Conformal Coating and NI RIO Products

Overview

This paper provides a brief introduction to Conformal Coating benefits and use cases. It also discusses the ELPEGUARD SL 1307 FLZ coating created by Lackwerke Peters that is available on some NI RIO products.

Conformal Coating

Conformal coatings are specially formulated thin film materials that are applied directly to circuit boards or circuit card assemblies (CCAs).  These films provide environmental protection for components and circuitry.  The thin film materials used for conformal coating are normally applied using a process of dipping or spraying the CCA with a liquid or resinous material.  As the material dries, it forms a resilient coating that can protect against moisture, mold, dust, corrosion and other environmental stresses.

Condensation

Condensation can occur when the outside air temperature increases at a faster rate than the electronics.  If the temperature of the electronics reaches the dew point, condensation will occur.  The higher the relative humidity, the closer the dew point is to the current temperature.  This scenario could occur if a product was stored in a vehicle over night.  When the outside air heats up, there is a potential for the electronics to reach their dew point.  This occurs on the aluminum enclosures due to the thermal capacitance of aluminum.  Once condensation forms on the enclosure, there is a higher probability of shorts on the CCA.

The application of a conformal coating prevents condensation from making contact with traces, vias, and integrated circuits (IC’s) on CCAs.  This prevents the formation of corrosion and shorting on these components after exposure to condensation.  Connectors do not benefit from the conformal coating, so corrosion could still occur at the connectors.  The conformal coating is intended to extend the life of the product by protecting the traces, vias, and fine pitch IC’s, but it does not eliminate all environmental risk associated with the connectors.

Figure 1. Conformal coated CCA shows no corrosion after exposure to condensation

Figure 2. Corrosion has occurred on the uncoated CCA after exposure to condensation

To minimize corrosion on connectors, NI recommends the following tips:

  • Mount the system in horizontal orientation, with the I/O connectors facing forward.  This allows condensation to run off the CCA’s and not to pool up in the connectors.
  • Do not create any drip lines with cabling.  All cables should be routed down, so any condensation that occurs on the cable will not be channeled into the connector or product.
  • Ensure the electronics are not in other drip lines
  • To help protect backplane connectors, use a filler module or dust cover in any empty slot.

NI uses ELPEGUARD SL 1307 FLZ to provide environmental protection for certain products.  This modified acrylic resin is manufactured by Lackwerke Peters (see manufacturers datasheet for technical specifications). 

ELPEGUARD SL 1307 FLZ has been approved as a conformal coating by UL under QMJU2.E80315.  Additionally, NI has tested the conformal coated products for the following environmental specification.

 

Environmental

Operating humidity

(IEC 60068-2-30 Test Db)……………….80 to 100% RH, condensing

Additional test reports and datasheets on the coating material, ELPEGUARD SL 1307 FLZ, are available in the Developer Zone.  These tests were not performed on NI products, they are provided to reference the properties of the conformal coating.

 

Products Available with Conformal Coating

The table below shows the CompactDAQ and CompactRIO modules available with conformal coating.

