Articles
NASF Government & Industry Affairs Update
New EPA Risk Assessment on Chromium: On September 30, 2010, EPA issued a new Cr6 draft health assessment, which is now pending.
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Cobalt-Free Technology for Trivalent Chromates on Zinc Plating
Corrosion and appearance requirements for plated steel parts continue to increase, while at the same time ever more restrictive environmental regulations are being put into place. As if these hurdles are not challenging enough for both process suppliers and applicators, there exists the compelling directive to reduce costs. Much of this is initially introduced by the European automotive industry, but then quickly spreads to automakers worldwide and to most other industries. In the field of zinc plating, the focus is on the protective conversion coatings and top coats that are applied to the zinc deposit. This paper examines the advantages of new cobalt-free technology as well as what is on the horizon regarding future requirements and regulations for zinc plating.
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Rent an E-Coat System? Now You Can
Imagine turning space usually set aside for storing parts needing to be shipped out for e-coating into an actual e-coat assembly, one that a plant could lease for a specific job and then turn it back in when the job is finished.
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PCX PREVIEW: Precision Cleaning
In the finishing world, there are four common precision cleaning processes: hydrocarbon, aqueous, semi-aqueous, and vapor degreasing. Each has its strengths and disadvantages, but one of the biggest problems with aqueous and semi-aqueous cleaning is the quantity of electricity they take.
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Painting on Oil ... Rigs that is
When part-time oilman Terry McIver went to Brady, TX in 2004 to buy a used drilling rig, he was surprised to find the company he was visiting was going bankrupt and had just two employees left from over 200 it had a year earlier. Brady left with the oil rig, but a few months later he went back and bought the company.
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Antimicrobial coatings: Billion Dollar Bugs
Antimicrobial coatings are starting to make an even bigger entry into U.S. homes. More consumer goods manufacturers are offering “germ resistant” surfaces on many household items such as refrigerators, dishwashers, stoves and other appliances and fixtures. A report by Global Industry Analysts Inc. says the U.S. antimicrobial coatings market alone is expected to reach $1 billion by 2015.
Read MoreGetting a Good Finish Begins with a Great Start
Virtually all metal parts and many plastic parts have some sort of finish applied to them. These finishes are applied to improve appearance, increase corrosion resistance and enhance wear resistance.
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A Shop for All Reasons
When Dennis Doane started his new metal fabricating endeavor in 2003, he selected the name A-1 Fabricators and Finishers for his Cincinnati-area company. It also helped years later, now that he has added a powder coating line to his repertoire.
Read MorePre-Colored Stainless Steel Improves Product Design, Productivity
Sandvik Materials Technology has rolled out a pre-coated metal strip steel intended to boost productivity and reduce environmental constraints associated with plating and coating in multiple industries.
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Smooth Operators: Attaining Isotropic finish through chemically accelerated vibration
It seems recently there has been more talk about the advantages of an isotropic, non-directional finish on machined surfaces obtained through a chemically accelerated vibratory process.
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Power Up to Cut Down on Energy
Electrocoat rack stripping is a substantial cost to coaters, so it is imperative to use practices that reduce high energy requirements and identify techniques to minimize these costs that contribute to the electrical contact defects.
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Open for Inspection: DuPont '20 Group' Peer Reviews
The concept is simple: Several times a year, bring together a group of non-competing powder coaters to a fellow member’s plant and have them go through the inner workings with a fine-tooth comb, reporting observations in a no-holds-barred format designed to improve efficiencies, quality and bottom line.
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