Military certification for HumiSeal’s UV40 range

Conformal coatings have been used for decades to protect high-reliability electronic assemblies from hostile environments, guaranteeing faultless performance in critical situations where failure can be extremely expensive or worse, cost lives.

Given their importance, conformal coatings must be selected and their characteristics matched carefully to the applications for which they will be used. Thus vendors supply information on numerous product performance parameters according to industry protocols such as the exacting IPC-CC-830 standards. The problem with such protocols is that vendors test their own products and report the results, with no independent verification of the test methods, results or presentation of those results. Thus claims may be made that can associate materials with certain standards. Phrases such as “meets the requirements of”, “approved to”, or “meets or exceeds” can be misleading, and in certain circumstances, extremely dangerous.

For these reasons, in-house testing, no matter how good it is, can be unacceptable for some sectors. Qualification to the MIL-I-46058C specification, for example, is obligatory for critical defence and aerospace applications. Among the most stringent conformal coating performance qualifications in the industry, MIL specification tests are conducted by an independent laboratory using known, verified methods. The results are unequivocal and completely independent of commercial pressures, and products are graded to clear standards that guarantee their quality, reliability and performance.

Where MIL specifications certify product performance, UL specify equally stringent independent test procedures to certify finished assembly product safety. By using and documenting the use of UL approved materials throughout assembly, manufacturers negate the need for expensive final product testing to guarantee conformity to North American safety requirements. A leader in US equipment safety and certification, UL is one of the world’s best recognised independent conformity assessment providers.

With its latest certifications for the UV40 range, Humiseal now offers no less than 16 MIL specified products, as well as the industry’s largest range of products with both MIL-I-46058C and UL-746E accreditation.

Phil Kinner, HumiSeal Europe’s Sales and Technical Manager explains why this is so important: “Many of our key clients are active in the aerospace and defence industries, so MIL spec certification, which is the highest independent product performance qualification we can offer, is a must. In the same way, UL recognition guarantees our products’ safety in use and clears the way for their use in the US and other equally demanding marketplaces”. The benefits to HumiSeal’s broader client base is clear: “Companies that are active not only in the defence and aerospace sectors, but also in the automotive, consumer goods, white goods, industrial control, transport and display panel industries – sectors that would not typically specify MIL specs – can rest assured knowing that their electronic systems are protected by the highest quality and performance, materials available. This is because our products’ performance and safety are guaranteed not only by our five decades of experience in supplying conformal coatings, but also by the highest independent authorities”, says Kinner.

The latest accreditation looks set to give a further boost to sales of HumiSeal’s UV curing range. “We are delighted with the market’s reaction to UV40”, says Kinner. “Following its launch just 18 months ago, sales have exceeded all of our expectations. Today, it is being used by many of the world’s leading manufacturers of automotive systems, consumer electronics and white goods. The MIL-I-46058C accreditation will serve to underscore its capabilities still further, and this, together with its existing UL-746E accreditation, will make it ideal for many new sectors including critical defence and aerospace applications”.

The UV40 range and this latest accreditation are testimony to HumiSeal’s continual search for excellence. With 50 years of experience and expertise in conformal coatings, the company has always focused carefully on its customers’ needs, working with them to develop the most complete and widely qualified range of conformal coating solutions in the industry.