Reducing energy usage and emissions via a regenerative, dry-filtration method that separates wet paint overspray from spray booth process air. 12 May 2010
Cold spray is one of the many names for describing a solid-state coating process that uses a high-speed gas jet to accelerate powder particles toward a substrate whereby metal particles plastically deform and consolidate upon impact. The term “cold spray” refers to the relatively low process temperature involved—which is typically much lower than the melting point of the spray material. 08 January 2010
Powder coatings need to be stored under controlled environmental conditions to avoid deterioration or “thermal aging.” In particular, temperatures exceeding typical manufacturer-recommended storage conditions of 25°C (77°F) must be avoided, as significantly exceeding these temperatures for just a few days can lead to permanent damage of the product. 09 October 2009
Ron Joseph, Metal Finishing's organic coatings editor, delves into the tricky situations regarding pretreatment, painting of steel, and phosphate, among other related issues. 29 September 2009
Responsibility for spray finishing equipment is an ongoing task. Many end users only address the issue of maintenance when the spray equipment fails to operate. As the old adage goes, “time is money.” The wise person would agree that it would be prudent to invest some time and effort into their spray finishing operation to ensure that it is properly maintained. In some cases that is easier said than done. Because the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, my goal is to demonstrate how that task can begin with basic and sound procedures. 15 September 2009
Bernie Tucker, owner of Tucker Industrial Liquid Coatings, saw a niche opportunity—and he seized it. 01 September 2009
Improving transfer efficiency is a hot topic that is only getting hotter. First-pass efficiency has long been a top priority for those powder coating operations trying to maximize their profits and produce better parts. But with today’s soaring energy costs and the increased awareness of the environmental impact of wasted energy, the idea of generating greenhouse gases solely to spray powder that falls on the spray booth floor is less acceptable than ever. 31 August 2009
Metal Finishing magazine recently caught up with Steve Houston, executive director of the Powder Coating Insitute, to get his take on the state of the powder coating industry. Read excerpts from the discussion. 04 December 2008
Environmental regulations regarding surface coating operations have existed since the 1970s. The early years of surface coating regulations primarily consisted of federal New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and state and local agency standards. These standards typically restricted the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in a coating (e.g., pounds of VOC per gallon of coating) and often prescribed add-on air pollution control technology requirements (e.g., thermal oxidizers) to reduce VOC emissions. 24 October 2008
Professional Plating could dazzle you dizzy with its deep range of finishing services—rack zinc plating, barrel zinc plating, acrylic e-coating, epoxy e-coating, custom powder coating, and specialty ceramic coatings, to name a few. But it’s not just about diversity for diversity’s sake. The real hook, company principals note, is doing all of these things on a level of quality that’s repeatable and consistent—every time. 15 October 2007
Alan Ensign, vice president and general manager of Wyandotte, Mich.–based Cadon Plating & Coatings, is no stranger to trying times. When the company abandoned the commodity-driven rack plating business years ago, revenues took a 30% hit. Then in in 1994, government regs forced its exodus from the cadmium plating market and, much later, the olive-drab business. As a result of that move, 25% of sales vaporized—just like that. If those setbacks weren’t enough, the company lost once-steady business when the U-bolt suppliers for several major auto suppliers installed their own paint lines, essentially cutting out Cadon completely. 15 May 2007
There are many reasons why coatings fail. Generally speaking, the problem often lies at the interface. Often, failure can be related to an extended aging process, such as thermal, photolytic, or hydrolytic degradation. These types of failures are due to the service environment and the ability of the coating or adhesive, for that matter, to resist it. 15 February 2007
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