Abstract
Three cost studies are presented that supported decisions by commercial manufacturers to change to Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor (VCI) packaging from traditional methods: oil coatings, and desiccant in barrier packaging. These legacy methods are still common in military applications where these cost models may be useful references. The studies show cost reductions of 35% to over 50% for cases of long-term storage and ocean shipment of mechanical, electrical and electronic equipment. Two of the studies supported decisions to replace oil corrosion prevention coatings on inter-plant ocean shipments of “Completely Knocked Down” (CKD) ferrous vehicle engine components. These two cases represent the broad trend that drove rapid company conversions in methods for worldwide shipments from “wet” (oiled) to “dry” parts and subassemblies protected with VCI packaging. The third cost analysis supported a specification decision to ship container loads of electronic control cabinets and other electromechanical modules for a turnkey factory. Packaging used VCI film combined with VCI vapor capsules rather than desiccants placed in three-layer barrier packaging (MIL-B-131H Type 1 Class 1). Other critical decision factors included improved corrosion protection, process yields, quality and reliability, logistics, environmental compliance, enhanced workplace health and safety.
