Are Industrial Equipment Enclosures Feasible for Chemical Resistance Protection?

Posted on March 25th, 2022 by Mallory McGuinness

The Internet of Industrial Things (IIoT) refers to equipment and machines for automation and monitoring to optimize operations, improve efficiency, and maximize productivity. The hardware is enabled by connected electronic components that monitor and transmit critical information that drives decisions. Although IIoT presents tremendous capabilities, electronics are sensitive to industrial environmental factors, including liquid ingress, vibration, climatic issues, electromagnetic interference, and chemical issues, such as exposure to corrosive solvents. Chemicals can be particularly problematic and require strong protection. Take solvents used to disinfect environments, for example. These could ingress unprotected equipment and damage connections, leading to catastrophic consequences. There are standards for IIoT product design teams to use to assess the level of chemical resistance protection required to ensure components can operate reliably in industrial environments. The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) is a standard rating system for industrial enclosures, a legacy method used to protect components from solvents and chemicals. Yet relying on enclosures alone presents design challenges and cost concerns. Customizing enclosures to protect from chemicals found in the industrial environment adequately is a complicated and expensive process, particularly if the IIoT device must be lightweight and compact. The enclosure itself has to be small enough and has to fit in the envelope provided by the customer, and conforming to the size, shape, and space of the enclosure can be difficult. Additionally, when new equipment or upgrades are added, it may be necessary to scale up, convert to other NEMA ratings, or add panels. Extra labor and material resources increase the total cost of ownership over time with enclosures.

Industrial Chemical Resistant Coatings

If you need your products to be chemically resistant to prevent corrosion, Parylene coating services may be used as a standalone solution or to downgrade the cost, size, and customization of enclosures when used in a “belt and suspenders approach.” The chart below compares NEMA protection ratings against various environmental conditions and Parylene.  

More specifically, Parylene industrial coatings provide exceptional chemical resistance so IIoT products can thrive in highly corrosive environments.  

Chemical resistance of selected enclosure materials compared to Parylene’s chemical resistance

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  Parylene conformal coatings are chemically inert, exhibiting strong resistance to solvents at room temperature up to 150° C. The anti-corrosion coatings are also highly resistant to inorganic reagents, including strong acids and alkali.

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  Parylene coating has superior chemical resistance to solvents and reagents, including those listed below:

Why Does Parylene Exhibit Superior Chemical Resistance?

Parylene’s chemical resistance is partly due to its deposition method, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), unique among conformal coating applications. In this highly repeatable vapor phase coating process, polymer chains pack against one another tightly, making the coating resistant to chemicals reacting with or passing through the film.  

Typical Parylene Deposition Process, illustrated with Parylene N

Download our infographic for an illustrated guide to CVD

Industrial Coating Services with HZO

HZO is a Parylene coating company focused on providing dependable outcomes for our customers. Our corrosion-resistant coatings also exhibit other properties that make them beneficial for industrial environments, such as liquid resistance, functional dielectric properties, and the ability to maintain performance throughout extreme temperatures. If you want to learn more about our coatings, please contact us to speak with our Applications Engineering team.