Articles

nasf 4 Oct 2021

NASF/AESF Foundation Research Project #121: Development of a Sustainability Metrics System and a Technical Solution Method for Sustainable Metal Finishing: 5th Quarterly Report

The NASF Research Board has funded a research grant at Wayne State University on sustainability in the surface finishing industry, under the direction of Professor Yinlun Huang. The objective of the work is to create a surface-finishing-specific sustainability metrics system to measure economic, environmental and social sustainability. In this report, he describes how such a tool can work to benefit our industry. The reader is invited to contact Dr. Huang in identifying plating shops willing to participate in this program; it is not too late.

Powder Coating 1 Oct 2021

An Interview with Quint Towle, Powder Technology Inc.

Quint Towle, director of sales and marketing for Powder Technology Inc., offers insights into the challenges coaters and finishers are facing as they navigate rising material prices and supply shortages as the world struggles to recover from the COVID pandemic.

aerospace 1 Oct 2021

Surface Finishing and the Aerospace Supply Chain

The state of aerospace business in the finishing industry.

Ask The Expert 1 Oct 2021

The Cost of Rehandling Parts

Good racking design can increase production rates and save labor costs.

Liquid Coating 23 Sep 2021

Qualifying a New Pretreatment Supplier

Seeking a new pretreatment supplier? Jeff Blain of Circle-Prosco Inc. discusses considerations you should keep in mind when making this important decision.

photo finish 23 Sep 2021

Powder Coated Tugger Carts

Snapshots of the surface finishing industry.

Electroplating 23 Sep 2021

Selective Electroplating's Role in Remanufacturing

Selective plating offers a method of repairing and restoring surface properties of worn components back to OEM standards.

workforce development 20 Sep 2021

Finishing in the Age of the Remote Workforce

Companies that adopt a remote-working culture may find that team members actually work more, not less.

Pollution Control 20 Sep 2021

NASF/AESF Foundation Research Project #120: Electrochemical Destruction of Perfluorooctanesulfonate in Electroplating Wastewaters: Full Progress Report

This NASF-AESF Foundation research project has been ongoing since April 2019 but was unavoidably interrupted by the SARS CoV-2 pandemic of 2020-21. This report (1) re-introduces the project and (2) covers all of the work thru June 2021. The project focuses on an electrochemical, destructive treatment strategy for the remediation of relevant PFASs in electroplating wastewater. The overall objective is to utilize a cost-effective reactive electrochemical membrane (REM) for the removal of PFAS from synthetic electroplating wastewater.