on average have a positive effect on productivity.
