Consumer Electronics — Field Failure Reduction
Client Context
A consumer electronics manufacturer producing high-volume smartphones and connected devices was experiencing unacceptable field failure return rates driven by moisture ingress and corrosion. Existing liquid conformal coatings required extensive masking, created rework complications, and were not meeting reliability targets in real-world user environments.
The Challenge
The manufacturer needed a protection solution that could be integrated into an existing high-speed assembly line without capital expenditure, reduce field failures at scale, and support product reworkability — while meeting tightening environmental compliance requirements around PFAS and solvent use.
The Outcome
Following qualification of P2i's Splash-Proof plasma coating across the production line, the manufacturer achieved a 90%+ reduction in field failure returns. The coating was applied at end-of-line with no hardware change, no masking requirement for standard geometries, and full reworkability maintained. No change to audio or sensor performance was recorded across the device portfolio.
Consumer electronics face a protection problem that gets harder as devices get smaller. Thinner enclosures, denser PCBA layouts, and shrinking tolerances leave less room for traditional protection methods — and more surface area exposed to the environments users actually put their devices in.
This manufacturer had qualified multiple liquid conformal coating approaches before engaging P2i. Each required masking of connectors and test points, introduced rework complexity, and delivered inconsistent coverage at production speed. Field failure return rates remained above acceptable thresholds despite repeated process adjustments.
P2i's engineering team reviewed the device's Qualification Test Plan and production line configuration before recommending Splash-Proof plasma coating as the protection path. The dry, room-temperature PECVD process required no new capital equipment, integrated directly into the existing end-of-line assembly flow, and eliminated the masking steps that had been driving scrap and rework cost.
Qualification was completed to the manufacturer's internal reliability standard. The coating passed all required humidity cycling, corrosion, and mechanical stress tests. Production deployment followed without line reconfiguration.
Post-deployment monitoring across the production population confirmed a 90%+ reduction in moisture-related field failure returns — a result that translated directly into lower warranty costs, fewer service interventions, and stronger end-user reliability perception.
The same coating process has since been deployed across additional device lines at the same facility.
