Matrix Metrologies, Inc.: This company has introduced a new line of micro-beam XRF tools for compliance testing and monitoring of prohibitive metals for the European Union directives RoHS/WEEE.

According to a recent report from BASF, car buyers who want to stay up-to-date when choosing the color of their cars in the next few years will opt for striking, mixed colors that defy the definition of classic aesthetics. New trend-setting colors will no longer fit traditional descriptions like green, blue or gray, but will instead require names that reflect exotic combinations of colors and effects, such as "petrel-gray" or "greige" (a combination or gray and beige).

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a powerful quantitative and qualitative tool ideally suited to analyzing film thickness and composition, determining elemental concentration by weight of solids and solutions, and identifying specific and trace elements in complex sample matrices. XRF analysis is used extensively in almost all industries, including metal finishing and refining, semiconductors, telecommunications and microelectronics, food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agriculture, plastics, rubbers, textiles, fuels, chemicals, and environmental fields. The wide deployment of XRF analysis tools in industry is the result of XRF's ability to perform noncontact, nondestructive tests with speed and precision, combined with a low cost of ownership compared to other measurement techniques.

Nearly all electrocoat (e-coat) ultrafiltration systems being installed today use spiral-wound membranes, since these membranes provide the lowest capital and operating costs compared to other types. However, most conventional spiral-wound membranes - including tailed, brine seal, and flanged spiral configurations - have a significant drawback. In each case, the membrane element is separate from the housing. As a result, the membrane must be fitted into the housing during installation and then removed from the housing after use.

Dispersion chemistry for scrubbing paint particulate emissions was originally developed by Nalco in the late 1980s and gained increased exposure when it was marketed by Phillips Service Corp. (PSC) in the mid 1990s. The chemistry provided outstanding performance compared to conventional "de-tack" programs in maintaining system cleanliness, increasing production uptime and substantially reducing system cleaning costs, and it appeared to be ideally suited for use in high production automotive assembly plants. Unfortunately, when the chemistry was used with conventional venturi scrubbers, portions of the oily dispersion/paint mixture were discharged from the exhaust stacks, requiring the use of additional (and often expensive) filtration equipment.

Ultraviolet (UV) powder coatings combine the advantages of thermosetting powder coatings with those of liquid ultraviolet cure coating technologies. The difference between standard and UV powder coatings is that in UV systems, melting and curing are separated into two distinct processes. Upon exposure to heat, UV curable powder coating particles melt and flow into a homogeneous film that is cured only when it is exposed to UV light. The most popular curing mechanism used for this technology is the free-radical process, in which UV light activates photoinitiators in the molten film to form free radicals that initiate a polymerization reaction involving resin double bonds. The final coating appearance and performance depends on the selection of resin systems, photoinitiators, pigments, fillers and additives, as well as on the powder coating process conditions and curing parameters.

The Pacific Northwest is noted for its pristine and clean environment, which has attracted a major influx of new residents and subsequent industrial finishing business growth to the region. To maintain clean air standards, many industrial finishers and spray coaters have expanded their operations while achieving cost-effective air quality compliance of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions with dual-chamber regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) technology.

Command Tooling Systems, based in Ramsey, MN, manufactures tooling solutions such as holding and boring systems and accessories for precision machining operations. More than a third of the company's toolholders require black oxide finishing, and outsourcing this function added three days to its manufacturing time.

With natural gas costs increasing to a recent average of about $8.75 per 1,000 cubic feet ($0.875 per therm), finishers are looking for ways to reduce energy consumption and operating costs. The curing oven is one of the first places to start.

When Roy Krohn sought to develop an ultraviolet (UV) curable conductive ink, he knew that he was ahead of his time. He just didn't know how far. Today the founder of Allied PhotoChemical, Inc. is starting to truly grasp just how much the entire UV industry has evolved since the company's founding in 1996.