Skip to content
PlanetISO
IPC and J-STD electronics assemblyAwarenessFoundation

Conformal Coating Awareness: IPC-CC-830

Why boards are coated, how coatings are applied and inspected, and how to repair them

Duration
1.5 hours
Modules
4
Final exam
70% to pass
Certificate
No expiry
$59
  • Lifetime access to the course and your certificate
  • Verifiable Certificate of Completion. Certificate does not expire.
  • 3 exam attempts
  • Progress saved to your account on every slide
Buying for a team? Volume pricing from 5 seats
1 to 4 seatsList price
5 to 10 seats15% off
11 to 20 seats25% off
21 or more seats35% off

$250.75

5 × $50.15 · save $44.25

Each seat is a single-use code. Send one to each learner; they sign in with their own account and earn their own certificate. Track progress on your Team page.

About this course

A conformal coating is a thin polymer film that follows the contours of an assembled board and protects it from humidity, contamination, tin whiskers and vibration. It is the last process before a board goes into an aircraft, a missile or a medical device, and it hides everything underneath it. Done well it adds years of life. Done badly it traps residue, bridges connectors and lifts in service. This course explains what good looks like.

You will learn why boards are coated, the main coating families (acrylic, urethane, silicone, epoxy and parylene) and their trade-offs, what IPC-CC-830 qualifies and how IPC-A-610 and J-STD-001 address coating at inspection. You will learn what must be true before coating: a clean board, correct masking of connectors and keep-out areas, a drawing that says what to coat and how thick, and a curing method that matches the material, with safety and ventilation throughout. You will learn the application methods, what inspectors look for under white and ultraviolet light, and how thickness is measured. The final module covers removal, recoating and documentation, and works through masking left on and coating over a connector.

The course is for coating operators, inspectors, rework technicians, process engineers and quality staff at electronics assemblers serving aerospace, defense and medical customers. It teaches awareness of the standards' concepts and good practice; your drawing, your material data sheet and your site procedure govern. No prior knowledge is needed.

The course closes with a 10-question examination drawn from a bank of 20. On passing you receive a PlanetISO Certificate of Completion with lifetime access to the course. The certificate does not expire.

What you will be able to do

  • Explain why assemblies are conformally coated and what failures the coating prevents.
  • Compare the main coating types and their trade-offs in protection, cure, repairability and cost.
  • Describe what IPC-CC-830 qualifies and how IPC-A-610 and J-STD-001 treat coating at inspection.
  • Prepare an assembly for coating: cleanliness, masking, drawing requirements, cure and safety.
  • Recognise the common coating defects and explain how white light, ultraviolet inspection and thickness measurement find them.
  • Describe the methods for removing and recoating a repaired area and the records that go with it.
  • Stop and escalate when masking, cleanliness, thickness or coverage is in doubt.

Course outline

  1. 1

    Why coat

    What conformal coating protects against, the main coating families and their trade-offs, what IPC-CC-830 qualifies, and how IPC-A-610 and J-STD-001 address coating at inspection.

    About 22 minutes, then a module quiz

  2. 2

    Before coating

    Cleanliness and residue, masking of connectors and keep-out areas, what the drawing must tell you, curing and thickness concepts, and safety and ventilation.

    About 22 minutes, then a module quiz

  3. 3

    Application and inspection

    Brush, spray, dip and selective application, the defects inspectors look for and why each matters, ultraviolet inspection, and the concept of thickness measurement.

    About 24 minutes, then a module quiz

  4. 4

    Repair and rework

    Coating removal methods and which suits which material, recoating a repaired area, the documentation that goes with it, and scenarios with masking left on and coating over a connector.

    About 20 minutes, then a module quiz

  5. Final examination and certificate

    10 questions drawn from the course bank. Score 70% or higher to receive your Certificate of Completion.

More IPC and J-STD electronics assembly training