Figure 3. CompactRIO Packaged and Single-Board RIO Board-Level Systems

Module Number

Description
C Series CAN Interface Module
NI 98532-Port, High-Speed C Series CAN Interface Module
C Series CANopen Interface Module
NI 98811-Port C Series CANopen Interface Module
C Series Counter Input Module
NI 936132-Bit, 8-Channel C Series Counter Input Module
NI 9203200 kS/s, ±20 mA, 8-Channel C Series Current Input Module
NI 9208500 S/s, ±20 mA, 16-Channel C Series Current Input Module
NI 9227300 Vrms, 50 kS/s/ch, 24-Bit, Simultaneous Input, 3-Channel C Series Voltage Input Module
NI 925350 kS/s/ch, ±20 mA, 24-Bit, 8-Channel C Series Current Input Module
C Series Current Output Module
NI 92654-Channel C Series Current Output Module
NI 92668-Channel C Series Current Output Module
C Series Digital Module
NI 937530 V, 32-Channel (Sinking Input, Sourcing Output), 7 µs (Input)/500 µs (Output) C Series Digital Module
NI 94015 V/TTL, 8 Bidirectional Channels, 100 ns C Series Digital Module
NI 94035 V/TTL, 32 Bidirectional Channels, 7 µs C Series Digital Module
NI 9411±5 V to 24 V, 6 Differential/Single-Ended Channels, 500 ns C Series Digital Module
NI 942124 V, 8-Channel (Sinking Input), 100 µs C Series Digital Module
NI 942524 V, 32-Channel (Sinking Input), 7 µs C Series Digital Module
NI 942624 V, 32 Channel (Sourcing Input), 7 µs C Series Digital Module
NI 943724 VDC to 250 VDC, 8-Channel (Sinking Input), 1 µs C Series Digital Module
NI 94705 VDC to 30 VDC, 8-Channel (Sourcing Output), 2 kHz C Series Digital Module
NI 947224 V, 8-Channel (Sourcing Output), 100 µs C Series Digital Module
NI 947560 V, 8-Channel (Sourcing Output), 1 µs C Series Digital Module
NI 947636 V, 32-Channel (Sourcing Output), 500 µs C Series Digital Module
NI 947760 V, 32-Channel (Sinking Output), 8 µs C Series Digital Module
NI 947850 V, 16-Channel (Sinking Output), 50 µs C Series Digital Module
C Series Frequency Input Module
NI 93266-Channel, 150 V, 128 kHz C Series Frequency Input Module
C Series Multifunction I/O Module
NI 93818 AI, 8 AO, 4 DIO, 0 V to 5 V, C Series Multifunction I/O Module
C Series Relay Output Module
NI 94858-Channel, SSR Relay, 60 VDC/30 Vrms, 750 mA C Series Relay Output Module
C Series Serial Interface Module
NI 98704-Port, RS232 C Series Serial Interface Module
NI 98714-Port, RS485/RS422 C Series Serial Interface Module
C Series Sound and Vibration Input Module
NI 92303-Channel, 12.8 kS/s/channel, ±30 V, C Series Sound and Vibration Input Module
NI 92323-Channel, 102.4 kS/s/channel, ±30 V, C Series Sound and Vibration Input Module
NI 92344-Channel, 51.2 kS/s/channel, ±5 V, C Series Sound and Vibration Input Module
C Series Strain/Bridge Input Module
NI 923610 kS/s/channel, 350 Ω Quarter-Bridge Strain Gage, 8-Channel C Series Strain/Bridge Input Module
NI 923750 kS/s/channel, Bridge Analog Input, 4-Channel C Series Strain/Bridge Input Module
C Series Universal Analog Input Module
NI 9219100 S/s/ch, 4-Channel C Series Universal Analog Input Module
C Series Vehicle Multiprotocol Interface Module
NI 98602-Port, C Series Vehicle Multiprotocol Interface Module
C Series Voltage and Current Input Module
NI 9207500 S/s, 16-Channel C Series Voltage and Current Input Module
C Series Voltage Input Module
NI 9202±10 V, 10 kS/s, 24-Bit, 16-Channel C Series Voltage Input Module
NI 9205±10 V, 250 kS/s, 16-Bit, 32-Channel C Series Voltage Input Module
NI 9220±10 V, 100 kS/s/ch, 16-Bit, Simultaneous Input, 16-Channel C Series Voltage Input Module
NI 9221±60 V, 800 kS/s, 12-Bit, 8-Channel C Series Voltage Input Module
NI 9225300 Vrms, 50 kS/s/ch, 24-Bit, Simultaneous Input, 3-Channel C Series Voltage Input Module
NI 9228±60 V, 1 kS/s/ch, 24-Bit, Simultaneous Input, 8-Channel C Series Voltage Input Module
NI 9229±60 V, 50 kS/s/ch, 24-Bit, Simultaneous Input, 4-Channel C Series Voltage Module
NI 9239±10 V, 50 kS/s/ch, 24-Bit, Simultaneous Input, 4-Channel C Series Voltage Input Module
C Series Voltage Output Module
NI 92621 MS/s/ch Simultaneous, ±10 V, 6-Channel C Series Voltage Output Module
NI 926425 kS/s/ch Simultaneous, ±10 V, 16-Channel C Series Voltage Output Module DSUB
NI 926425 kS/s/ch Simultaneous, ±10 V, 16-Channel C Series Voltage Output Module Spring Terminal
NI 9269100 kS/s/ch Simultaneous, ±10 V, Isolated, 4-Channel C Series Voltage Output Module
CompactRIO Controller
cRIO-90381.33 GHz Dual-Core CPU, 2 GB DRAM, 8 GB Storage, Kintex-7 160T FPGA, and Extended Temperature, 8-Slot CompactRIO Controller
cRIO-90421.60 GHz Quad-Core CPU, 4 GB DRAM, 4 GB Storage, -40 °C to 70 °C, Kintex-7 70T FPGA, 4-Slot CompactRIO Controller
cRIO-90431.30 GHz Dual-Core CPU, 2 GB DRAM, 8 GB Storage, -40 °C to 70 °C, Kintex-7 160T FPGA, 4-Slot CompactRIO Controller
cRIO-90471.60 GHz Quad-Core CPU, 4 GB Storage, -40 °C to 70 °C, Kintex-7 70T FPGA, 8-Slot CompactRIO Controller
cRIO-90481.30 GHz Dual-Core CPU, 2 GB DRAM, 8 GB Storage, -40 °C to 70 °C, Kintex-7 160T FPGA, 8-Slot CompactRIO Controller
cRIO-90581.33 GHz Dual-Core CPU, 2 GB DRAM, 4 GB Storage, -40 °C to 70 °C, Artix-7 A100T FPGA, Extended Temperature, 8-Slot CompactRIO Controller
cRIO-9065667 MHz Dual-Core CPU, 512 MB DRAM, 1 GB Storage, Zynq-7020 FPGA, Extended Temperature, 4-Slot CompactRIO Controller
cRIO-9068667 MHz Dual-Core CPU, 512 MB DRAM, 1 GB Storage, Zynq-7020 FPGA, Extended Temperature, 8-Slot CompactRIO Controller
CompactRIO Chassis
cRIO 91134-Slot, Virtex-5 LX50 FPGA CompactRIO Chassis (Legacy)
cRIO-91148-Slot, Virtex-5 LX50 FPGA CompactRIO Chassis (Legacy)
cRIO-91188-Slot, Virtex-5 LX110 FPGA CompactRIO Chassis (Legacy)
NI-91474-Slot, Zynq-7020 FPGA, Ethernet CompactRIO Chassis
NI-91498-Slot, Zynq-7020 FPGA, Ethernet CompactRIO Chassis

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