Issue link: https://resources.pcb.cadence.com/i/1541046
40. Designing for Reliability in Harsh Mechanical, Thermal, and Environmental Conditions Electronics in automotive, industrial, aerospace, and outdoor environments are exposed to temperature extremes, humidity, vibration, shock, chemical contaminants, and UV or salt spray. Designs that ignore these realities suffer early failures: cracked solder joints, corroded traces, delaminated boards, or drifting analog performance. Building reliability into your PCB from the ground up ensures consistent operation, long service life, and compliance with industry standards such as IPC-6012 Class 3, IEC 60068, or AEC-Q100. When And Where To Apply Consider environmental reliability from the very start, at component selection, schematic design, stackup definition, and all the way through to layout, assembly, and manufacturing documentation. This is mandatory for any product used outside climate-controlled environments, exposed to mechanical stress, or subject to regulatory compliance. Conformal coating is a process of coating your PCBA with a thin polymer film to protect components from dust, moisture, and chemicals. The coating can be applied in a variety of ways, including brushing, spraying, and dipping, and the chemical used can range from acrylics to silicones and parylene.