How do you calculate conformal coating cost per assembly?

Multiply the number of assemblies by the variable material cost per board, add masking/coating labor and cure/inspection overhead, then divide by the assembly count. With 900 assemblies at $1.35 each plus $420 labor and $210 overhead, total is $1,845 and per-assembly cost is $2.05.

Why is conformal coating labor often higher than the coating material?

Masking connectors, test points, and keep-out areas with tape or boots, then de-masking and inspecting under UV, is hand-intensive. In this example $630 of fixed labor/overhead exceeds the $1,215 of material only because volume is high; at low volume the masking dominates per-board cost.

What is a good conformal coating cost per assembly?

Selective spray of simple boards often lands $0.50-$3.00 per assembly fully loaded; heavily masked boards or parylene can exceed $10-$20. The $2.05 result here is typical for a moderately masked acrylic spray job at volume.

Selective coating vs. manual spray: which is cheaper?

Manual spray has near-zero capital but high masking labor; selective coating raises overhead (programming, machine time) yet slashes masking. Re-run this calculator with selective's lower labor and higher overhead to find the crossover volume.

Does this include the cost of rework or re-coat?

No. The overhead field can absorb an expected scrap allowance, but a chronic re-coat rate should be added explicitly to the cure/inspection/overhead input so the per-assembly number reflects reality.

How do I account for parylene coating?

Parylene is a batch CVD process, so put the chamber run and material cost in the cure/overhead field rather than per-assembly material, and set variable material near zero. The per-assembly cost then tracks batch size.

Electronics Manufacturing calculator

Conformal Coating Cost Calculator

Conformal coating cost is the fully loaded price of protecting a PCB assembly with an acrylic, urethane, silicone, or parylene film against moisture, dust, and chemical attack. Process engineers and quoting estimators at EMS providers use it to price coating as a value-added line item and to compare selective-spray, dip, and manual brush methods. Because masking and inspection labor often dwarfs the actual material spend, breaking the cost into variable and fixed buckets is what keeps a quote honest. This calculator splits material per board from the masking, cure, and AOI overhead so you can see the real per-assembly burden.

What this calculator does

Estimate conformal coating cost from coated assemblies, variable coating cost, labor/setup cost, and overhead.
an estimator is adding conformal coating to a PCB assembly quote
It computes the total conformal coating cost for a job and the resulting cost per assembly by adding variable material spend to labor and cure/overhead.

Formula used

Total conformal coating cost = assemblies to conformal coat × variable coating material cost + labor/setup + overhead
Conformal coating cost per assembly = total conformal coating cost ÷ assemblies to conformal coat

Inputs explained

Assemblies to conformal coat:
Variable coating material cost:
Masking and coating labor cost:
Cure, inspection, and overhead cost:

How to use the result

Use it when quoting a coating line item, comparing selective vs. manual coating, or deciding whether a coating volume justifies an automated selective-coat cell.
It assumes a single coating chemistry and a flat overhead bucket; reflow-sensitive parylene runs or multi-coat builds need their own material and cure entries.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for copper and brass mill shapes stands at 559.593 (BLS, May 2026), up 76.8% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move. Global copper trades at $13,484 per tonne (IMF via FRED, May 2026).
The U.S. has 11,261 computer and electronic products establishments employing about 815,443 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

How do you calculate conformal coating cost per assembly? Multiply the number of assemblies by the variable material cost per board, add masking/coating labor and cure/inspection overhead, then divide by the assembly count. With 900 assemblies at $1.35 each plus $420 labor and $210 overhead, total is $1,845 and per-assembly cost is $2.05.
Why is conformal coating labor often higher than the coating material? Masking connectors, test points, and keep-out areas with tape or boots, then de-masking and inspecting under UV, is hand-intensive. In this example $630 of fixed labor/overhead exceeds the $1,215 of material only because volume is high; at low volume the masking dominates per-board cost.
What is a good conformal coating cost per assembly? Selective spray of simple boards often lands $0.50-$3.00 per assembly fully loaded; heavily masked boards or parylene can exceed $10-$20. The $2.05 result here is typical for a moderately masked acrylic spray job at volume.
Selective coating vs. manual spray: which is cheaper? Manual spray has near-zero capital but high masking labor; selective coating raises overhead (programming, machine time) yet slashes masking. Re-run this calculator with selective's lower labor and higher overhead to find the crossover volume.
Does this include the cost of rework or re-coat? No. The overhead field can absorb an expected scrap allowance, but a chronic re-coat rate should be added explicitly to the cure/inspection/overhead input so the per-assembly number reflects reality.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.