March 2020 Issue

March 2020

Digital Edition

Cover Story

Polishing Is Spot-On For Arlington Plating

APC has an extensive polishing and buffing department, one that has been a mainstay of the shop for more than 60 years.

Features

Featured articles from the March 2020 issue of Products Finishing

Anodizing 13 Feb 2020

Columbia Chemical Expands Pretreatment Chemistry Line with Purchase of Khemex Technical Sales

The company says the move will also allow it to provide additional service to an expanding customer base.

Powder Coating 10 Jan 2020

Sea Glass is Axalta's Global Automotive Color of the Year

Axalta’s 2019 Global Automotive Color Popularity Report reported that blue vehicles are 7% of the global automotive market, fifth overall following white, black, gray and silver.

Powder Coating 17 Jan 2020

Indiana Manufacturer Plans $3M Upgrade, Including Powder Coat

$1 million worth of capital equipment, including upgraded powder coating capabilities, addition of a tube laser, CNC tube bending and robotic welding.

surfin 17 Jan 2020

Decorative Trivalent Chromium Deposits Applied by Barrel Electroplating

With the wide acceptance of the benefits of decorative trivalent chromium plating, there is a growing demand to successfully adapt this technology to barrel plating. Traditionally, trivalent chromium deposits were not commercially viable using barrel electroplating. Factors such as barrel design, cathode contact, anode placement and current density must be considered when providing a trivalent chromium barrel electrodeposit. This presentation outlines trivalent deposits applied in a barrel and examines variables in operating and electrolyte compositions.

Ask The Expert 1 Mar 2020

Summary Report on USCAR Field Test for Trivalent Chromium

Mark Schario from Columbia Chemical explains USCAR’s multiyear project to determine how various trivalent chromium systems would perform in the real world.

Electroplating 1 Mar 2020

Finishing Index Gains Due to Broad Activity Expansion

The Finishing Index is 47.5 as the ongoing slump in business conditions is not universal to the finishing industry. Firms with more than 250 employees have reported expanding conditions since June.

workforce development 1 Mar 2020

How a Generation Lost So Many Employability Skills

Before the next generation of advanced manufacturing talent comes of age, perhaps parents need to ask themselves whether overparenting is part of the employability skills problem.

energy 21 Jan 2020

Swift Coat Nets $1M to Commercialize Self-Cleaning Nanocoatings

The project aims to reduce efficiency losses in solar panels due to soiling, the buildup of dirt on the panel’s surface that blocks sunlight.

workforce development 28 Jan 2020

ECOAT2020 Offers Education and Insights

Learn to maximize productivity, quality and profitability in your electrocoating operations.

Electroplating 16 Jan 2020

Electro-codeposition of MCrAlY Coatings for Advanced Gas Turbine Applications - 8th Quarterly Research Report

This NASF-AESF Foundation research project report covers the eighth quarter of project work (October-December 2019) on AESF Foundation Research at Tennessee Tech. The objective of the work is to study and optimize the MCrAlY electro-codeposition process to improve the coating oxidation/corrosion performance. In this quarter, the effects of particle density and shape on codeposition were studied. The results show that the shape of the particles plays an important role.

Anodizing 3 Feb 2020

Lustrous Metal Coatings Opens New Decorative Line

Lustrous offers full-service metal finishing of chloride zinc offered in automatic, manual and barrel processing.

Ask The Expert 1 Mar 2020

Using Alternatives in Pretreatment Baths for Degreasing

Effective cleaning at low, even ambient temperatures, is possible, says Atotech’s Brandon Lloyd, and creates a safer work environment and reduces energy demands.

editorial 1 Mar 2020

A Decade of Awakenings

It was 10 years ago that the finishing industry welcomed my uneducated self.

management 9 Jan 2020

EPA Moving on PFAS Regulatory Actions for Drinking Water

Agency requesting the Office of Management to review its proposed regulatory determinations for two types of PFAS.

Parts Cleaning 11 Feb 2020

Williams, Beckman to Chair Parts Cleaning Conference at IMTS

The Parts Cleaning Conference gives attendees updated information on the latest cleaning technologies.

Liquid Coating 1 Mar 2020

A Conversation with Brad Andreae, Therma-Tron-X

As the owner of Therma-Tron-X, Brad Andreae has a lot of things on his mind, but you might find him at the lunch hour in the break room playing cards with his employees.

Powder Coating 1 Mar 2020

Improving Standard Operating Procedures for Powder Coating Operations

Expert Rodger Talbert says be sure to use instant feedback to let the operator know when a problem first appears.

Anodizing 24 Jan 2020

Asterion Celebrates Customers, Holidays with Donation to Habitat Indy

The finishing supplier matched its employees’ contributions and donated more than $1,300 to the organization that helps remodel and build homes for people in the community.

Electroplating 21 Feb 2020

Michael Rogers to Keynote SUR/FIN

Rogers is a best-selling author, technology pioneer and futurist, who also serves as futurist-in-residence for the New York Times.

research 14 Jan 2020

Correlation Between Electrochemical Behavior and Neutral Salt Fog Corrosion on TCP Coated AA2024

Differences in open circuit potential, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and Tafel analysis were observed and quantified between the best- and worst-performing processes.

Ask The Expert 1 Mar 2020

Finding What Causes Defects in Ecoat Systems

The first step in solving defects in ecoat, says Axalta’s Joe Subda, is to determine if the defect is on all parts, one part, or a certain type of part or substrate.