The demands made on modern automobiles are steadily rising. More and more electronics are required to satisfy high expectations regarding comfort and driving safety. Electronic circuits are also increasingly being integrated in decentralized sensors and actuators. The more complex the electronic circuit boards become, the greater the need is to reliably seal the components off from moisture and water (corrosion). Long-term sealing performance is equally important in powertrain applications. The task here is to prevent engine oil from escaping.

The quality of any seal depends especially on the cleanliness of the contact surfaces. In these critical zones, Openair® Plasma cleaning assures targeted and effective pretreatment with high contour precision. For especially durable and corrosion-resistant sealing of adhesive bondlines, the PlasmaPlus® process developed by Plasmatreat is the ideal choice. In this type of plasma polymerization, a coating substance (precursor) is added to the plasma. The result is an exceptionally resistant corrosion protection seal.

Treatment of complex electronic housing geometries with the low-pressure plasma process

For electronic housings, particularly those with complex geometries, automating the selective scanning of the sealing surfaces can be challenging. In such cases, coating the housing using Aurora low-pressure plasma is a useful solution. Inside the low-pressure plasma chamber, a variety of parts can be cleaned and coated in one short cycle. This plasma deposited coating provides durable corrosion protection and prevents moisture infiltration, (especially for housings made of aluminum and magnesium alloys). No additional chemical treatment or painting is normally required.

In addition to anti-corrosion coatings, adhesion-promoting, hydrophobic and oleophobic coatings can be realized in low-pressure plasma. The functional coatings are used when steel and elastomer have to be bonded long-term or seals and filters are to be protected against permeation.