Powder on - Canadian Finishing and Coatings Manufacturing

CANADIAN FINISHING & COATINGS MANUFACTURING

www.cfcm.ca

SUR/FIN 2008,A New Attitude

American Coatings Show 2008 Premiere

SUR/FIN grows every year and2008 is no exception. Last year1200 visitors viewed 221 boothsfilled with the latest technology insurface finishing and organizers areexpecting more in 2008.

The Technical ConferenceProgram has a new pricing struc-ture this year where you can regis-ter for the Full Conference or thefollowing individually:

• Airline/Automotive Symposium• Management Outlook Symposium

Topics cover ElectrolessDeoposition; Surface FinishingResearch Surface Preparation &Treatment, Emerging Technologiesand Fundamentals; CadmiumCoating Alternatives; and inAutomotive Regional and GlobalTrends.

continued on page 29

continued on page 4

IN THE NEWSALSO IN

THIS ISSUECompany NewsDominion Colour Corporation sold toManagement BuyoutDominion Colour, based in Toronto, ON, is now underCanadian ownership.Toshio Kikuchi, President of KikuchiColor & Chemicals Corporation (KCC), Japan and MikeKlein, President of DCC, are pleased to announce thatthey have successfully completed the sale of DCC, to amanagement buyout team led by Klein.

The transaction, effective March 25, 2008, encom-passes DCC and all its subsidiary companies.The newowners, Mike Klein, Jack Nelligan, Bob Ralph and MarkVincent, will continue in their current positions as seniorexecutives of DCC.

Kikuchi and KCC fully appreciate the contributionDCC has made to the KCC organization over the last 18years and the excellent, friendly and co-operativerelationship KCC and DCC have enjoyed during KCC’sownership of DCC.

KCC and the MBO team have agreed that the timingis right for the executive team of DCC and its subsidiariesto implement its own vision of“providing colour to theworld with a reputation for consistent quality excellence”,with the support of, but independently of, KCC.

The change in ownership will have no adverseimpact on future of DCC and its subsidiaries. All DCCoperating divisions and subsidiaries will remain intactand there will be no changes in the organization as aresult of the change in control. Purchases from supplierswill continue uninterrupted. It is business as usual.

The new owners of DCC thank all company employ-ees, customers, distributors, agents, suppliers, alliancepartners, business advisors and other business partnersfor past and future support in the ongoing success ofDominion Colour Corporation and its subsidiaries.

■ This is our Double Show Issue!See preshow coverage of ACSand SUR/FIN

■ Custom Molded Masks

■ Power Supplies

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$12.00 April 2008

The stage is set for the premiere of the AmericanCoatings Show (ACS) and Conference in Charlotte,

NC, June 2008.The trade show takes placefrom June 3-5 and the conference hasbeen extended to June 2-4, 2008.


They can make it look like metal.Examining the newest advance-ments in chrome replacementtechnology, powder coating plas-tics at Alliance Surface Finishing.

From left: Robert Langlois, presidentand CEO of Alliance Surface Finishing(ASF), Sandra Anderson, editor CFCMand Aneta Ranstoller Project ManagerASF, take a tour of the facilities inVaughan, ON.

For full story see page 13

Powder on

Plastic

Offering An ElectroplatingAlternative With Powder Coat

Au-delà

BeyonDchemistry

de la chimie

Head Office: 3014, rue Anderson, Terrebonne, QC J6Y 1W1Customer Service: 1-800-661-2064Sales Office: 7025 Tomken Rd., Suite 259

Mississauga, ON L5S 1R6Warehouses: Ville Lasalle, QC – Rexdale, ON

Winnipeg, MB – Edmonton, AB

Inortech Chimie inc. is a distributor of specialized quality rawmaterials to the coatings, ink, adhesives and plastic compoundingindustries.

Inortech Chimie is the only Canadian chemical distributor whocan back up recommendations and provide formulating supportwith a fully staffed and equipped with state of the art equipmentsR&D laboratory.

Come and experience the difference!

Inortech Chimie inc. est un distributeur de matières premières despécialités pour les peintures, encres d’imprimerie, adhésifs etplastique.

Inortech Chimie inc. est le seul distributeur canadien qui a unlaboratoire de R&D avec un personnel des plus qualifié et deséquipements dernier cri.

Venez profiter de cette différence!

w w w . i n o r t e c h . c o m

APRIL 2008 CANADIAN FINISHING & COATING MANUFACTURING 3

FROM THE EDITOR: SANDRA ANDERSON

So in the front cover picture I am out standing in my field.This time we wentto visit Alliance Surface Finishing (ASF) in Vaughan,ON.It really is fascinatingwhat they are doing with the powder coating of plastics. I really admire peo-ple who are not afraid of a challenge. I am not sure what is making me laughso hard in the picture. Our illustrious publisher who also doubles as officialphotographer must have said something funny. In the photo on this page weare in the company’s boardroom and I am interviewing Robert Langlois,president and CEO of ASF.

Spring is here so I thought I would write about colour. I have just pur-chased a condo and am about to paint the entire interior, so colour is freshin my mind.And Spring is the season of colour anyway. I’m going to switchhere between the Canadian and American spelling of colour so bear withme. I have also just finished rereading a media release from Clariant, datedMarch 3, 2008, which deals with “Awareness of Global Connectedness andEnvironmental Responsibility Projected to Drive Consumer ColorPreferences.” Simply put, the document talks about ColorForward 2009, anannual publication put together by a team of colour specialists from Northand South America, Europe and Asia, as a tool for designers and marketingprofessionals.

The ColorForward team explores global cultural influences andlifestyle trends to gauge their impact on color directions for futureconsumer products.

Trends in our Society that are considered include:• Grow Your Own Future: recognizing people taking personal responsi-

bility for environmental issues, making positive changes to improvethe world.

• Global Repositioning: acknowledging the growing influenceof Asian traditions

• Duality: developing from the way in which people today accept andeven celebrate multiple facets of their own personality

• Mosaic: reflecting how strict global identities are loosening theirhold on people.

The team of colour experts then goes on to figure out how all these ideasare played out in colour. I didn’t know colour was so complicated.

Mosaic, for example, plays out in strong saturated hues including darkblue, Pumpkin orange and Leprechaun green.

EDITORSandra Anderson519-442-4071Fax [email protected]

PUBLISHERPete Wilkinson416-255-1808Fax [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENTBrian Jones905-405-1500 #[email protected]

GRAPHIC DESIGNAllan S. Bates416-485-9229Green Apple [email protected]

CFCM Canadian Finishing & CoatingsManufacturing is published bi-monthly byWilkinson Media Canada Inc. Subscriptions arefree to qualified Canadian finishers and coatingsmanufacturers and their suppliers. Subscriptions(six issues): Canada $60.00 per year plus taxes(GST #858877210 RT0001). United States U.S.$57.00. Foreign U.S. $85.00. Single copy $12.00CDN plus taxes.

PPostal Information:Printed in Canada. Publications Mail AgreementPM # 41515012Return undeliverable Canadian addresses toCFCM Magazine, 250 The East Mall Suite 1103, Toronto ON M9B 6L3 . Copyright 2007.

Contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in part or in full without thewritten permission of the publisher. CFCM makesevery effort to report product news supplied by manufacturers accurately, however it is notresponsible for the validity of any claims.

WILKINSON MEDIA CANADA INC.250 The East Mall Suite 1103Toronto, Ontario, Canada M9B 6L3 416-255-1808Fax 416-519-1313

Volume 2 Number 2 April 2008

CONTENTS

FEATURES

1 It’s Show TimeFor American coatings show Continue to page 12and for Sur/Fin see page 29.

7 TOSCOT Symposium8 Low VOC Solvent Alternatives

with Dave Saucier

10 Silicones and Paintwith Rick Vrckovnik

13 Alliance Surface FinishingThis powder coater has a future in offering chromeplating alternatives and licensing agreements

14 Wood Finishing Trends A look at equipment

17 Masking 102The Case for Custom Molded Masks

19 Spray Booths and Energy Efficiency

22 Power SuppliesPlating Rectifiers with Chris Janacek

24 Electroless Nickel25 Anodizing 10126 Water Wise

with John Seldon

Duality includes both brilliant, vibrant colors and contrasting light, neutralshades, like a very light blue/green that expresses a quiet state of mind, anda vibrant, glossy, somewhat ironic fuchsia. Other colours in this groupinclude a mysterious blue/purple, and a neutral light blue/lilac.

