ABchimie PCBA Protection

22/09/2026

🗺️ How Many Countries Does ABchimie Actually Export To?
👇 Curious who represents ABchimie near you? Check the comments for the full distributor map....
...Summer's over, the classroom's back in session — so let's test your knowledge. This time, the subject is geography, and the topic is ABchimie's own footprint around the world. It started small. ABchimie's very first conformal coating export was the AVR80, shipped to Hungary. From there, it didn't take long to reach most of Europe.

Fast forward to today, and the map looks very different:
🔘 50+ countries now receive ABchimie products.
🔘 A major share of that footprint is in Asia, home to a large part of global electronics manufacturing.
🔘 That reach isn't accidental — it's built on a network of distributors and partners working close to where industrial teams actually need them.

Going from one country to fifty doesn't happen by shipping further. It happens by having the right people on the ground, everywhere production is happening.

15/09/2026

Is Your Conformal Coating Actually Working? Here's How to Verify It.

Conformal coating protects a PCB assembly from moisture, salt spray, dust, fungus, and corrosion — the slow damage that adds up fast in outdoor or harsh operating environments. It also shields against rough handling, reduces mechanical and thermal stress, and extends the product's operational life.

But here's the catch: applying the coating is only half the job. A coating that looks fine to the naked eye can still have pinholes, thin spots, or gaps around components — and you won't know until the assembly fails in the field.
That's where UV inspection comes in. Most conformal coatings contain a UV-reactive additive, so under the right light, coverage either fluoresces clearly — or it doesn't.

What to check when inspecting conformal coating:
🔘 Full coverage — confirm the coating reaches every intended area, including tight spots around components and connectors
🔘 No unintended coverage — verify keep-out zones (connectors, test points, mounting holes) are actually clear
🔘 Uniform thickness — look for thin spots or pooling that can signal inconsistent application
🔘 No visible defects — check for bubbles, cracks, or contamination trapped under the coating

Catching these issues at inspection is far cheaper than catching them after deployment.

👇 Full video walkthrough in the comments — see exactly what to look for and how to catch defects before they become field failures.

08/09/2026

----THERMAL MANAGEMENT (GELS AND GAP-FILLING ELASTOMERS) ----
Rigid thermal interface materials transfer heat well — until the assembly around them starts moving.

Here's the problem: vibration, CTE mismatch between dissimilar materials, and repeated thermal cycling all put load on the bond line between a component and its heatsink. A stiff, high-conductivity filler can lose intimate contact over time. And once contact is lost, interface resistance climbs — no matter what the bulk conductivity number says on the datasheet.

That's the trade-off gap-filling elastomers exist to manage: enough mechanical compliance to absorb movement, without giving up too much heat transfer.
Two ABchimie products built around that balance:

🔘Thermosink 35-5 — a soft elastomer that absorbs mechanical stress while still delivering thermal conductivity up to 3.5 W/m·K.

🔘TCG 200 — a one- or two-component thermally conductive gel that adds up to 10 kV/mm of electrical insulation alongside 2 W/m·K conductivity. Useful anywhere a gap filler also needs to keep live components isolated — which is why it shows up in automotive, telecom, battery, and optoelectronic assemblies.

Neither number means much in isolation. What makes a gap filler work in a real design is how conductivity, compliance, and (where needed) dielectric strength perform together at the interface.

For engineers dealing with vibration, thermal cycling, or tight electrical clearances at the same joint: where does the compliance-versus-conductivity trade-off actually bite in your designs?

Contact us today for more information: [email protected]

02/09/2026

----THERMAL MANAGEMENT (THERMAL CONDUCTIVE PADS) ----
Most thermal interface conversations start and end with one number: W/m·K.
But a thermal pad is actually solving two problems at once, in the spot on the board where you often have the least control:
🔘 The gap — component height varies, enclosures aren't perfectly flat, assemblies drift batch to batch. Whatever fills that gap has to conform to it.
🔘 The voltage — in converters, LED drivers, and telecom/5G power stages, that gap often sits right next to a live conductor. The material moving heat out also has to keep electricity in.

That's the real job description for a gap pad. It's why compressibility and dielectric strength matter just as much as conductivity — a spec most datasheets bury below the W/m·K headline.

ABchimie's CP200/400/600 pads are built around that combination:
🔘 2–6 W/m·K thermal conductivity
🔘 ≥10 kV/mm electrical insulation
🔘 Flexible, compressible silicone construction
🔘 Available up to 20 mm thick, with custom cuts

Result: the pad adapts to the gap, instead of requiring the gap to be perfect. That's what makes them relevant for LED, converter, medical, telecom, and 5G designs — applications where compact layouts and isolation requirements tend to collide.

Worth remembering next time you're comparing thermal materials on a datasheet: conductivity tells you how well heat moves through the material. It doesn't tell you whether the material will make good, safe contact in your specific gap.

So — where does your design run into this trade-off more: filling the gap, or holding the isolation? Drop your experience below.

For the full spec range for CP200/400/600 access here: https://lnkd.in/e_GXkTGW

01/09/2026

Thermal conductivity (W/m·K) is the number every thermal paste is marketed on. It's also the number that tells you the least about real-world performance.

A high W/m·K rating doesn't tell you:
🔘 How thin and even the paste layer will be once applied
🔘 How it performs at your actual operating temperature
🔘 Whether it stays put after years of heating and cooling
🔘 Whether it can be applied consistently on a production line

Two pastes with the same conductivity number can still leave your components running at different temperatures. That's why ABchimie built the PET 30/50/70/90 range instead of one "highest number wins" product.

