The use of fluorescent materials to provide a non-destructive method for on-line inspection has been an area of increased importance to the coatings industry. Significant improvements in productivity have been realized by employing ultraviolet, UV, light curing to produce conformal coatings for computer boards.
31 August, 2009
Investing in the business—and its people—pays big dividends for C.R. Hudgins Plating, a 60-year-old operation based in Lynchburg, Va.
19 August, 2009
From electronics to aircraft parts, Master Metal Finishing of Patterson, N.J., finishes to spec—and beyond.
19 August, 2009
As the performance criteria for plated components have become more demanding, directives to meet strict environmental considerations have forced sweeping changes to surface finishes. The resulting field performance has been as varied as the alternatives. This article will compare zinc–nickel alloy plating and dip-spin coating technology with regard to various critical performance characteristics for automotive component applications. Corrosion resistance, total friction co-efficient, and contact with dissimilar metals, among other key properties, will be discussed.
17 August, 2009
Atotech's Björn Dingwerth discusses the benefits of an environmentally friendly trivalent chromium-based post-dip. This post-dip helps reinforce trivalent chromium-based conversion coatings while also preserving decorative appearance and corrosion protection properties.
17 August, 2009
For more than 80 years, the plating industry has been dependent on the use of various zincate and/or stannate solutions to assist in the plating of metals such as titanium, aluminum, and magnesium. It is becoming ever more difficult to use these solutions due to restrictive regulations—plus, they are difficult to work with. This article presents an environmentally acceptable and easy-to-work-with alternative process that does not require the metalizing of the metals to be plated or extensive cleaning and deoxidization procedures.
11 August, 2009
Surface coating is of major importance technically as well as economically. Aluminum surface finishing processes are used not only in traditional fields such as mechanical and plant engineering, aircraft and spacecraft, automotive, and medical technology, but they are a key technology in many other industries as well. The application of functional coatings can modify the properties of material surfaces—for example, their hardness, roughness, chemical resistance, or wettability—to adapt them to the specific technical requirements they must meet. Of special importance in this respect is a coating’s protection against corrosion and wear and tear.
10 August, 2009