The 2009 publication also includes special effects that incorporate non-color ingredients adding sparkle, reflectivity, depth and other qualities toenhance the base color, such as a pink pearlescent added to white.

I do like the names that paint manufacturers give their colours. I wouldrather have Maple Fudge, Chocolate Fondue or even Spiced Rum on mywalls rather than on my hips for example. I am finding that after looking atcolour swatches for a long period of time, I then look at the world aroundme with a completely different perspective. I see the colours, rather than justthe objects.

I will be interested to see if any of this colour is reflected in industrialcoatings.

Meanwhile, this CFCM is a show issue, so be sure to drop by our boothsto say hi.

Also, please feel free to contact me with any concerns and especially ifyou think you might like to write an article for us, or if you want to let peo-ple know about a new product.

Sandy Anderson, [email protected]

THE COLOUR OF SPRING

DEPARTMENTSFrom the Editor 3

News 4

People 5

New Products 6

Calendar of Events 6

Ad Index 30

4 CANADIAN FINISHING & COATING MANUFACTURING APRIL 2008 www.cfcm.ca

IN THE NEWS

Home Hardware Receives IAPA Health And Safety AwardThe Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA) presented HomeHardware Stores Limited - Beauti-Tone Paint and Home Products of Burford,ON with a Level I Health & Safety Achievement Award, April 2, 2008.This is thefirst IAPA achievement award for the facility that produces paints, sealants,and cleaners.

The Burford facility has not had a lost-time injury (LTI) since 2003. It hasachieved this positive result by demonstrating a commitment to health andsafety.This dedication to creating an incident-free workplace has been madepossible through initiatives such as having an active Joint Health and SafetyCommittee, sound workplace inspection processes, monthly safety meetingsbetween supervisors and employees, and firm incentives for reaching healthand safety milestones.

“This Level I award is in recognition of Home Hardware Stores Limited -Beauti-Tone Paint and Home Products commitment and continuing invest-ment in its health and safety system,” says John VanLenthe, IAPA PrincipalConsultant, who presented the company with the award.“It is clear when youwalk into the facility that everyone shares the common goal of reducing andeliminating workplace incidents.You are on the right path towards achievinghealth and safety excellence.”

“Our goal is to make sure our people go home at night as well as theyarrived that morning,” says Darrin Noble, General Manager, Home HardwareStores Limited - Beauti-Tone Paint and Home Products.“The employees at thisfacility are to be highly commended for their diligence, hard work, anddedication to health and safety. Reducing and eliminating workplace accidentsis only possible when we all work together.”

Home Hardware Stores Limited - Beauti-Tone Paint and Home Productsreceived the Level I Achievement Award after IAPA conducted an on-site verifi-

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cation on October 29, 2007.The company’s health and safety managementprogram met the criteria needed to be recognized for this award. In addition,Home Hardware Stores Limited - Beauti-Tone Paint and Home Products com-pleted the self-assessment report and met IAPA award requirements, such asprevention methods, legislative compliance, management practices, and lost-time injury frequencies.

IAPA’s three-level health and safety awards program was launched in2002.The program is designed to celebrate an organization’s journey towardsachieving workplace health and safety excellence. Since the inception of theprogram, 41 companies have received the Level I Health and SafetyAchievement Award.

BASF Corporation Names Dempsey as DistributorDempsey Corporation will market and sell BASF’s resin products in Canada, asBASF Corporation recently announced that it has extended Canadian distribu-torship of its full line of resins to Dempsey. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario,Dempsey has distributed a wide range of products throughout Canada and theUnited States since 1954.

“We very enthusiastically expand our relationship with Dempsey, andbelieve that they have the talent and expertise to drive sales of our resinproducts in the Canadian market,” said Roger Haigh, North American distribu-tion manager for the resins division of BASF.

Dempsey Corporation is authorized to market and sell JONCRYL; Basonat;Laroflex; Laromer; Laropal; Lucirin; Luhydran; Luron; Lutonal; Luwipal; andPlastopal products on behalf of BASF.

Dempsey Corporation Exclusive Canadian Distributor for ChitecDempsey Corporation has become the exclusive Canadian distributor for ChitecTechnology Co., Ltd., which was founded in 1998 in Taiwan as a chemicalcompany specialized in dealing with heat and ultra violet (UV) light.

Over the last 10 years, Chitec had successfully introduced fivemajor product lines in to the plastic and coating markets, namely anti-

oxidants, UV absorbers, light stabilizers, flame retardants, and photo-initiators.It supplies more than 4 million pounds of product into North American mar-ket annually.

Chitec has five ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certified plants and two researchand development and technical labs located in Taiwan and China. Chitec isconscious about new global regulations and has paid special attention to FDA,RoHS,WEEE, EuP, and REACH.

Lately, Chitec has started to implement green chemistries into its productlines such as bio-plastics project and energy saving plans. Its company sloganis now "SUSTAINABILITY VIA CHEMISTRY".

The company introduces several new products annually.This year Chitecdeveloped a halogen-free flame retardant called Zuran 484, designed speciallyfor rubber and elastomeric based polymers such as TPE/TPO/TPV/EPDM whichare hard to achieve UL 94 V-0 using non-halogen flame retardants. Zuran 484can be used for wire & cable, foams, adhesive, and sheet/film with excellentweathering and heat stability. HYPERLINK "http://www.chitec.com"www.chitec.com.

Troy Corporation Announces New Manufacturers' RepresentativeTroy Corporation, a leading manufacturer of performance products for a widearray of markets, including paint & coatings, ink, adhesives, has made Chidley& Peto Company, Arlington Heights, IL, its new manufacturer’s representativefor specialty biocides and metal carboxylates in the Midwest region of theUSA.

Dow Biocides to Increase Glutaraldehyde CapacityDow Biocides, one of the industry’s largest suppliers of glutaraldehyde, a busi-ness unit of The Dow Chemical Co., will increase its US production capacity forglutaraldehyde by approximately 60 per cent, which is expected to be ready togo by January 2009.

Glutaraldehyde from Dow Biocides is sold under several trademarksincluding UCARCIDE, UCARSAN, AQUCAR, GLUTEX and as an industrial-useproduct called Glutaraldehyde 25 per cent and 50 per cent. Dow also offers theglutaraldehyde products under at least 100 sub-registrations as customer-branded products.

Vulcanium Approved Cessna supplierVulcanium Metals Incorporated, a global distributor of titanium mill productsfor aerospace and aviation, is pleased to announce that it has become a Cessnaapproved supplier, effective through June 2010.This endorsement is in addi-tion to VMI’s quality approvals from the US Department of Defense,Vought,Spirit Aerosystems, Augusta Westlands and Bombardier and its AS 9100 andISO 9001 registrations.

Rohm and Haas Expands Capacity of HydroxyalkylRohm and Haas will continue to supply bulk and drum quantities of acrylateand methacrylate hydroxyalkyl monomers. Rohm and Haas is the sole manu-facturer of these monomers in the Americas and has expanded capacity tomeet the needs of the market, which includes customers manufacturing auto-motive coatings, paints, printing inks and adhesives.The company is also acaptive user of these monomers in support of its acrylic binder and adhesivebusinesses. Rohm and Haas produces hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA),hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA), hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA), and hydrox-ypropyl acrylate (HPA), all marketed under its Rocryl brand.

May 5: Toronto Society of Coatings Technology,TOSCOTAnnual General Meeting, [email protected]

May 4-7: RadTech UV/EB Technology Conference & Expo2008 Lakeside Center at McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois,www.uveb2008.com

May 14-16: ELECTROCOAT 2008, Marriott Downtown,Indianapolis, IN. For more information on program topics orregistration, please go to www.electrocoat.org/conference

or call 800-950-8020.

June 2-5: American Coatings Show and Conference 2008,Charlotte, NC, www.american-coatings-show.com

June 10: TOSCOT Golf Tournament,Toronto, ON,www.TOSCOT.org

June 16-18: SUR/FIN 2008, Indiana Convention Center,Indianapolis, Indiana, www.nasf.org

September 13-16: CPCA 2008 Annual Convention,The LordElgin Hotel, Ottawa, ON, www.cdnpaint.org

September 23-25: Coating 2008, Indiana ConventionCenter, Indianapolis, IN. www.thecoatingshow.com

September 23–25: Canadian Manufacturing Week,co-located with Weld Expo Canada and Metal Finishing ExpoCanada, International Centre,Toronto, ON. www.smecanada.ca

CALENDAROF INDUSTRY EVENTS

2008

Environmental NewsOntario Approves New Diversion Plan for MunicipalHazardous or Special WasteEnvironment Minister John Gerretsen has approved a new program thataims to double the amount of household hazardous or special waste thatOntario diverts from landfills and the environment over the next fiveyears.

The Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste (MHSW) Program Plandeveloped by Stewardship Ontario for Waste Diversion Ontario is to belaunched on July 1, 2008.

Phase One of the program includes paints and stains, paint thinners,strippers and other solvents, oil filters, lubricating oil containers, non-rechargeable batteries, engine coolant, pressurized containers such aspropane tanks, fertilizers and pesticides.

Jim Quick, president of the Canadian Paint & Coatings Association,and chair of the Stewardship Ontario committee that developed the pro-gram for Waste Diversion Ontario feels that this new program meansmore opportunities to divert many of the products in homes out of thegarbage. He says products like unused paint can be recycled, while othersthat can’t will be disposed of responsibly.

Doug Reycraft, president of the Association of Municipalities ofOntario and Gemma Zecchini, chair of Waste Diversion Ontario's board ofdirectors also praised the program.

The program will make it easier and more convenient for consumersto return these wastes for proper management. For rural and northernOntarians where service often does not currently exist, this will mean theintroduction of new collection events. For urban Ontarians with somelevel of existing service, this will mean extending depot hours andincreasing the number of collection events.

Phase Two of the plan, soon under development, will include portable fireextinguishers, fluorescent lights, rechargeable batteries, pharmaceuticals,syringes and thermostats and other measuring devices containing mercury.http://www.stewardshipontario.ca


CFCM Buyers Guide Online:Fill Out Your Listing Now!

VANCOUVER - EDMONTON - CALGARY - WINNIPEG TORONTO - MONTREAL

34 Clayson Road

Toronto, Ontario, M9M 2G8

Tel: 416-741-9264 Fax: 416-741-6642

Web site: www.ctc.ca

E-mail: [email protected]

Offering “Value Added”;

Specialty Chemical Distribution;

Product Solutions;

Long-term Partnerships.

SALES, INSTALLATION, AND SERVICE FOR■ Industrial Spray Booths■ Truck and Large Product Spray Booths■ Powder Booths■ Spray booth filters and service parts■ OMEGA air compressors, air dryers,air line piping and filtration

■ ITW Binks and DeVilbiss spray equipment■ Gun washers and solvent recyclers.

PAINTLINE PRODUCTS INC.SPRAY BOOTH SPECIALISTS

PAINTLINE PRODUCTS INC.37 Hamilton Rd.Barrie, ON. L4N 8Y6Ph: 1-800-668-8448Fax: 1-705-721-8646E-mail:[email protected]

Quality World Wide

AvoFix NDT Limited ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and ISO 9001-20007498 Bath Road, Mississauga, ON. L4T 1L2Phone: 905-677-4430 Fax: 905-677 -5440

e-mail: [email protected]

www.avofix.com

Elcometer 456• New version now features Bluetooth® wireless technologyfor fast data transfer to the new Elcomaster Software®

• Fast, accurate reading rate• Interchangeable probes to measure on all metalsubstrates (F, N, FNF)

• Easy to use menu driven display in 25 languages• A wide range of models available with or without memoryto exactly meet your needs

• Integral & separate probe versions available

Elcometer 550• Measures uncured powder thicknesses withouttouching the powder.

• Improve quality and save money by reducing waste• Fast and easy to use and is available in metricor imperial versions

• Works on any rigid surface and predicts final thickness

Other Elcometer Products:• Appearance – Gloss, Haze, Shade, Opacity, Colour• Material Thickness – Ultrasonic• Adhesion • Pinhole and Porosity Detection

PeopleBob Bastien, 1946 – 2008Robert (Bob) Bastien lost his long battle with cancer on Friday March 28, 2008. He wasin his 62nd year. Bastien’s employer Jean-Marc Pigeon, president of Inortech ChemieInc.,Terrebonne, QC, wrote the following:

The paint industry has lost one of its best people and pillars. After a long fightagainst cancer Mr. Bob Bastien died the night of March 28th 2008. Anyone that had anyclose or remote contact with Bob would know that he fought this deadly disease withenergy and determination.We will all remember him for his undisputable in-depthknowledge and his unparallel service:“impossible” was not part of his vocabulary. Hewas always ready to help and explain the unexplainable to many of us.The Inortechteam will remember him for all the good things he did for us on a personal basis andthe flamboyant and undisputable influence he had on Inortech.We will all deeply misshim.We offer our condolences to his family.

L’industrie de la Peinture vient de perdre une des ses meilleures personnes et sansconteste un des ses piliers. Après une longue lutte contre le cancer M. Bob Bastien, c’est

éteint dans la nuit du 28 mars 2008. Il s’est battu avec l’énergie et la détermination qui lui était caractéristique. Nous nous souvien-drons de Bob comme un puits de savoir et un service hors du commun : impossible ne faisait pas partie de son vocabulaire.Toujoursprêt à aider et à expliquer l’inexplicable pour plusieurs d’entre nous. L’équipe Inortech se souviendra de Bob pour le support qu’il aapporté à plusieurs d’entre nous et surtout pour l’influence flamboyante et indéniable qu’il a eue sur le cheminement d’Inortech. Illaisse un vide qui ne sera jamais vraiment comblé. Nos sincères condoléances a sa famille. »

The Montreal Gazette reported that R.H. (Bob) Bastien was born in 1946 to Georges and Evelyn. After a long courageous battlewith cancer, he passed away peacefully on March 28, at Mount Sinai Palliative Hospital. He was a loving husband to Diane, caringfather to Tania (Kevin), Adam (Natalie) and Ryan and a proud papa to Ashley, Zachary, Austin and grandpapa to Gillian and Kaylie. Hewill be sadly missed by his family, friends and co-workers of Inortech Chimie. Bob Bastien donated his body to science. A memorialservice was held on April 12, 2008 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Collins Clarke MacGillivray White funeral home, 222 autoroute 20, Pointe-Claire.The family would like to thank the staff of the Lakeshore General Hospital in particular the Oncology dept for all their wonderful careand support over the last year as well as the Doctors and Nurses of 2 North and the caring staff at Mount Sinai where Bob spent hislast four days. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in his name to the Lakeshore General Hospital fund, c/o the Oncology Dept.

People onthe MoveWagner announces new Liquid Equipment SpecialistWagner Systems, Inc has hired Mark Zimmerman as Liquid Equipment Specialist. Zimmerman brings many years ofexperience to Wagner in the paint and powder coatings industry. As a specialist in Wagner wet application equip-ment and over 10 years experience in the wet paint industry, he will be responsible for developing relationshipswith new distributors as well as supporting liquid sales to end users. Zimmerman will also be responsible fortraining and demonstrations in the new liquid lab facility located at Wagner’s USA headquarters in Elgin, Illinois.

New Appointments in BASF Canada’s Automotive Refinish DivisionEnzo Di Loreto has been appointed National Business Development Manager. Di Loreto’s main responsibilities include managing the CanadianRegional Business Development Team, fostering and maintaining national business relationships while focusing on emerging markets and largekey refinish accounts. Di Loreto brings to the position seven years of experience in the automobile refinish industry.

Esther Villeneuve has been appointed Canadian Project Manager, VOC Compliance. In this position, Villeneuve will assist distribution part-ners to successfully transition BASF Canada’s current and future customers to VOC compliant technologies such as Glasurit 90-Line and R-M OnyxHD systems. Esther Villeneuve has been with BASF since September 2004 and has held various positions including Direct Sales Representativefor Montreal and North Shore region as well as Quebec Business Development Specialist and Canadian Product Manager, always within theAutomotive Refinish Divison.

“Both Enzo and Esther bring excellent capabilities for managing their respective areas,” says Harry Dhanjal, Business Manager, RefinishDivision, BASF Canada. “Their experiences within the industry make them valuable to our business.”

