ELPEGUARD SL 1800 FLZ now certified for outdoor applications

The UL 746 E rating certifies that the acrylate-based coating for printed circuit boards, besides featuring the highest non-flammability rating UL V-0, is also suitable for outdoor use.

"This means that the UL-certified product has received unrestricted outdoor approval," says Johannes Tekath, describing the value of what is now the third industry standard that ELPEGUARD SL 1800 FLZ is claiming for itself.

The Peters product is also recommended for demanding electronics applications in the IPC CC 830 C and HK MS 941-04 standards as performance criteria for conformal coatings, according to the Head of Research and Development at the Kempen-based coating manufacturer. The SL 1800 product series therefore fulfils current standards and requirements with regard to potential risk from fire, electric shock, and mechanical stress.

The outdoor approval means that devices whose sensitive electronic components such as circuit boards protected with ELPEGUARD SL 1800 FLZ can get wet for short periods without compromising safety and functionality.

"This can be the case for hedge trimmers, lawn mowers, or cordless screwdrivers, for example, which gardeners or roofers can safely use outdoors even in the rain," says Johannes Tekath, describing the added value that UL approval brings about. "As a project partner, we have worked intensively with a customer to ensure that our conformal coating now also fulfils these highest UL criteria," says Hartmut Giesen, who has worked in application technology at Peters since 2011. The customer's request was an incentive for Peters to also fulfil this third standard. "UL stands for Underwriters Laboratories Inc.," reports Hartmut Giesen, who works at Peters in the field of coating technology and customer consulting for special lacquers for the production of printed circuit boards and special technologies. The US-based testing authority that awards this label is the world's leading organisation for the certification of materials, components, and end products in the area of product safety of all kinds.

Future-oriented and practical solution

ELPEGUARD SL 1800 FLZ is still a relatively new product from the Peters research department.

"The further development of this classic product from Peters from the ELPEGUARD SL 1307 conformal coating family can therefore be considered as a success," says Peters CEO Ralf Schwartz, describing the added value for industrial customers. With  ELPEGUARD SL 1800 FLZ, the R&D team in Kempen has created a solution that is both forward-looking and practice-orientated.

Schwartz adds: "The modified acrylate is more likely than ever to be the benchmark in the family of physically drying thin-film coatings on the global market."