PCB Protection: Potting or Conformal Coating? | PCB Knowledge

[@yougeo]

It's important to note that most epoxy potting solutions can be boiled in water and at the 212 degrees Fahrenheit will soften enough to turn into sort of a gel that can usually be peeled apart in pieces and taken off

[@PCBWay]

Thanks for the additional information!

[@electronics.unmessed]

Thx for sharing! Very interesting!

[@ketanmorajker]

Amazing thumbnail 👌🏻❣️

[@PCBWay]

Thanks for the support

[@Joel-wt7yg]

Is there a solder flux that doesn't cause cure inhibitions with platinum cure silicon potting compounds? Some factory solder joints with flux residues don't have the issue but I don't have any information on what solder flux they are using. Any knowledge about the issue would be much appreciated!

[@AchievementDenied]

I'm wondering why some battlebots don't use the potting method to protect the more sensitive boards from being slammed around

[@greengreyable]

Because of cost? It's more common in mass fabricated electronics where one or few mold (or in this case 'pots') can be reused over and over again. Plus it's only practical if you have no plan on reworking on the circuits later because once it's potted it's impossible to be removed without damaging the circuit.

[@boxcarhobo8315]

3d printing negates the cost. However thermal transfer goes down vs direct air contact. You could use silicone to be peelable, but as above thermal transfer conductivity would be lowered. ESCs for driving brushless DC motors get hot. Wireless does as well. All methods make repairability drop.

[@AchievementDenied]

@@boxcarhobo8315 hmm, couldn't thermals be solved by using a heat-sink and heat transfer lines similar to how gaming laptops move heat? or would the heat dissipation not be enough? (the thought of having them potted is specifically for boards that aren't going to be modified and would continue as-is after they were finalized.)

[@boxcarhobo8315]

@@AchievementDenied Thats a good question. Another thought would be to pot it, but to the point where you could still have access to the top surface for cooling. Sadly, I changed jobs and don't have the workshop I used to, and my electronics work is now for the hobby level.

[@dzidmail]

​@boxcarhobo8315 you got it backwards. Silicone is much better thermal conductor than air. It's just a pain to debug or repair anything once it's coated.

[@shazam9727]

This looks like fluid mechanics in 3D design.

[@mehmkafm2012]

Hi, what's the max value of ionic contamination before conformal coating ?

[@PCBWay]

You can ask your dedicated sales representatives about this question on our website.

[@NaN_INF]

Only boards exposed to water and other contaminations need this. Potting makes pcbs impossible to repair.

[@PCBWay]

Yes. In common applications, conformal coating is more often used.

[@pamelabraman7217]

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