Zimmerman

Pricing BriefsWacker Polymers Increases Pricefor Airflex Dispersion ProductsEffective April 15, 2008,Wacker Polymers, L.P. imple-mented a price increase of up to 5 per cent per wetpound on all prices for vinyl acetate ethylene copolymerand vinyl acetate vinyl chloride copolymer dispersionssold in the Americas region.These products are sold bythe company under the Airflex trademarks.

Nuplex Resins Increases Price of Coating ResinsNuplex Resins, Louisville, KY, has announced a priceincrease for coating resins sold in North America, effec-tive April 21, 2008.The increase is approximately 3-8 percent and will affect all solvent and water-borne prod-ucts, including alkyds, acrylics, polyesters, emulsionsand amino resins. Local Nuplex sales representatives willcontact customers with more information.

OPC Polymers Announces Price IncreasesOPC Polymers has announced a price increase acrossall product lines to be effective on shipments madeafter April 11, 2008. Customers will receive lettersindicating the level of increase on their specificproducts of interest.

CCP Announces New Pricing For Coatings ResinsCook Composites and Polymers (CCP) has implementeda minimum $.05 per pound price increase for all itsliquid coatings resins effective on orders shipped on orafter April 15, 2008, or as contracts allow.

It is Buyers Guide Listing time and now you can do it all online.Please visit our web site for a direct link to the Buyers Guide site or go to

www.cfcm.mercuryemail.com.CFCM will not be mailing out questionnaires, so it is up to you to be a part

of this comprehensive listing by going online and filling out your form. Theform can be completed right online or you can download a pdf of the form, fillit out and fax it to 519-442-1359.

Please do it now right after you finish reading this. Closing deadline forlistings is May 15,, 2008. Those who do not respond will be contacted, but itwould make our life simpler if you do not wait for us to do that.

You will be able to update and make changes to your listing onlinethroughout the year, pending confirmation by the publisher or editor.Categories include:• Paint and Coating Raw Materials• Paint and Coating Manufacturing Equipment• Finishing Supplies• Finishing Equipment• Job shops and Custom Coaters and• Associations

Job shops will receive their listing free of charge.Our completed online Buyer’s Guide will coincide with our printed ver-

sion, to be published in June 2008, perfect bound in 8 ½” by 11” format to fitbetter on your bookshelf and in your shop.

Suppliers to Canadian Manufacturers and Finishers cannot afford not totake advantage of this listing in the CFCM Buyers Guide.


...making waves in the pond

AND NOW...Huntsman Advanced MaterialsEpoxy Resins and Curing Agents

Andicor Specialty Chemicals

5940 Ambler DriveMississauga, Ontario L4W 2N3

Tel: 905-625-0800 • Fax: 905-625-0885In Québec:

Tel: 514-276-5736 • Fax: 514-276-5745In Western Canada:

Tel: 604-931-4002 • Fax: 604-931-4007

OUR CURRENT SUPPLIERS ARE:Ball Aerosol & Specialty PackagingRound Paint, General Line, Oblong & Aerosol CansCentury ContainerPlastic Pails

Georgia Industrial MineralsMicaPhoenix ContainerSteel Pails

RÜTGERS ChemicalsHydrocarbon ResinsSI Group CanadaAlkyd and Oil-Modified Urethane ResinsSouthern Clay ProductsRheological AdditivesWayne PigmentAnti-Corrosion Pigments

Fuji SilysiaSilica Gel Flatting AgentsEvonik GoldschmidtMasonry Water Repellents

ChemguardFluorosurfactants

IN THE NEWS

DSM NeoResins+ to IncreasePrices in North AmericaDSM NeoResins+ has increased prices in April, in theNorth American region for waterborne, UV and solvent-borne resins by $0.06/lb., as existing contracts allow.The price increase affects all coating resins and graphicarts sectors.

Chris Farrell, Commercial Director Americas DSMNeoResins+, explained, "This price action is necessarydue to the rapid increase in our raw material basket.These steadily escalating high costs for raw materials,transportation and energy have outpaced our internalcost reduction efforts and continuous improvementprocesses.”

No short-term relief is expected as the situation inthe global market for raw materials continues to esca-late. Chris Farrell adds,“Further increases in raw materi-als and energy are expected in Q2 2008.”

BASF Resumes EnergySurcharge on Sales of KaolinBASF has resumed an energy surcharge on all kaolinproducts that are manufactured at the BASF middleGeorgia, USA, kaolin operation.The energy surchargewill be modified monthly based on closing prices fornatural gas each month.

The company says this action is necessary becausethe March 2008 NYMEX settlement price of $US 8.93per million British Thermal Units (BTUs ) for natural gasexceeded the

$8.00 per million BTU threshold set by BASF in theexisting kaolin energy surcharge program that wasestablished in October of 2005.

Kaolin customers can determine the precise impacton their purchases by contacting their local BASF salesrepresentative.

BASF kaolin products are sold into paper and spe-cialty markets. The BASF paper kaolin business servesthe global coated paper market focusing primarily onlightweight coated, specialty and coated free sheetgrades. BASF specialty kaolin clays improve perform-ance, lower costs, increase efficiency, and enhance thevalue of customer products and processes in the plas-tics, rubber, ink, cosmetics, ceramics, adhesives, paints,and many other industries.

Sun Chemical Performance PigmentsIncreases Global Pigment PricesSun Chemical Corp.’s Performance Pigments Division hasincreased global prices on pigments effective March 31,2008. On average, the prices for the following pigmentchemistry increased as follows:

• Classical Azo Reds by 4-6 per cent;• Classical Azo Yellows by 5-7 per cent;• Classical Phthalo by 5-8 per cent;• High Performance by 3-6 per cent; Pearlescent by

5-7 percent; and• Cosmetic Colors by 5-7 percent.The price increase affects all forms including dry,

preparations and flushes; it applies to all markets that

purchase pigments including the ink, coating, plastic andcosmetics industries.The increase is necessary due toincreases in raw materials, energy and transportationcosts, along with the escalating value in foreign currency.

Dow Reichhold Expects Increasesin Specialty Latex PricesExecutives from Dow Reichhold Specialty Latex planpricing adjustments for polymers worldwide due tohigh monomers and other hydrocarbon raw materialand energy costs.

Dow Reichhold has increased prices on its specialtypolymers twice in the past four months and expects afurther adjustment to be effective on May 1, 2008.

Contract customers will continue to receive advancenotice for price increases based on contract terms.

Dow Raises Prices of Oxygenated Solvents ProductsThe Dow Chemical Co. has raised list and off-list priceson a number of its oxygenated solvents products inNorth America effective April 1, 2008, or as contractsallow.The company says this increase is primarily drivenby the continuous rise in raw material and energy costs.

Dow Coating Solutions Increases Pricesfor Acrylic Emulsion ProductsDow Coating Solutions, a market-facing business of TheDow Chemical Co., has increased the list and off-listprices of its acrylic emulsion products.

Effective April 1, 2008, for all North American cus-tomers, Dow increased the price by U.S. $0.04/wetpound for all UCAR™ acrylic, UCAR styrene acrylic andNEOCAR™ acrylic latexes.

The increase applies to all market segments, includ-ing architectural and industrial coatings, constructionproducts, adhesives and sealants, and traffic coatings.

“This action is precipitated by escalating raw mate-rial prices, particularly oil, all of which significantlyimpact the manufacture of these latex products,” saysthe company.

Local Dow Coating Solutions sales professionals willbe contacting their customers to discuss the priceincrease.

Cytec Announces Price IncreasesCytec Industries Inc. has increased the prices of UV/EB-curable monomers, oligomers and photoinitiators, andVANCRYL® acrylic resins shipped in the Americaseffective after April 15, 2008.

The price increases will be between 5 and 10 percent, depending upon the product family, and ascontracts allow.

Rohm and Haas Increases Price for Paintand Coatings/Packaging and BuildingMaterials in North AmericaThe Paint and Coatings Materials business of Rohm andHaas Co. announced price increases for all of its productssold in North America, including all acrylic and styrene-

acrylic emulsions, solvent-borne polymers, vinyl-acetate-based emulsions, and additives sold to thearchitectural coatings, industrial coatings, traffic paint,floor care, construction and building products, andindustrial nonwovens industries.The increases, of $.04per lb. for emulsion polymers and additives and $.05-.08 per lb. for solvent-borne polymers, took effect onApril 1, or as contracts allow.

