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reefcrazed:
I seem to have little luck with conformal coating. I had my project working perfectly and had been testing it for weeks. Basically an arduino nano on a PCB with some neopixels. I put conformal coating on it twice allowing dry time of a day. I made sure not to get any on the button or the USB port. This morning I notice the neopixel was flaky and not working all of the time. I proceeding to reprogram the arduino and now it hangs when uploading the project. What happened? Could it need more dry time or is it toast? I used the conformal coating by a company called MG I think
You do not tell us what conformal coating you used. Company name does not mean anything.
Did you thoroughly clean the board before coating it? Left over organic flux will continue to etch the copper traces.
Did you brush the coating or did you dip the board?
Calling something "flakey" does not convey any information to the reader.
Finally, how are your soldering skills?
Paul
Coatings must be applied per manufacturer instructions and usually cured in some way, beyond simple air drying. Details vary widely based on chemical composition and intended purpose.
MG Chemicals does indeed manufacturer coatings, in fact quite a few different products, but since you don’t appear to know even the formulation number, printed on the container, what are the chances you've read the datasheet for proper application and drying instructions?
Seriously, why would you expect unknown people on the internet to know what you’ve purchased, how you applied it and how it’s now affecting some device you’ve built?
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Conformal coatings are insulators, shouldn't have an effect. That stuff seems to be good, its likely some
other issue like a dry joint or whatever - careful visual inspection might be good to do.
Conformal coatings must be extremely liquid for a considerable length of time. Did you hang the board so any flow would be away from critical connectors.
Paul
You probably contaminated a connector or switch.
Paul_KD7HB:
Conformal coatings must be extremely liquid for a considerable length of time. Did you hang the board so any flow would be away from critical connectors.Paul
You could have read the data for this particular formulation, and discovered
422B is a 1-part, acrylic-silicone blend conformal coating that cures to a durable, flexible and smooth finish. It is easy to apply and can be handled in only 10 minutes. It may be removed with appropriate strippers or soldered through for repair or rework.
I'd call that pretty fast drying...
Hi,
Can you please post a picture of your project, both sides so we can see your component layout and coating penetration?
Tom.... 