Nordson wins EM China award for ASYMTEK SL-1040 coating system

The SL-1040 system, publicly introduced in November 2023, is the most advanced conformal coating solution for high-volume production for printed circuit assembly. Designed to meet the dynamic demands of electronics manufacturers, especially for automotive electronics, the SL-1040 includes system-level advancements to elevate automation, control, precision, and preventive maintenance for better yield and uptime with features that improve total cost of ownership.

“Conformal coating is important for reliable automotive electronics, and customers want to apply the coating correctly the first time to avoid any rework. We developed the SL-1040 to achieve a great system for this purpose,” stated Jacky He, Automotive Commercial Head, Nordson Electronics Solutions, China. “We are honoured that the technology innovation of this new conformal coating system was recognised.”

The award recognised the SL-1040 conformal coating system for these features:

• Innovation: the SL-1040 pairs new process control and new maintenance using the new SC-450 PreciseCoat Jet and enhanced EasyCoat software, ideal for high-volume production.
• Cost effectiveness: densely populated printed circuit boards require increased precision with higher throughput. SL-1040’s performance avoids keep-out zones, while offering consistent set-up, closed-loop feedback, traceability, and data logging for Industry 4.0. Ideal for coating individual parts and entire boards.
• Speed/throughput improvements: dual and triple applicators maximise throughput, while flexible features drive better yields through efficient changeover, traceability, and set-up consistency.
• Quality contribution: highly selective, small-volume coating accuracy near the tightest KOZs, narrow line widths down to 1.5mm when the SL-1040 is equipped with the SC-450. Repeatable fluid placement, coverage uniformity, and fluid thickness.
• Ease of use / maintainability / repairability: a new ultrasonic cleaning station simplifies nozzle cleaning to improve uptime and cost of ownership. Standard configurations of the SL-1040 include advanced safety features, ESD-safe components, and compliance to standards including SMEMA, CE, NFPA, and SEMI.
• Technology advancement: Tconformal coating enables the ruggedising of electronic devices because coating materials protect electronics from harsh environments to assure reliable performance.

To be highly reliable, coatings must be selectively applied to avoid keep out zones and critical components, like connector pins, test points, relays. Selective coating equipment, versus broadcast spraying or dipping that require masking, coats only the desired regions of the board. Advanced automated equipment like the SL-1040 is an advanced way to increase yield, increase throughput, and reduce the process cost of conformal coating.