Also, the company’s Packaging and BuildingMaterials business announced a list and off-list priceincrease for all acrylic, vinyl acrylic and styrene-acrylic-based emulsions and solution acrylic polymers sold tothe North American pressure-sensitive adhesives, tex-tile, nonwoven and construction adhesives industries.The increase of 6 to 8 per cent was effective April 1,2008, or as contracts allow.

World NewsConsumption of Coatings in Asiareaches US$1.5 BillionConsumption of seven leading coating additives in Asiawas 655 MM lb worth US$1.5 billion in 2008, accordingto the consulting firm of Kusumgar, Nerlfi & Growney,based I West Caldwell, NJ.This compares to U.S. con-sumption of $800 MM for the same additive types,which include: biocides, rheology modifiers, dispersants,foam control, wetting, and slip and rub materials.Coating additive growth in Asia is forecast to be 9 percent per year through 2012, more than four times thatof the U.S.

China is the largest consumer of coating additivesin Asia at 37 per cent of the dollars. Continued growthin building and manufacturing activity will give coatingadditives a robust 13 per cent annual rate of growth inChina. Japan is the second largest consumer of coatingadditives with 28 per cent of the dollars. Little growth isforecast for coating additives in Japan. South Korea isthird in coating additive use in Asia with 14 per cent ofthe dollars. Growth is placed at a mature 3 per centannual rate. India consumes only 7 per cent of the coat-ing additives, but is the fastest growing country with a14 per cent annual rate projected through 2012. India’shousing industry is expanding, which is increasing thedemand for architectural coatings. Industrial coatingconsumption is small in India, but growing rapidly.

Biocides are the largest type being consumed with28 per cent of the additive value, mostly in marineantifouling coatings, with architectural in-can preserva-tives and dry film fungicides the other major outlets.Rheology modifiers are the second largest type with 23per cent of the dollars. Cellulosics,WB synthetic, andoraganoclays, are among the numerous rheology modi-fier types. Dispersants are next in value with 13 per centof the dollars. Dispersing titanium dioxide and fillers inarchitectural paints is a large volume outlet. Moresophisticated dispersants are used for the specializedpigments found in industrial coatings.www.kusumgar-nerlfi-growney.com.

N E W P R O D U C T S &T E C H N O L O G I E S

Sherwin-Williams Expands Pro Indust-rial High Performance Coatings LineSherwin-Williams offers its Pro Industrial productswith a variety of primers and topcoats including water-borne acrylics, alkyds and high-performance epoxies.These coatings are low VOC, easy to apply and offer thedurability required to meet the aesthetic and mainte-nance needs of commercial and industrial buildings.

Pro-Cyrl Universal Primer is designed for areasprone to rust and corrosion. Pro Industrial 0 VOC Acrylicdelivers a durable finish while meeting all environmen-tal standards. Industrial Enamel 100 boasts twice thecoverage per gallon and provides greater flexibilitythan other alkyds.

Pro Industrial Multi-Surface Acrylic offers highhide, excellent stain-blocking properties and can beapplied to a variety of substrates.

High Performance Epoxy maintains a high-glossfinish in areas where a chemical- and abrasion-resistantepoxy is required. Pro Industrial Hi-Bild WaterbasedCatalyzed Epoxy is formulated especially for the mainte-nance needs of institutional and commercial facilities.www. sherwin-williams.com

New Regulator offers ExtendedPressure RangePlast-O-Matic has intro-duced Series PRHM, athermoplastic pressureregulator capable of con-verting inlet pressures upto 150 psi to a predeter-mined maximum down-stream pressure rangingfrom 5 to 125 psi settings.

Unique to these regulators is the rolling diaphragmseal,which isolates the spring chamber from the down-stream pressure sensing liquid and assures sensitive,smooth, accurate performance

Series PRHM Pressure Regulators are available in ½”,¾” and 1” pipe size, in Grade 1 Type 1 PVC.www.plastomatic.com

HMX Handheld XRF Tool for Point ofProcess Metal Film Thickness andComposition MeasurementMatrix Metrologies, Inc., introduces a new XRF Filmthickness measurement tool.

System HMX, is the world’s first handheld XRFfilm thickness andcomposition analysistool. It provides at-process measurementfor QC, plating line,and analysis lab appli-cations and at-sampleanalysis in the factory or in the field along with alloysorting and alloy identification for substrate materi-als management.www.matrixmetrologies.com

New Motoman robotMotoman’s new EC1700 robot is specificallydesigned for waterjet and dispensingapplications that require a highdegree of accuracy and precision,coupled with robust performanceand reliable operation. The six-axisEC1700 has a 20 kg (44.1 lb) payloadand features a 1,717 mm (67.6”)reach with a 0.08 mm (0.003”)repeatability. The EC1700 features high-performance gear reduction and improved absolutepath accuracy (straight line and cornering capability).www.motoman.com.

Anti-Bacterial Dry Film ProtectionTroy Corporation introduces a water based bactericide,Troysan 1050, designed to inhibit the growth ofmicroorganisms on coated surfaces. It is a unique BIT-based dispersion product intended to be a cost effec-tive alternative to silver-based compounds. It has nosolvents, no VOC, and no formaldehydeand does notpose a risk of coating film discoloration.www.TroyCorp.com


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IN THE NEWS

Organizers are pleased with the attendance to theToronto Society of Coating Technology’s (TOSCOT)Symposium held on April 7, 2008 at the AirportMarriott in Toronto, ON.

The day’s activities began with registration fol-lowed by luncheon featuring speaker Cathy Campbell,Executive Director of the Canadian Association ofChemical Distributors (CACD).

The afternoon’s topics included: InnovativeSurfactant Solutions for Emulsion Polymerization with

Ana Maria Fernandez, Loubna Jebbanema; CognisCorporation-Ambler, PA. Fernandez spoke about howsurfactants are critical additives extensively used inemulsion polymerization.

The next topic was INXEL Easily DispersiblePigment Preparations by Daniel Goldberg. In thepreparation of pigmented coating systems, powderedpigments are typically used.

A topic was also presented on Zero VOC Alkyd Latex- Surpassing VOC Requirements in ArchitecturalApplications, with Carl J. Sullivan, Mihaela ComanReichhold, Inc.

J. Douglas Booton of Eastman Chemical Companyspoke about how Regulations,VOCs, consumer percep-tions, healthier environments are the factors keepingpaint formulators busy searching for alternatives.

TOSCOT looks forward to having more ofthese events.

TOSCOT Symposium a SuccessAssociation News

Below: 2008 Graduates of TOSCOT’s Coatings TechnologyCourse received their diploma’s during the Symposium. (L to R):Walter Fibinger TOSCOT (Instructor); Ankir Shah,TristarCoatings; Shu Pei Li,Valspar Inc.; Marie-Claude Beaudoin,Cognis Corporation; Arvin Valenciano, Industrial Colors andChemicals; Mamatz Khan, Sherwin Williams; Kamlaish MudharTOSCOT President. Absent: Jennifer Lambert, Korzite Coatings;Prashant Khandekar, Satin Finish Hardwood Flooring.

Doug Booton Eastman Chemical discussesSolvent trends for low VOC formulations.

Carl Sullivan, Reichold Coating Resins, leads adiscussion on Formulating for Zero VOC AlkydLatex Architectural coatings.

Daniel Goldberg Evonik Industries highlightsthe advantages of the new Inexel dust freepigment granules.

Ana Maria Fernandez Cognis Corporationlectures on Surfactant Solutions for EmulsionPolymerization.

Cathy Campbell Executive Director CanadianAssociation of Chemical Distributors gives thekeynote talk on the future challenges forCanadian chemical suppliers.


PAINT & COATINGS MANUFACTURING: LOW VOC SOLVENT ALTERNATIVES

Where are these “green”no VOC solvents?

BY DAVE SAUCIER

This article is dedicated tothe memory of Robert H.(Bob) Bastien, New

Technologies Manager of InortechChimie Inc.,Terrebonne, QC, whopassed away Friday March 28,2008, after a long and difficult bat-tle with bone cancer. Bob waseminently more qualified to pro-duce this article than I am, howev-er, the old cliché is appropriateand the “show must go on”.

Despite the fact that as of thisdate there are still no VOC regula-tions published, we know they areon their way and we know in gener-al terms what to expect withregards to the permitted levels ofvolatiles formulators can use.

