How Much Does Parylene Coating Cost? – All Things Considered

Posted on October 15th, 2021 by Mallory McGuinness

Parylene coatings are known for robust protection from liquids, corrosion, chemicals, and strong electrical activity at a fraction of the thickness of alternative coatings, such as acrylics, epoxies, silicones, and urethanes. Additionally, Parylene is biocompatible, with beneficial optical properties, and delivers superior protection at 50% thickness of conventional coatings. However, the perceived cost of Parylene can give product design teams hesitation as they consider incorporating high-reliability protection into their project.  

Read about what Parylene is used for

Is Cost-Efficient Parylene Possible?

Despite its proven performance, many perceive Parylene to be challenging to apply and expensive. Therefore, one assumption is that it is only appropriate in extreme mission-critical situations, such as military, medical or aviation applications. Other common misconceptions about Parylene include the following:

• Reworking and removing Parylene is impossible
• Parylene coating equipment is too expensive and complicated to use
• Masking is too complex and time-consuming to bother with
• Long batch times inevitably lead to higher labor costs and low throughput\

  While these perceptions are not correct, it is true that Parylene, in general, is the most expensive of the conformal coating types. Therefore, if you are concerned about  Parylene coating cost, you will want to select a partner that will consider your limitations and help you estimate the potential costs.  

How to Calculate the Cost of Parylene

At HZO, we have crafted processes and procedures to lower the costs of the Parylene coating processes. No matter whom you work with, however, three factors are pertinent to the price.

Parylene Type

Common varieties, such as Parylene C and Parylene N, are less expensive in raw coating material known as Parylene dimer. “Specialty types” such as Parylene-AF4 will cost more but will also enable better performance in terms of UV resistance, heat resistance, and more. A consultation with a Parylene conformal coating services provider, such as HZO, will help you to determine which type of Parylene is most suitable for your project.

Masking

Masking can be more complex with Parylene coatings, resulting in increased labor. However, altering the design of your product can make it easier to coat and mask, reducing associated costs. HZO has industry-leading automated and semi-automated masking and demasking equipment, simplifying the process and reducing expenses should you choose to work with us.

Quantity and Size of Objects that Require Coating

With Parylene, the objects you need to coat are placed into a vacuum chamber as part of the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) coating process, and each coating run will have a fixed cost. However, you can elect to optimize the number of components coated in each run to lower the coating cost per item. Meanwhile, we have built proprietary coating equipment that can house more items at once per coating run than any other Parylene company in the industry, minimizing costs per coating run.

Other Critical Considerations When Evaluating Parylene’s Price

Aside from considering upfront costs, to accurately assess Parylene’s coating expense, you must consider the coating’s value in terms of performance to preserve product function over time. In other words, the total cost of ownership is a critical consideration – upfront coating expense cannot fully measure value over a product’s life cycle. Parylene’s superior conformality and protection capabilities dramatically reduce field failures, warranty costs, and downtimes. When you take the long-term view, the productivity and warranty savings that Parylene provides over time can make it the most economical coating option. There are other savings to consider when evaluating the price of conformal coatings, such as manufacturing costs. Conventional coatings entail cure cycles, VOC emissions, toxic byproducts, flammability, waste disposal, and health concerns. Parylene does not raise these safety and sustainability concerns as an environmentally friendly process. Finally, investing in Parylene, with its exceptional dielectric strength, chemical and moisture resistance, and stress-free encapsulation, can yield a substantial reduction in the TCO to ruggedize components compared to other options. If you must customize an enclosure, mechanical seals can cost more if you need 20-30 per device.  

Download HZO’s Parylene datasheet

HZO Parylene Conformal Coating Services

If you are interested in Parylene coatings and would like to evaluate upfront costs and potential savings, contact one of our experts for a no-obligation DFM consultation or request a quote today.