The oil and gas sector is usually seen as one of large-scale engineering and infrastructure. Yet behind the facades of colossal rigs, refineries and terminals, there is a multitude of intricate electronic systems. These constantly detect, measure and transmit signals that are critical for safety and keeping processes running.
Electronic devices and systems populate drilling rigs, well heads, transportation, storage, refining and distribution facilities. They are integral components of numerous safety-critical systems including thermal cameras (and associated automated alert systems), and systems that measure gas composition, temperature, pressure, flow rates and vibration.
Consequences of a malfunction are expensive if facilities have to be shut down even for short periods while repairs are carried out. In extreme cases, equipment failures could be potentially catastrophic.
Electronics for the oil and gas industry must be designed and tested without compromise to withstand pretty much the entire range of hostile environmental factors, including extreme temperatures, solvents, moisture, salt water and vibration.
Manufacturing Methods
For a manufacturer of electronics assemblies, the low production volumes and high-reliability expectations of the oil and gas sector heavily influence the choice of manufacturing methods. High-precision selective soldering is often deployed, supported by automated high-definition X-ray inspection.
Conformal coatings are often needed to guarantee the level of long-term in-service reliability demanded. These inert coatings provide a thin layer of protection to all or part of the PCB and to sensitive components in particular.
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Traceability
The oil and gas sector is one where total component traceability is essential. This literally means being able to trace every single component from equipment being used in service, right back to the batch and supplier.
Traceability ensures that only high quality, compliant components from trusted and verified supply chain partners enter production, and that suspect batches can be quickly excluded from production or traced in service.
If you’re interested in learning more about modern electronics manufacturing for high-reliability markets access our free resource centre to find out more.