THE CHOICESWater, the most obvious choice isnot always the best choice in andmany cases will be the worstchoice.Some of the common other“exempt” solvents are Acetone andtert-ButylAcetate (t-BAC),both pro-viding excellent solvency, but theycome with their own formulatingchallenges. Throw in the require-ment “GREEN” and this presentsfurther challenges. I googled thefollowing as part of the researchfor this article “green solvent” +VOC + coating.

I was not surprised to see only128 hits.

The first reference was familiar,as my employer is the Canadian dis-tributor for one of the main produc-ers in the world. The product isEthyl Hexyl Lactate (EHL), which isnot classified as a VOC, meets thedefinition of “green” and is readilyavailable. It is more expensive thantraditional hydrocarbon solvents,but has yet to be used or acceptedby the coatings industry.

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide(SCD) was the second hit.There aresome projects underway on thepolymer side of the formula whereusing SCD shows promising resultsin providing narrow particle sizedistribution that can equate to a sig-nificant reduction of the need forVOCs. These technologies beingstudied use the solubility of the

supercritical carbon dioxide in apolymer. Again not widely used inour industry as yet.

Next in the hit list was a refer-ence to a couple of papers or pre-sentations made as follows: 1) “AZero VOC Coating Process”MillikenCorp.,Spartanburg,SC,datedAugust26, 1998 (with Charles Liotta) and2) The “Low VOC Coating” 222ndACS National Meeting, Chicago, ILAugust 26-30, 2001 (with ZhenguoLiu, Fengua Deng, Charles L. Liotta,Henry G. Paris, Robert E. Schwerzel,and David Bush). (Both referencesare from www.chbe.gatech.edu/fac_staff/faculty/eckert-liotta/invited-CAE.html - 27k ). I could find no fur-ther reference to either of theseduring a separate google search. So,why were they so pertinent in 1998and 2001 and not now?

Number 4 on my search resultreport is “The Presidential GreenChemistry Challenge AwardsProgram – Summary of 1996AwardEntries and Recipients” publishedby the US EPA. The bottom of thetitle page format proudly pro-claimed “printed on paper thatcontains at least 20 per cent post-consumer fiber.”I think it was miss-ing “appearing on your screenwithout using 80 per cent virginpaper”, but then again PDF file for-mat was not widely used back adecade ago. Noteworthy, however,was that Rohm and Haas won anaward for Sea Nine® antifoulant as

an alternative to organotin formu-lations. Both the EPA and the USNavy were ordered to removeorganotin compounds from shipscoatings in 1988. Much to myamazement when I googled “SeaNine®” + antifoulant the list was1,590 hits versus the 228 reportedat the outset of this article toresearch this topic.

Finally, a possible hit on mygoogle search result of 228.At num-ber 5,a web site link entitled“GreenSolvents” led to a web site with acover page in nice bold green pro-claiming “Green Chemistry” byJemma Vickery of the University ofBristol,dating back to 2004.Anotherreference to lactate esters wascited, this time Ethyl Lactate – Ithought maybe we are onto some-thing here and it also included across reference to supercritical car-bon dioxide, previously mentionedwith a brand new clue to a newpossibility called Ionic Liquids. I feltlike I won a lottery until I clickedon the link and my laptop startedmaking funny noises and afterrefreshing the screen finally somepromising information…until thebottom of the page.“Extracting thechemical product from the ionic liq-uid in pure form can pose a prob-lem” – no wonder we don’t hearmuch about this alternative in ourindustry.

Some further references to cit-rus-based green solvents were cited

and of course when you add up allthe original words in my originalgoogle query you guessedit…“Krylon Quik-Mark InvertedAPWA Green Solvent Paint, 17 oz....Lowest VOC version available of theoriginal rust preventative coating...” – Maybe I should refine mysearch parameters?

The bottom line is that I wasquickly frustrated by the lack ofinformation out there in the ether-world. In the recent past I would beable to call a guy like Bob Bastienand say“hey Bob,what do you thinkwould work to help a formulatormeet “green” plus “low VOC” and“have a coating that will actuallywork”? If I made the mistake ofmentioning lactate esters he wouldhave gone off on a tangent abouthow they are really VOC’s and whatwas I smoking to think of them inthe first place (I would wisely notmention this research tidbit).

What would have probably hap-pened is that an hour later I wouldhave been snoring while Bob wasstill bending some moleculestogether. I would have awoken atsome point later thanking theheavens that there was no onearound from the purchasingdepartment of the customer,and tosee if the formulator was still con-scious, or if they had that glazedeye look, or was a coffee or resus-citation necessary.

I don’t know about you, but I’mgoing to miss Bob and if we are notcareful and don’t encourage ouryouth to embrace the sciences, wewill have nobody to look to whenwe have these important and perti-nent questions that challenge us. ■

Dave Saucier isthe BusinessManager,IndustrialSpecialties forMultiChem Inc.

Editor’s Note: Bob Bastien has written articlesfor the Canadian Industrial Coatings industryin the past. Indeed he will be missed. We atCFCM magazine express our deepest condo-lences to Mr. Bastien’s family, employerInortech and friends.

“Water, the most

obvious choice is not always

the best choice

and in many cases will be

the worst choice.”


www.titanium.dupont.com

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Silicones have been used inthe Paints and Coatings indus-try for many years, but have

come a long way from their initialuse as defoamers. Formulators ofcoatings used to think of siliconesas an ingredient that could bedetrimental to their system andcause defects such as fish eyes.This is no longer the case. Byusing organically modified sili-cones, they can be used asdefoamers that will not cause sur-face defects, but can also be usedas additives to increase flow, level-ing, mar and stain resistance, slip,gloss and act as dispersing andwetting aids.

Due to more recent advances, sil-icones can also be used as co-reac-tants or monomers to actually reactwithin the coating system to helpimprove the flexibility, heat, ultraviolet (UV) and scuff resistance ofthe coating in a more permanentmanner.

Some of silicone’s propertiesinclude low surface tension, highlubricity, enhanced softness, lowtoxicity and non-stick properties.The Si-O backbone provides flexi-bility and freedom of rotation thatenables the molecules to adopt thelowest energy configuration atinterfaces, providing a surface ten-sion that is substantially lower thanmost organic based products. Thestrength of the Si-O bond not onlyprovides thermal stability, but alsochemical inertia, making it highlyresistant to oxidizing and to ultravi-olet, radiation, ozone and electricaldischarges.

The structure of a silicone poly-mer can be summarized as follows:

Or R can be a long chain alkyl,aryl, fluoro, acrylate, carbinol orother functional groups.

From the diagram above it can beseen that the silicone copolymercan be either a branched or “multifunctional” with R groups hangingoff the backbone;or it can be linearor “difunctional” with the R groupsat the terminal end; or it can beboth, having functional groups atterminal ends and hanging off thebackbone.

Silicones can also be thought ofas Lego blocks, so one can attach acombination of organic groups onthe backbone to give the siliconebetter compatibility to specific for-mulations. For instance, one canmake an alkyl polyether, alkyl fluo-ro, or fluoro polyether silicone.

The applications where siliconescan be used can be broken downinto three categories; Defoamers,Additives and Reactants.

DEFOAMERS:This is probably the best knownapplication for silicones. Siliconesare advantageous since they havelow surface tension for effectivefoam control, are long lasting, andcan act as both defoamers andantifoams.

Standard silicone fluids, wherethe R groups in Figure 1 are allmethyl, usually incorporated withsilica, are the standard productsused for defoaming. They are veryhydrophobic and can be emulsifiedfor use in water-based systems.Theproblem with these types ofdefoamers is that in certain applica-tions they can cause surface defectssuch as fish eyes and orange peel

PAINT AND COATINGS

MANUFACTURING: SILICONES

Silicones in Paintand Coatingsfrom Defoamers to

Additives to ReactantsBY RICK VRCKOVNIK

Figure 1


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due to the incompatibility of the sil-icone fluid.

Silicone polyethers have beenused more recently as defoamingagents.Their advantage is that theyare 100 per cent active for loweruse levels, and do not contain anysilica that can separate and causedefects. They are also self-emulsify-ing for easier incorporation intoaqueous or polar coatings.

By varying the ratio of thehydrophobic silicone and thehydrophilic polyether, one can alterthe compatibility of the silicone tohelp increase the defoaming for thespecific formulation without mak-ing it so incompatible that it willcause surface defects. Increasingthe x portion in Figure 1 will makethe product more hydrophobicwhile increasing the y or polyetherportion will make the silicone morehydrophilic.The ratio of a and b canalso be changed. The higher theratio of a:b, (i.e. EO:PO) the morehydrophilic the polyether portionwill be. Usually there is more POthan EO when these products areused as defoamers.

