For the second time in a row a Dürr product has won the Automotive News PACE Award. The EcoInCure is designed to cure complex car bodies with superior paint quality faster and more efficiently than conventional ovens. Designed to exceed the needs of drying both traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and electric vehicles (EVs), the oven addresses customer requirements such as topcoat paint quality and improved overall curing performance.

"We are very excited that our technology has been recognized as a cutting-edge innovation that shapes the automotive industry," says Mark Murray, director of sales and marketing, Dürr in North America. “Dürr’s EcoInCure stands for a new generation of car body curing. It not only ensures the best surface quality but is also by far the most sustainable oven system on the market thanks to the oven design and potential use of renewable electricity.”

EcoInCure changes the production approach from line-oriented production to flexible and modular production with scalability. It is an optimized solution for curing all vehicles, especially electric vehicles, within the required process time and meets specific treatment times for paint curing, adhesive curing, steel and aluminum treatment. Avoiding high air velocity on the freshly painted surface provides significant reduction in paint waviness in long and short waves. This advancement improves paint surface quality by 50%. Because of the cross transport of the car bodies, the oven length can be reduced by almost half. The number of connecting conveyors is reduced, resulting in a smaller overall footprint and a reduction in building footprint (at least 5%).

With the electrically heated EcoInCure oven, energy savings of 50% can be achieved compared to a conventional gas-fired oven. With a zero-carbon footprint using renewable electricity, it is a sustainable oven. The Dürr technology is already being used in various plants around the world, the company says.

The 29th annual PACE Awards were presented by Automotive News. The competition was open to suppliers that contribute products, processes, materials, or services directly to the manufacture of cars or trucks. The Automotive News PACE Award is accepted as the industry benchmark for innovation.

Leveraging modern cleaning fluids for vapor degreasers, MicroCare’s line of Tergo Performance Fluids enables the batch cleaning of multiple parts, ensuring optimal efficiency and performance, the company says.

Considering 3M's impending discontinuation of Novec solvents by 2025, Tergo fluids emerge as the go-to solution, offering uninterrupted operations for industries currently relying on Novec products. MicroCare stands ready to facilitate a smooth transition, providing rigorously tested replacements for various Novec formulations.

“Our mission at MicroCare is to provide reliable and efficient solutions to meet the evolving needs of industries worldwide," says David Ferguson, Sr. market and technical manager at MicroCare. "With the discontinuation of 3M Novec solvents looming, our team is dedicated to ensuring a seamless transition for our clients. Tergo Performance Fluids offer comparable, if not enhanced, cleaning performance, ensuring optimal results while safeguarding delicate materials.”

These solvents offer safe and sustainable alternatives, characterized by low global warming potentials (GWPs), low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and zero ozone depletion potentials (ODPs). These non-water-based solvents ensure chemical stability and enhanced safety during usage and storage, aligning with global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and comply with stringent air quality regulations.

Auto Technology is a large environmental testing facility in the U.S. and a top producer of corrosion testing chambers.

Samsco provides high quality wastewater thermal evaporation systems and support through sample testing, installation planning, service and ongoing support. 

Poly Products offers simple, cost-effective wastewater atmospheric evaporation, rinse water concentration and recovery.

C100 silver dispersion is a contact plating solution for connectors and other high-frequency applications from Uyemura. Unique dispersive technology provides excellent conductivity and superior resistance to tarnish and high temperatures. Friction trace tests indicate low abrasion and no wear-through.

C100 achieves 10,000-plus cycles without lubrication; end-of-life tests at 50,000 cycles confirm low and stable coefficient of friction. Thermal aging shows stable tribological behavior and contact resistance at levels equaling pure silver. This gives C100 significant advantages compared with pure silver, as the latter provides lesser performance in terms of wear and heat tolerance. C100 is cross-compatible with silver and silver alloys. 

Titan Metal Fabricators, Rightech Fabrications and Optimum Anode Technologies are leading suppliers of equipment for the plating and anodizing industries. The companies provide mixed-metal oxide anodes, platinum anodes, titanium and aluminum racking, anode baskets, immersion heaters, external heaters, tanks and a variety of custom-manufactured products.

