IPC and SMTA to Host High-Reliability Cleaning and Conformal Coating Conference

 IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries® in partnership with Surface Mount Technology Association (SMTA) will host a High-Reliability Cleaning and Conformal Coating Conference, November 13–15, 2012, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel-O’Hare in Chicago. The conference will provide a focus on electronics assembly reliability and the influence of cleaning and coating on the production of reliable hardware.

Prior to the conference, a half-day technical workshop will be held on November 13 to introduce the fundamentals of conformal coating and coating processes. Doug Pauls, Rockwell Collins and Jason Keeping, Celestica, will address popular myths and misconceptions as well as common causes of coating problems. During the second half of the workshop, Collins and Keeping will discuss conformal coating in the manufacturing environment.

The conference will begin in the afternoon of November 13 with technical presentations on nano-coatings, plasma polymers for protective films, chemically vapor deposited polymer coatings, and electronic device reliability. Rounding out the day, Dave Hillman, Rockwell Collins, will deliver a keynote on “Printed Circuit Board Reliability –– Design and Assembly Decisions for High-Performance Electronics.”

Day two of the conference will include sessions on conformal coating, mobile electronics, cleanliness assessment and process control, localized extraction methods for ionic analysis, cleaning challenges in an HDI world, environmental standards and regulations, and VOC emissions and alternatives to toxic conformal coatings.

During the half-day portion of the conference on November 15, industry experts will present information on electronics assembly and PCB failure mechanisms and reliability, the influence of ionic contamination and tin whiskers, creep corrosion of PCB assemblies, assembly cleaning and challenges, no-clean flux residues, assembly cleaning process characterization, and more.
Registration for the conference includes a copy of the proceedings, luncheons and a networking reception. For more information or to register, visit www.ipc.org/cleaning-and-coating.

IPC (www.IPC.org) is a global industry association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 3,300 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $2.02 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; Bangalore, India; and Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, China.