Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1537054
42 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2025 In electronics manufacturing, there's a dangerous miscon- ception that cleaning and coat- ing are standalone options, that they operate in different lanes, and that one can compensate for the other. Let's clear that up now. Cleaning and conformal coat- ing are not separate decisions. They are two chapters in the same story—the story of reliabil- ity. When done properly, they pro- tect the assembly from environ- mental threats and internal fail- ure mechanisms alike. But when shortcuts are taken—when one is ignored or rushed—the results can be costly and, in high-reliabil- ity environments, catastrophic. This is the kind of conversa- tion the SMTA High-Reliabil- ity Cleaning and Coating Con- ference, coming up Aug. 12–14, 2025, at the Westin DFW Air- port in Dallas, was built for. The goal? Equip manufacturers with practical, evidence-based strate- gies for building and protecting assemblies that last. In this column, we'll explore why cleaning and coating are so intertwined, what the best practices look like, and how a thoughtful, combined approach is the only way to ensure prod- uct reliability in today's demand- ing environments. The Real Job of Cleaning After reflow, circuit assemblies are often left with flux residues, board and component fabrica- tion contamination, and environ- mental particulates. These aren't always visible, but they're very real, and very dangerous. Here's why: Ionic contamina- T H E K N OW L E D G E BAS E A Conference for Cleaning and Coating of Mission- critical Electronics by Mike Konrad, SMTA