Articles

aerospace 1 Jul 2010

Back in Black: Birchwood Casey's black oxide

Black anodize finishes have long been favored for their thick, hard coating properties. It is also these very same characteristics that often make the anodizing unusable for many military and aerospace applications.

military 1 Jul 2010

Active Duty: Doing Business With Uncle Sam

Dona Burkard’s left a nice job at General Motors to go to work for her husband’s surface finishing business with one thing in mind: get Burkard Industries more work from the military.

7 Jun 2010

Strong opinions on re-shoring, manufacturing policies

Many readers had very strong opinions on our recent Products Finishing Digital Dispatch issues that addressed items such as the current trend of re-shoring and also the lack of an effective manufacturing policy in the U.S.

1 Jun 2010

Coloring the Cosmetics Industry

If ever there was an industry that was all about image, it's cosmetics.

surfin 1 Jun 2010

Just Grand!

Six Grand Rapids platers talk about SUR/FIN, the state of the industry, and what the surface finishing future has in store.

management 1 Jun 2010

Turning Up the Heat on Paint Productivity

KME Fire Apparatus knows a lot about putting out fires, but the company, in fact, lit a fire under the productivity of the painting operation at its main fabrication facility with a new liquid system from Herr Industrial.The new line, commissioned in early 2010, churns out five times more finished parts per day in a footprint 55% smaller than the predecessor system.

racking 1 Jun 2010

Meeting the E-Coat Racking Challenge

Boosting productivity is an ongoing challenge on any industrial finishing line, especially those lines where racks have to be reconfigured to accommodate different sized parts.

automotive 1 Jun 2010

Going for the Green

One of the biggest stars in Augusta, GA, during a recent golf week wasn't named Tiger or Phil, but rather E-Z-GO, one of the top manufacturers of golf carts and utility vehicles.Officials and VIPs zipped around the course in E-Z-GO vehicles to service the throngs of patrons who come out to watch the game's most famous tournament.

nasf 10 May 2010

Manufacturing a Policy in DC

ne of the most talked-about items at the NASF Washington Forum recently was the lack of a U.S. ‘Manufacturing Policy,’ essentially a plan to rebound from our country’s most recent economic blahs through a revitalization of the manufacturing sector.

basics 1 May 2010

What is the Correct Anodizing Specification?

My company fabricates aluminum and steel pedestrian bridge railing among other bridge parts. We recently got an aluminum railing job that called for “Type I” anodizing per MIL-A-8625. There was no anodic coating thickness called out. We are not anodizers and we are at a loss as to how to write up a meaningful anodizing specification for this railing.