AGD Systems takes the high road to better performance and lower production costs

AGDSystems,adesignerandmanufacturerofadvancedradartechnology,hasbeenabletobreakintoanewmarketareaandwithinayear,developarevenuestreamthatalreadyrepresentssignificantnewbusinessandgrowingfastintheUKandoverseas.WhilemostofthecredithastogotoAGDitself,aNovecsurfacemodifiercoatingfrom3Mhasplayedavitalrole,enablingtheradarfirmtoprovideahigh-performanceandcost-effectivesolution,whileovercomingsomechallengingproductionissues.

AGDSystemsistheUK’sleadingdesignerandmanufacturerofDopplerradarsolutionstosuppliersofroadsidevehicleactivatedsystems,usedtodetectthespeedofapproachingvehicles,whetherforspeedenforcementortomanagetrafficflow.EstablishedintheearlyNineties,AGDiscurrentlyexpandingitscustomerbaseoverseas,aidedbyitslatestinnovation,theAGD330.

Launchedin2008,theAGD330isthecompany’sfirstradardesignedtobehousedwithinthevehiclespeedactivatedsignunit–ratherthanmountedontheenclosure’sexterior-andwasdevelopedforoneparticularcustomer,althoughopportunitiesexistworldwideforthisnewtechnologysolution.Benefitsofincludinganinternalradarareavehicleactivatedsystemthatismorecompactwithaverythinprofile.

However,thisnewapproachbringsitsownchallenges,asIanHind,CommercialDirectorofAGDSystemsexplains,“Thedesignofthecustomer’ssystemmeansthatairneedstocirculateintheunitthroughavent,soitcannotbeguaranteedaswaterproofundertheinternationalIngressProtection(IP)code.Thereforetheimportanceofprovidingacompletelymoisture-repellentcoatingfortheradar’sintegralprintedcircuitboard(PCB)iskey.”

MartinSmith,QualityAssuranceManagerforAGDSystems,describestheprocessinvolved:“FollowingtheautomatedsmassemblyofthePCBanumberofcomponentsincludingconnectorsarehandsoldered.Theassemblyisfunctionallytestedatoursubcontractor’susinga‘bedofnails’techniquethatallowsprobestomakecontactwiththebackoftheboard.Thefunctionaltestinvolvesapplyingpowertothecircuitandtakingdiscretemeasurementstoensurethecorrectfunctionalityofthecircuitpriortothecoatingbeingapplied.Withtheboardcoatedfurtherhandsolderingofthescreeningcansisundertakentogetherwiththefinalproducttest.”

Initially,AGDselectedasilicon-spraycoating,whichresultedinaveryhardfinish.Thisdidprovidesomelimitations,asanumberofcomponentsneedtobeassembledandsolderedafterthesprayprocess.Thehardfinishmeantthataswewereunabletohandsolderthroughthesiliconspraycoatingmanyofthesolderpadsandconnectorpinshadtobemaskedoffduringthecoatingapplication.Thisistime-consuming,typicallyinvolving20minutesperPCBandsinceproductionbatchesmightinvolve500PCBs,thiswasclearlyfarfromideal.

“Also,anadditionalproblemcouldariseshouldproductcomebacktousforrepair,thesolidsiliconcoatingmeansthatitcannotbereworked,sothewholePCBwouldhavetobescrapped.”ThePCBisaconsiderablecostelement–around50%oftheradar’stotalproductioncost.

ThecompanybegantolookatalternativecoatingsandMartinSmithmadecontactwithAcota,withwhomMartinhadagoodhistoricworkingrelationship.“I’veknownSteveHenlyatAcotaformanyyearsandherecommendedlookingattheNovecsurfacemodifiercoatingfrom3M,whichIhadusedpreviouslyatacontractmanufacturingorganisation”

TheNovecrangeofsurfacemodifiercoatingsfrom3Maredesignedtoprovideeconomicandfastprotectionagainstmoistureandcorrosioninelectronicsmanufactureandassembly.TheNoveccoatingcanbeappliedanddriedinlesstimethantraditionalconformalcoatings:thelatestadditiontotherangedriesinaslittleassevenminutes,whichislessthanathirdofthetimeofalternatives.

AsfarasAGDSystemsisconcerned,thebiggestbenefitoftheNoveccoatingisthatiteliminatestheneedtomaskoffareasoftheboard,savingmuchofthetimeandcostassociatedwiththeproductionprocess.Thisisbecausethecoatingdriestoaverythin,invisiblelayerthatisjustonemicronthick.Whilethisprovidesallthemoisturerepellentpropertiesrequired,itstillallowsAGDtosolderandcarryoutprobeteststhroughthecoating.

BeforemakingtheswitchtoNovec,AGDconducteditsowndetailedtestingandthensentsamplestothecustomer.ThecoatingprocessitselfiscarriedoutbyAcotaandcomparedtotheprevioussiliconsprayapproach,hasseveralbenefits.NotonlyistheneedformaskingoffareasofthePCBeliminated,thereisnoneedforanadditionalheatcurestage.“AvoidingunnecessaryheatwithPCBsisalwayspreferable,”saysMartinSmith.“AcotasimplyputsthePCBsintoanimmersiontank,sotheycancoatlargebatchesinonestep.”

Asaresult,turnaroundofthewholecoatingprocessisnowjustacoupleofdaysasopposedtothepreviouscoupleofweekstypicallyrequiredandAGDhasbeenabletoseesometangiblefinancialbenefits.IanHindsays,“Wehavebeenabletosavearound5%oftheproductioncostofeachradarbyswitchingtotheNoveccoating.Wecanalsodeliverourradarstocustomersmorequicklyandatacompetitiveprice,whichenablesustohaveabettermarketedge.”

AlsoimportanttoAGDaretheenvironmentalbenefitsofusingNoveccoatings,whicharebasedonhydrofluroether(HFE)technology.HFEsaredesignedtoreducetheimpactontheenvironmentandconformwithlegislation.Novecsurfacemodifiercoatingsarezero-ozonedepletingandhavehighoccupationalexposurelimitsof200partspermillion(PPM).

SaysMartinSmith,“Withthesiliconspraywewereusingpreviously,excessspraygoesintotheatmosphere,whereasthe3Msystemisclosed:thematerialisrefrigeratedinatank,intowhichourPCBsareplaced.AsAGDhasrecentlyattainedISO14001–theenvironmentalstandard–thisisimportanttousandalsotoourcustomers,manyofwhomincludelocalauthoritieswhoareincreasinglylookingfortheirsupplierstoreducetheirenvironmentalimpact.”

Lookingahead,thereareotherpotentialbenefits.“Ifweneedtocarryoutre-workonthePCBinthefuture,theNoveccoatingallowsustodothat,sowewillnolongerhavetothrowawayPCBsthatneedrepairingorupdating.”

Ofcourse,whatreallymattersiswhetherAGDSystems’customersarehappywiththeendresult.IanHindreports,“Themaincustomerwedesignedthisproductforisdelightedwiththeperformanceofthenewradarandthelongevityprovidedinthenewcoating.Bytheendofsummer2009,wehadprovidedupwardsof1000unitstotheVASsignmarketintheUK.Wearealsotalking

topotentialbuyersinothercountries.AlthoughtheradarisnotIPrated,thecoatingmeanswecangiveourcustomersthelongevityandperformancerequired.”

------ If you would like to know if 3M Novec coatings are suitable for your application, please contact Acota on +44 (0)1743 466200 or at support@acota.co.uk