EMI/RFI COATINGS
The development of a patented, water based, sprayed-on shielding material which does not flake and is easily strippable, has been announced by Egyptian Coatings. Bill McLeod, the company's Marketing Manager, said "Electroless plating, despite its high cost, has historically been preferred over sprayed-on shielding because of its reliability." He continued by noting that copper particles, suspended in copper based shielding, have been suspected of coming loose and interfering with the electronics. "However," McLeod said, "Egyptian Coatings has developed an EMI/RFI coating that is exceptionally smooth and hard, and it is not subject to flaking." Another advantage of the Egyptian Coatings' method over plated plastics is the ease with which it can be removed. Plated plastics cannot be stripped and thus cannot be recycled as required by European (EU) directives. Eventually, this directive may result in the elimination of the overseas market for plated plastics. Nationally, EPA guidelines have made it very expensive for plating operations to dispose of their heavy metal plating residues. However, this is not a problem with the Egyptian Coatings' manufactured product. A water based, low VOC coating, this coating is environmentally safe and easily disposed of. "In addition to the quality considerations, our product completely overshadows the plating method in terms of availability and cost effectiveness," said McLeod. He continued by saying, "Because of the problems with EU acceptance and EPA compliance, the number of plating sources is rapidly diminishing. Plus it takes just a small amount of our sprayed-on coating to do an effective job, making the per part cost low and cost effective."

For more information, contact Bill McLeod, Egyptian Coatings, 555 Sagamore Pkwy. South, P.O. Box 4449, Lafayette, IN 47903-4449, 765-447-2136, FAX 765-447-0249.