Fluoro and alkyl aryl silicones arealso used as defoamers in solventand nonsolvent based coatings andmore recent advances include usingacrylate-based silicones asdefoamers.

ADDITIVES:Silicones are used in paints andcoatings as additives to helpincrease slip, mar and stain resist-ance, flow, leveling, act as pigmentdispersants and can also improvegloss.They are used in waterborne,solvent and solventless based sys-tems. Because of low intermolecu-lar forces, the silicone is able tomigrate to the air/surface interfaceand provide slip,mar resistance, lev-eling and wetting. These perform-ance attributes are related to thesurface tension of the silicone sur-factant. The lower the surface ten-sion, the better the wetting capabil-ities. In silicones, because one canalter the ratio of x and y in Figure 1,the best wetting can be achievedwhen the value of x, y, a and b aresmall. Silicone superwetters are sili-cone polyethers where x = 0 and y= 1 and a and b are anywhere from2-10 units long. The molecularweight of the polyether portion canbe varied to make the moleculemore hydrophobic or hydrophilic.Silicone superwetters can have asurface tension as low as 21dynes/cm. Chart 1 gives a briefcomparison of the wetting of vari-ous silicone polyethers comparedto standard surfactants.

Because of their low surface ten-sion, the use of silicone surfactantscan help replace solvents for use asflow and leveling agents.

In coatings, surface defects areusually the result of little or toomuch flow, which is directly relat-ed to wetting. Too much flow orwetting can result in sagging, run-ning or curtailing and too littleflow can result in fish eyes, cratersand uneven leveling. By adding asilicone with the proper ratio of sil-icone to organic groups and aswell having the proper molecularweight one can provide a siliconeadditive that will give optimal wet-ting characteristics to prevent anydefects.

Usually the larger percentage sil-icone in the molecule the betterslip, mar resistance and anti-block-ing. The greater the amount oforganic moiety, the better therecoatability and compatibility ofthe silicone in the formulation. It isa matter of finding the delicate bal-ance between all of these to getthe best performance from the sili-cone. Usually linear silicone poly-mers will provide better slip andmar resistance due to the uninter-rupted silicone chain that can ori-ent itself to the air/interface sur-face. Alkyl, aryl, and fluoro sili-cones and any of the combinationsof those groups are also used toincrease organic compatibility andhelp with recoatability.

Recent advances in siliconeadditives include the use of sili-cone quats to improve slip andmar and water resistance and alsoimprove anti-stat and anti-bacteri-al properties.

SILICONES AS REACTANTSIN COATINGS:Perhaps the most interesting use ofsilicones is the incorporation of sili-cone into the polymer matrix in UV,electron beam and other types ofcoatings to help increase slip, marresistance, UV resistance, waterresistance and also to help increasewater permeability. In this case thesilicone is not just an additive, butreacted right into the polymer so itbecomes a permanent part of thecoating.

The linear silicones whenincorporated into the polymermatrix will act as chain extendersand usually result in a more flexi-ble coating system whereas thebranched silicones will providemore crosslinking.

For electron beam and UV curingsystems, acrylate functional silicone

Chart 1



The Next Leve l

ContactNürnbergMesse North America, Inc., USAPhone: +1 (770) 618-58 [email protected]

OrganizersNational Paint and Coatings Assc., USAVincentz Network, Germany

American Coatings ConferenceJune 2-4, 2008

Charlotte, NC, USAJune 3-5, 2008

AMERICAN COATINGS SHOW 2008 PREMIERE

3M Energy & Advanced Materials 1745Aakash Chemicals 1957ACC Solvents Industry Group 918Acme-Hardesty 1211ACT Test Panels LLC 1128Acti-Chem Specialties, Inc. 1963AGC Chemicals Americas 520Air Power Inc. 611Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. 1439Alberdingk Boley Inc. 1557Alnor Oil Co., Inc. 811AMCEC 1104Anton Paar USA 1030Arch Chemicals, Inc. 1739Arizona Instrument LLC 941Arkema Inc. 310Aros Group 905Ascott Analytical Equipment Ltd 829AVEKA Inc. 947Bajaj Exports (India) 1965BASF Corporation 1421Baxenden Chemicals Ltd 1623Bayer Material Science LCC 1545Benda-Lutz Corporation 1411Bio Reaction Industries 748Bitoner International Corp. 324Blackmer 945Borchers 1749Borica Co. 1705Brenntag North America 1756Brenntag Specialties, Inc. 1756

Brookfield Engineering 723Buckman Laboratories Inc. 1415Buhler Inc. 947Burgess Pigment Co. 1966BWAY Corporation 841BYK USA Inc. 1507BYK-Gardner 1507Cabot Corp. 1766CPCA 712Cardolite 313Cargill, Inc. 919CAS-MI Laboratories 930CB Mills 1028CCPIT Sub-Council of Chemical Ind. 239Celanese 1710CEM Corporation 711Central Can Company 731CFCM 839ChemFine International Co. 608Chemguard, Inc. 1866Chemical Marketing Concepts 1039Chemsfield Co., Ltd, 213Chori America, Inc. 608Cilas Particle Size 929CINIC Chemicals America, LLC 1860Clariant Corp. Pigments & Additives 1721Clariant Corp. Functional Chemicals 1721Cleveland Steel Container 1044The CMM Group, LLC 1045COATEX Inc. 1021Coatings/Ink World Magazine 647Cognis Corporation 1519Collano Inc. 1733Colorwen International Corp. 911Columbia Machine Inc. 300Columbian Chemicals 1000Cook Composites & Polymers 1810CPS Color Equipment, Inc. 1038Cristal Global 900Croda Inc. 1113CSM Instruments 824Custom Milling & Consulting, 633Custom-Pak Products 621Cytec Industries, Inc. 1529CZNACHEM Group 307Datacolor 1241Deacom, Inc. 1036Degen Oil & Chemical Co. 401Delta Colours 821DEUREX AG 1510Disti Kleen, Inc. 1804DKSH North America, Inc 1954DMG World Media Ltd. 933Dominion Colour Corporation 1848Dow Coating Solutions 1153Dow Corning Corporation 610Draiswerke, Inc. 822DSM NeoResins 1355DuPont Weathering Systems 1101DuPont Zonyl Fluorosurfactants 347Dura Chemicals, Inc. 420Eastman Chemical Company 1445Ebonex Corporation 704ECKART GMBH 1521EGE Kimya San ve Tic A.S. 1854Eiger Machinery, Inc. 242Elcometer Inc. 637ElektroPhysik USA, Inc. 932Elementis Specialties 405Eliokem 1828EMD Chemicals Inc. 1325Emerald Performance Materials 421Engineered Polymer Solutions (EPS) 705Essential Industries 314Ethox Chemicals, LLC 1220Everlight USA Inc. 1004Evonik Degussa Corporation 528EXAKT Technologies, Inc. 831Excalibar Minerals, Inc. 1111Fenchem Enterprises Ltd. 316Ferro Corporation 1947FETTER 617FlackTek, Inc 1031Formulator & ColorTec Software 1100Fortune International Technology 1055FSCT 623Fuji Silysia Chemical, Ltd. 1221Paul N. Gardner Co., Inc. 1047Gelest Inc. 1915Gellner Industrial, LLC 509GEO Specialty Chemicals 1949

continued o page 28

ORGANIZERS HAVE HIGHEXPECTATIONS FOR THE EVENT.Three technical sessions will be held during theconference, covering: Automotive coatings(OEM and refinish); Industrial coatings;Architectural coatings (interior and exterior);Wood coatings; Coatings on plastics; Protectivecoatings (marine and heavy corrosion protec-tion); Functional coatings systems; Specialtycoatings; Coatings production technology andMeasurement and testing.

Opening hours are 9 a.m.to 5 p.m.with the lastday being 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

CANADIAN LUNCHDue to the short notice about the cancellationof the International Coatings Expo (ICE), therewill not be a Canadian Luncheon at ACS.

