To ensure the reliability of these sensitive electronic modules, even in the harshest environments, a coating is applied to the assembled circuit boards and then cured in a special drying facility. This coating protects the sensitive electronic components from damage caused by corrosion or other environmental influences such as humidity, chemicals, or dust.
Rehm Thermal Systems offers drying and curing processes for this application that meet any requirement. The latest development is a vertical drying system, which offers maximum performance in a minimal footprint.
The Alteco vertical dryer from Rehm is extremely compact and space-saving thanks to its design. Thanks to its vertical transport system, the Alteco replaces a comparable 40-meter-long horizontal oven with a system only 4 meters long.
Two conveyor options are available for the Alteco vertical dryer. First, a fixed-width conveyor where the 
circulating product carriers are positioned in a fixed location. Second, a flexible-width conveyor where the circulating product carrier automatically adjusts to the size of the corresponding PCB. This allows multiple paint lines to feed different products to the Alteco, with a mix of PCBs of varying widths. It is specifically designed for drying flat modules with a maximum height of 50 mm.
A key consideration for manufacturers of highly complex electronic components is the flexibility of their equipment. The Rehm vertical drying system enables flexible, high-performance drying and curing processes for all protective coatings and cast compounds that can be cured using convection heat. At the oven inlet, the PCBs are loaded onto product carriers. These carriers move vertically through the drying process and are stacked on top of each other during curing. The drying process takes place in two process towers, each divided into multiple heating zones. The segmented, downdraft cooling section ensures gentle and uniform cooling of the assemblies for subsequent production steps.
