What is a Coating thickness Gauge?
The coating thickness gauge is an instrument used to measure the coating thickness of the surface finish or laminate on a PCB. PCB boards are coated with surface finishes or a laminate material to protect them from environmental humidity, airborne contaminants, varying temperatures, and corrosions.
It is important to measure the thickness of the coating on the PCB board as if the coating is too thin then the traces on the board will not be protected from environmental conditions. However, if the coating is too thick then it can interfere with the flow of signals through the board resulting in the malfunctioning of the board. So it is important to make sure that the PCB is coated uniformly according to the IPC standard to result in proper protection and functioning of the board.
Types of coating thickness measurement methods:
1. Eddy-current gauge (suitable for PCBs with the copper ground plane)
2. Ultrasonic coating thickness gauge (suitable for PCBs without the copper ground plane)
3. Substitution method (suitable for PCBs without surface access)
4. Magnetic method (suitable for ferrous metal coupons or boards)
5. Conventional eddy-current (suitable for ferrous metal coupons)
PCB Directory has listed coating thickness gauges from the leading manufacturers in the industry and made it easy for users to find coating thickness gauges based on their requirement. Users can specify the type of probe, the thickness they need to measure and other parameters to find a device that meets their requirement. They can then view device specifications, download the spec sheet and get a quote. Quotes requested are routed to the manufacturer of the coating thickness gauge.
