Architectural & Industrial Metal Finishing Co., LLC (A&I) in Vermillion, OH, is busy adding on to its facility, oblivious to a generally slowing local manufacturing economy. “We are doing great,” says Chris Morris the firm’s owner and president. “We are even getting business sent to us by competitors.” What’s the secret to this custom coating firm’s success?
The primary cooling method for most HVOF thermal spray operations is forced air cooling using compressed air jets. However, the oxygen, residual moisture and hydrocarbons in the cooling air are often detrimental to the coating quality. Because air cooling alone is usually insufficient, interpass cooling breaks must be introduced into the process, which reduces productivity. In addition, when the spray gun is moved away from the part during these cooling breaks, it continues firing, resulting in wasted feed powder and process gases. A new nitrogen cooling technology overcomes these problems, thereby improving HVOF coating quality and reducing costs.
There is a demand for nozzle extensions for coating areas that are difficult to reach, such as grooves, hollow profiles and the inner surfaces of pipes. A new modular spraying system can make it possible to achieve optimum and reproducible coating results even in problematic areas.
When the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) implemented stringent permissible exposure limits for hexavalent chromium in early 2006, the goals seemed impossible. Achieving the same or higher levels of performance with chrome-free technologies, particularly in the aerospace industry, simply didn’t appear feasible. The hurdles were too great. The costs were too high. The finishing industry collectively groaned, “We can’t.” OSHA set the bar and said, “Try it.” And guess what - we’ve come a long way.
Adding flue gas desulfurization units (FGDs) to clean or “scrub” the exhaust gases can reduce SO2 emissions by as much as 98%. As a result, more than 300 FGD systems are expected to be built in the U.S. by the year 2010. However, the environment in which these systems operate is extremely harsh. With each FGD unit costing several hundred million dollars, use of the right linings and coatings, as well as high-quality application processes, is crucial to optimizing a plant’s investment.
Interthane 990 UHS from International Paint LLC, an Akzo Nobel company, is a new low-VOC polyurethane technology that contains additives to help prevent the growth of mildew on the surface of exposed coated steelwork. The high-performance, two-component white acrylic polyurethane was specially designed as a solution for the booming petrochemical ethanol market.
Webb Abrasives, a provider of advanced sanding technology, has partnered with Joest, a German manufacturer of abrasive sanding discs. The first product to be released through this partnership is the Joest Superpad P, which is perforated across its entire surface.
Interthane 990 UHS from International Paint LLC, an Akzo Nobel company, is a new low-VOC polyurethane technology that contains additives to help prevent the growth of mildew on the surface of exposed coated steelwork.
VESTOSINT® is a new polyamide 12 coating powder from Essen, Germany-based Evonik Industries. The black powder for electrostatic application processes can be applied with commercially available tribo and corona spray guns at relatively low coating film thicknesses, down to 40 µm.
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