It's a family of silicone thermal pastes from 1–4 W/m·K, so you can match the paste to the job:
🔘 CPUs
🔘 IGBTs
🔘 Power modules
🔘 Batteries

Each of these has different needs — and more conductivity isn't always better.
The whole range is also UL94 V0 rated, low in volatility, and available in syringe or jar format. Small details, but they matter just as much as the headline number.

Now we want to hear from you 👇
When you're evaluating a thermal paste, what's the first thing you check beyond the W/m·K number — bond line thickness, viscosity, pump-out resistance, something else? Drop your go-to metric in the comments — curious to see what the engineers here rely on.

More information > https://lnkd.in/e_GXkTGW

06/08/2026

Clean boards last longer.
After soldering, flux residues and other contaminants left on a PCBA aren't just cosmetic — they cause corrosion, electrical leakage, and solder micro balls that lead to short circuits and intermittent failures down the line.

ABchimie's cleaning range — solvents and detergents — is built specifically for PCBA and stencil screen cleaning, meeting international military cleanliness standards (1.54 mg NaCl/cm²) and compatible with most plastics used in electronics. Proper cleaning also improves conformal coating adhesion — critical for long-term reliability in demanding environments.

Aqueous or solvent-based? It depends on your substrate, contamination type, equipment, volume, and environmental policy. Our application engineers can help you choose the right fit.

And when it's time to rework or repair a board, removing that coating without damaging what's underneath matters just as much.
🎥 Watch how it's done: https://lnkd.in/eFqcZf_F

Conformal coatings are thin, polymeric films that conform to the co...

28/07/2026

A new chapter for ABchimie

After 22 years leading ABchimie, founder Jean-Pierre Douchy has stepped down as General Director. Thank you, Jean-Pierre, for your vision and leadership — we wish you every success ahead.

ABchimie continues to grow within the Chase Corporation group under new leadership:
Emmanuel Anglade, Managing Director of Chase Corporation France, now also leads ABchimie, bringing deep expertise in electronics protection and the HumiSeal® brand.

Vincent Lacombe, an engineer with an Executive MBA (emlyon) and 20+ years in industrial site management, has joined as Plant Manager. Working alongside Emmanuel, he'll focus on:
✔ daily manufacturing operations
✔ product quality and customer service
✔ growth and production capacity
✔ continuous operational improvement

This new structure builds on what's made ABchimie strong: technical expertise, close customer relationships, and a commitment to quality. Our teams remain fully dedicated to our customers and partners.

🤝 Thank you to everyone writing ABchimie's next chapter.

17/07/2026

Why has AVR80 BA become the reference for PCB protection?
Humidity, salt spray, atmospheric pollutants, thermal cycling, vibration — operating conditions for electronic boards keep getting harsher. In industrial, rail, automotive and defence applications, PCB reliability comes down to one thing: the quality of the conformal coating protecting it.

For years, AVR80 BA has been the standard electronics manufacturers turn to.
What makes it stand out:
✔ Excellent dielectric performance
✔ Operating range from −65°C to +150°C
✔ Easy reworkability
✔ UL94 V0 qualified
✔ Compliant with IPC-CC-830 and MIL-I-46058C
✔ Field-proven in industrial, rail and military applications

We've published a full article on this acrylic conformal coating — read it to see why AVR80 BA remains the benchmark for PCB protection.

🇬🇧 Read the article: https://lnkd.in/e6U2TM7P

🇫🇷 Lire l'article : https://lnkd.in/ew-bxy3T

15/07/2026

🎆 Bonne fête nationale 🇫🇷

Que cette journée soit placée sous le signe du respect, du partage et de la convivialité…
🤞Nous espérons qu’elle portera chance à nos Bleus ce soir ⚽

Quoi qu’il arrive, que les meilleurs gagnent. Cette Coupe du monde doit avant tout rester une fête.

10/07/2026

----- RTV 1 or RTV 2: HOW TO CHOOSE? ------
Not all RTV silicones are designed for the same applications. Whether you need to protect, bond, or encapsulate an electronic assembly, choosing between a one-component (RTV1) or two-component (RTV2) is a critical decision.

🔹 RTV1 – One-somponent silicone: simplicity and ease of use
RTV1 silicones cure upon exposure to ambient moisture. They are particularly suitable for:
✔️ Component bonding
✔️ Enclosure sealing
✔️ Local protection of sensitive areas
✔️ Applications requiring straightforward processing
Their main advantage? Ready to use straight from the cartridge — no mixing required.

🔹 RTV2 – Two-component silicone: for the most demanding applications
RTV2 silicones cure through a chemical reaction between the base and the catalyst, enabling uniform through-cure even at high thicknesses. They are preferred when the application requires:
✔️ Full encapsulation
✔️ Uniform cure at high thicknesses
✔️ Enhanced mechanical protection
✔️ Greater resistance to environmental stress

A simple rule of thumb:
➡️ For bonding and sealing → RTV1 is usually the simplest solution.
➡️ For potting, encapsulation, or high-thickness applications → RTV2 is generally the better choice.

The right solution always depends on the actual requirements and operating conditions of your electronic application.

More Information: https://abchimie.com/rtv-silicone/

ABchimie’s RTV Silicone Momentive Performance Materials offers a versatile range of RTV (room-temperature vulcanizing) silicone products designed to meet the demanding requirements of electronic assemblies. Choosing the right RTV silicone for your application depends on several key factors, such a...