Articles
Reducing Waste in Your Powder Coating Facility
Finishing industry consultant Rodger Talbert explains ways to reduce waste, heat in your powder coating facility.
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Troubleshooting Bright Nickel Processes: How to Identify the Problem
For bright nickel process troubleshooting, Doug Lay of Coventya suggests narrowing the scope with a checklist.
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Westside Finishing Keeps Moving Forward
Founded nearly 40 years, Westside Finishing, a perennial Products Finishing Top Shops award recipient, has grown into one of New England’s largest powder coating job shops.
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All-Color Powder Coating Emphasizes Quality and Customer Service
Mark Mortensen of All-Color Powder Coating, one of Products Finishing's Powder Coating Top Shops, says communication is key to success.
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Georgia Powder Coating Ranks First in 2020 Powder Coating Operations
The Products Finishing Tops Shops Benchmarking Survey examined more than 50 metrics to determine the best operating practices of shops in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
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2020 Top Shops for Liquid and Powder Coating
The sixth annual Top Shops Benchmarking Survey measured shops based on more than 50 operational metrics including lead time, on-time delivery, first-pass quality yield and finishing equipment usage, among others.
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What Makes a Top Shop?
Productivity, efficiency and on-time deliveries are all hallmarks of a great finishing shop, but at the heart of it all is a commitment to employees and customers.
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Celebrities Who Once Worked in Electroplating
Over many years, AESF/NASF stalwart Jack Dini contributed a series of fascinating columns to Plating & Surface Finishing, under the title Fact or Fiction?. What follows is a welcome addition to his output for the NASF. Still the prolific writer, Jack discusses celebrities (both scientists and non-scientists) who once worked in electroplating.
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AES Research Project #41: Plating on Aluminum, Part 2: Morphology
Originally published in 1980, this paper was the second on AES Research Project #41, plating on aluminum, at the National Institute for Science and Technology. A study of the morphologies of zinc and tin immersion deposits on Al and its alloys showed that zinc formed epitaxial deposits on alloys, as noted on pure Al. Similarities exist between the zincate and stannate processes; in particular, the same crystallography orientations are active in both systems. Comparisons between zinc deposits produced from solutions containing ferric chloride and Rochelle salts and deposits from the same solution without these additions show that ferric chloride plays a fundamental role in the deposition process.
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AES Research Project #41: Plating on Aluminum, Part 1: A Literature Review
Originally published in 1978, this paper was the first of several on AES Research Project #41, a study of plating on aluminum, at the National Institute for Science and Technology. A review of immersion pretreatments for the plating on aluminum is presented. The zincate pretreatments dominate the literature, but innovations were reported which offer improved adhesion and corrosion performance. Finally, an updated bio on Dr. Lashmore’s work through the years is offered.
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Using Antimicrobial Coatings to Help Combat the Spread of Germs and Bacteria
With concern over germs at an all time high, antimicrobial coatings are gaining interest. One company, Vitracoat, explains how its VitraGUARD line of coatings uses a spherical silver-ion based ingredient to disrupt the grown and reproduction of bacteria.
Read MorePart Cleanliness is Second Nature
While the general public has ramped up its concern about cleanliness, I can’t help but think about shops that have parts cleaning operations that are always concerned about cleaning.
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