Titan Metal Fabricators | 805-487-5050 | titanmf.com | Booth 1012

Renowned for proprietary process chemistry, equipment and controls, Technic reaffirms its industry leadership at SUR/FIN. Highlights of company offerings include the Spouted Bed (SBE) for precision electroplating and the CDP2000 machine for controlled depth electroplating.

From manual systems to advanced multi-hoist lines, Technic offers a variety of options. New products include a specialized Eco Product Line, showcasing environmentally friendly solutions and Cataphoretic Lacquers for enhanced part protection and appearance. Technic's experts will be on hand to discuss the range of chemistry as well as equipment for electronic, industrial, PCB, and decorative applications.

Hardide Coatings, provider of advanced surface coating technology, has launched the first in a new range of ready coated and enhanced components with a JP-5000 4” copper nozzle used in high-velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) thermal spray coating.

The tungsten/tungsten carbide-based Hardide chemical vapor deposition (CVD) coating is proven to extend the operational life of HVOF thermal spray copper nozzles by 5 to 40 times when spraying carbide or metallic-based powders. The ready coated nozzles include O-rings suitable to withstand the higher temperatures generated in longer periods of service.

Steve Paul, interim CEO of Hardide Coatings, says, “This is an extremely exciting new product development which offers significant performance, cost and environmental advantages to users of HVOF equipment. By Hardide coating the internal diameter of copper nozzles used in thermal spraying, our enhanced component offers superior wear resistance and reduced pickup. The coated nozzle is the first in a range of Hardide ready coated copper nozzles of varying sizes and other OEM equipment which we intend to launch on an ongoing basis.”

The extremely hard and homogeneous properties of the coating minimize pickup inside the nozzle when spraying metallic materials. This prevents material dislodging and forming a defect in the HVOF coating, therefore improving coating quality, reducing downtime and the cost of spraying. 

Moreover, the nozzle has to be exchanged less often which decreases the risk of breaking the water circuit, while lack of nozzle clogging reduces the likelihood of spits or unmelted agglomerations of powder becoming embedded in the spray coating, thereby eliminating the need for rework.

The Hardide coating is compatible with a range of coating materials used in HVOF processes, enabling seamless integration with existing coating systems, the company says.

Source: IPCO

Industrial process systems company IPCO offers extrusion, cooling and flaking systems for powder paint production.

IPCO’s high productivity systems are designed to deliver high quality products in an energy-efficient way, with easy cleaning and rapid switchover with minimal waste. 

The company’s powder paint production ranges encompass everything from feeding equipment and twin screw extruders to steel belt coolers, compact chill rolls and downstream handling systems. Extruders are available in a range of sizes and barrel styles, with capacities from 60 - 2,500 kg/h. Cooling lines can be supplied with steel or plastic belts, with throughput capacities to match those of the extrusion range.

All IPCO ranges are backed by comprehensive global service support including spare parts and maintenance. The company also provides service and refurbishment of equipment from most other leading OEMs and performance optimization consulting.

Product trials and feasibility/quality tests can be carried out at a dedicated Productivity Center at IPCO’s manufacturing base in Milan, Italy.

AkzoNobel is supporting the needs of North America’s architects, designers and OEMs with the launch of its Structura range of Interpon D powder coatings.

The range offers 40 of the most popular RAL colors. Their fine textured finish gives aluminum and steel surfaces an intriguing sense of quality and depth, with significantly higher gloss retention and strong resistance to color change, the company says.

The Structura range is designed for exceptional durability and weatherability, making it ideal for surfaces that may be challenged by a diverse range of climates. The range boasts a 20-year integrity warranty on the coating performance when applied by an Interpon D approved applicator and meets the performance requirements of AMAA 2604.

The textured finish of the coating gives it better resistance to scratching and marring, reducing the need for touch ups or respraying. The finish also helps cover minor defects on the substrate. The durability of Structura helps make the coating more sustainable by extending the time between cleans, so less water and fewer chemicals are needed.

The Structura range is backed by an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). This means the raw materials, manufacture and transportation associated with creating this latest Interpon innovation have been assessed by an independent third-party for transparent sustainability credentials.