Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/727416
46 POWDER COATING, September 2016 For further reading on topics featured in this issue, select from the articles listed here. You can find these and other articles at www.pcoating.com. Click on Article Index and access them by author, company (organizations), or subject. Application and recovery Military weapon systems: New vistas for UV-curable powder coating and robotics. Corey Q. Bliss and Christopher W. Geib. August 2009, p. 16. Facing extreme weather conditions and the possibilities of chemical, biological, and radiological exposures, the US military's weapon systems must have protective coatings that can withstand these assaults. Corrosion resistance plays a crucial role in overall maintenance of these systems. This article discusses the military's use, and nonuse, of powder coatings, with special emphasis on new developments in ultraviolet-curable powder coatings and the use of robotics. The article describes an ambitious ongoing project for powder coating an array of military weapon systems. Ohio coater meets a 48-hour deadline to apply multiple colors on a large Manhattan art installation. (Thomarios, Akron, Ohio.) Peggy M. Koop. November 2009, p. 28. Earlier this year, when Joe Cochran got a call from Dover Tank and Plate, Dover, Ohio, about a fabricated art installation that needed to be powder-coated, he said he thought, "yeah, yeah, yeah, what could be so bad about that?" But Cochran, vice president of the Powder Division at Akron-based Thomarios, was about to be challenged—in a big way. The job involved a lot of colors on a lot of pieces that would be assembled into a multimedia installation in Manhattan's Madison Square Park. Not a big deal for Thomarios, a company accustomed to handling large powder coating jobs in multiple colors with its spray-to-waste powder coating batch system. The shop could simply manually spray a piece, change colors, and manually spray the next piece. Whoa, not so fast. Thin powder color topcoat: Powder coating process for small parts in bulk production. Dan Riter, March 2010 digital issue, p. 14. This article describes a new powder coating process applicable to many types of fasteners and small parts called "Thin Powder Color Topcoat" (TPCT). These coatings are applied to metal parts, with or without a base coating, in an innovative bulk production process that incorporates a proven thermal diffusion coating method. The article explains how the new process is suitable for mass finishing of small- and medium-size parts with powder coatings, providing substantial cost savings when compared with rack or spray coating. Test results indicate positive outcomes on a wide range of materials, showing exceptional durability and versatility in controlling the uniformity, thickness, and colors available for small parts production. How application equipment innovations boost first-pass transfer efficiency. Jerry Trostle. June 2011, p. 16. In the past two decades, powder equipment manufacturers have invested heavily in developing equipment that helps applicators achieve higher coating efficiency. So it might be fair to examine why this topic is of keen interest and deserving of such attention. This article briefly explains what transfer efficiency is, why it's so important, and how recent improvements in equipment design have improved the odds of achieving better efficiency. Liquid or solid: Can you measure powder flow behavior? Robert G. McGregor. September 2011, p. 23. The paint and coatings industry has significant experience with rheology as it applies to the world of liquid, semi-solid, and powder-based materials. One interesting challenge confronting powder coating companies is that the science of flow behavior for measuring liquids is just the opposite for powders. The controlling parameter for liquids, known as shear rate, appears to be inconsequential when measuring powders. Consolidation stress is the control parameter that dictates powder flow behavior in gravity discharge from bins, silos, and intermediate bulk containers. This article reviews the test methods that are traditionally used by manufacturers to predict "flowability" of coating materials and then presents some new alternatives. Low-cost powder coating sieving device conditions powder directly online to improve transfer efficiency (TE). Scott Landgraf. September 2012, p. 20. This is a topic when the one purchasing the powder and the one applying the powder will in most cases see things very differently. Over the past 18 years running a powder coating line, training and re- training powder coaters, I've always been amazed that most painters insist on turning the powder up to the max. Because this is the most inefficient setting, I would turn the powder control down without the painters noticing, and surprisingly enough, they would still keep up with the line just fine. Whenever airflow can be lowered to give particles more time in the electric field, which subsequently places a higher charge on the individual particles, you will have gained transfer efficiency. Index to Articles and Authors Suggested Reading ARTICLE INDEX