THE CONFERENCEThe American Coatings Conference promises aforum for the exchange of information andviews from high-level scientific experts.“The involvement of the coating raw materialsindustry in the conference program is over-

whelming,” says a delighted Esther Schwencke,Head of Events Division,Vincentz Network. Dueto more than 170 top-grade and innovativepapers submitted, the event – originallydesigned for 54 scientific presentations – hasbeen increased to 72 presentations, whichresulted in the extension of an additional halfday.The conference also offers five pre-tutorials,one and a half hours each, as an introduction tothe special topics of “Polyurethanes”,“RadiationCuring”, “Corrosion Protection”, “Anti-microbialSurfaces”, and “Easy-to-Clean Coatings”. Therewill also be poster presentations on coatingsresearch and development work to contributeto a dynamic exchange of views among theexperts and inspire the industry to take the stepto the “Next Level”. Information about the con-ference program can be obtained fromFriederike Plasswich at Vincentz Network, [email protected]

EXHIBITORS LISTThis was the exhibitors list at presstime. Pleaserefer to the official web site www.american-coatings-show.com for any recent changes.

suppliers within 6 hours,” he says.“We do everything in one facility.”They order weekly and ship weekly.

WHY ALLIANCE?The name Alliance was chosen fora reason. As the company’s litera-ture states: “The corporate name‘Alliance’ forms a fundamental cor-nerstone of our corporate philoso-phy of success and growththrough the relationships we formwith our customers, and the valueof our strategic partners.”ASF usesproven leading suppliers such asBASF, PPG and Dupont and stocks400 different powder technologiesunder one roof, as well as stylesand textures to meet all industryspecifications.They work with cus-tomers to develop new coloursand applications.

They specialize in solid colours,textures, metallic, anti-graffiti, anti-microbial, ultra-durables, low fric-tion coatings and much more.“Weuse traditional powders that aretried, true and proven,” saysLanglois. “The process and appara-tus are what’s different.”

In the shop, the paint line sys-tem was custom designed to suitASF’s needs.They use Torrid Ovenon their line. ASF also uses theNordson iControl system.There isno hand spraying.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENTResearch and Development (R&D)is key to ASF’s success and is ongo-ing. Langlois says the company isalways trying new things such ascoating glass, acrylics or carbon.They have looked into powdercoatings as a replacement for filmand argon gas.They research reflec-tive coatings that can absorb IR

ASF has perfected a process,after a year of testing that is com-mercially ready and meets GeneralMotors specifications. It can evenbe done on nylon.“We are right onthe cusp of this new technology,”says Langlois. Negotiations are stillongoing, but the contract ASF ishoping for is a non-conductivesubstrate for body panels for athird party manufacturer of vehi-cles, looking at production of80,000 vehicles. The first produc-tion run is speculated for 2012.

“It is a green alternative withcost advantages and performance,”he says. “Our product exceeds liq-uid expectations.”

Langlois says the cost reductionin testing has been as much as 34per cent, but it depends on theproduct being coated.

ASF is a “job shop”, but Langloissays that they tend to focus on largecontracts with a minimum 18month run.Their largest jobs sinceinception have been manufacturersof appliances and office furniture.The company would like to getmore automotive business, but hasalso done work in agricultural,recreational and electronics.

Alliance’s facility in Vaughan is16,000 sq feet with 35 employeesworking two shifts. Only 6000 sq ftof that is manufacturing, the rest isoffices and boardroom.

“We would like to go to threeshifts so we could be operating 24hours a day five days a week,” saysLanglois.

Although most of the Alliance’scustomers are U.S. based, Langloissays, “We are proud to be aCanadian company.”

Langlois is a firm believer in theLEAN philosophy. “We need our


BY SANDY ANDERSON

Robert Langlois loves a challenge,which is why in 2003 as president,CEO and founder of AllianceSurface Finishing (ASF) he took onthe task of commercializing pow-der coating plastic. He worked andreworked formulas and throughplenty of trial and error, is nowquite confident that his company“can powder coat anything.”

“We’ve come a long way,” saysLanglois.“Everybody said it couldn’tbe done”

ASF holds a patent for a processand apparatus for powder coatingnon-conductive substrates. Theyspecialize in plastics, but can alsocoat metal components. Langlois isnot a chemist, but has degrees inbusiness.

The biggest buzz in the works atASF is powder coated chrome onplastic as an alternative to electro-plating. The company’s chromereplacement technology includesbright and tinted chromes with thelook and durability of the real thing.

radiation or are UV resistant andcolour that won’t fade.

“We do an awful lot (of R &D),”says Langlois. “We’re not your typi-cal powder coating shop.”

A significant portion of the com-pany’s operating budget goestoward furthering the developmentof its core technology…powdercoating on plastic. In addition to itsown technology,ASF works closelywith customers and its strategicpartners and is always looking atnew opportunities.

LICENSING PLATFORMA large percentage of ASF’s focusis on licensing projects.They cur-rently have a dozen customerswith more in negotiation. Thecompany will develop product,design equipment, train, and teachan entire turnkey system fromstart to finish.

“Whatever the customer needs,”says Langlois.

Alliance will develop a licensingagreement to meet the specificneeds of the Licensee, incorporat-ing relevant Alliance patents,patents pending, IP or trade secrets.Licenses are granted with or for ter-ritories, specific industries, applica-tion technologies, products orexclusivity (product, industry, terri-tory, time-limit).

ASF offers pre-production sam-pling and production support.

Langlois sees the future as brightas some of the colours in his plantfor ASF.“ A lot of people know whowe, just haven’t been able to useour technology.”He says the compa-ny’s goal is to “keep the facility full,demonstrate our technology andhave customers come in to viewthe process first hand.” ■

BUSINESS PROFILE: ALLIANCE SURFACE FINISHING

Robert Langlois

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INDUSTRIAL FINISHING: WOOD FINISHING TRENDS

There has been a lot of talkwithin the industry abouthigh solids, water based

chemicals and powder, to keep thevolatile organic compounds (VOC)levels within reasonable levels,while not compromising on the fin-ish, compatibility and stability ofthese chemicals.

Today, every wood shop is look-ing at savings and a good qualityfinish.This can be achieved in thefollowing ways:

By working with the chemicalmanufacturers, who will supply thebest process while keeping theVOC’s in mind and the finishrequired by the end user.

By working with the equipmentsuppliers who will supply the bestequipment in order to give hightransfer efficiency without compro-mising quality.

If a small wood shop sprayingwith conventional spray guns andguns connected to pressure tanks,were to change to an air assisted air-less system for sealers and lacquers,they would see transfer efficiencyincreases, an enhanced finish quali-ty and greater speed. Connect ahigh volume low pressure (HVLP)gun to a pressure pot to spraystains,and become compliant whilesaving on the products beingsprayed. When dealing with lowervolumes, for shading, toning or glaz-ing, use high efficiency cup gunswith cups on top,and save time,sol-vent, products and contamination.

If a medium wood shop is usingpumps for spraying lacquers andsealers and pressure pots for stains,a paint kitchen is what is in order.By dedicating a system, he is look-ing at minimizing wastes, reducingVOC’s and increasing operator com-fort, while keeping his spray areaclean. Putting the pumps in an iso-lated area, close to the spray areaand dedicating the pumps accom-plish this.The recirculation of fluidavoids sedimentation and gives con-sistent spray. For maintaining con-sistent viscosity, install heaters.Today, flow-through heaters areavailable where recirculation is notpossible. Heaters replace the manu-al addition of solvent for adjustingviscosities. Manual addition of sol-vent leads to sags, low coverage andrework. There are situations whenthese wood shops would not like todedicate systems,but instead wouldexplore the possibility of putting

manifolds at the suction of pumpsand manifolds on the delivery sideof pumps. This is done to handletwo or three different types of prod-ucts being sprayed in two or threebooths at the same time. A greatdeal of emphasis is paid to agitateproducts and in getting the chemi-cals in 45/55 gallon drums. Withthese sizes it is less labor intensivewith elevators. By installing eleva-tors the operator’s needs are met.The medium size shops have alsostarted exploring the possibility ofusing the electronic two compo-nent mixing machines.

Large wood shops are definitelylooking at flat lines, overhead con-veyor lines or floor conveyors. Flatlines are becoming increasinglypopular.They could be the recipro-

cating, carousel or the robotic type.These are beneficial when a largenumber of flat pieces need to besprayed. Flat lines have becomevery versatile with a greater num-ber of circuits, better controls andeasy colour changes. Large woodshops are also incorporating two-component mixing machines.These machines can be mechanicalor electronic with PLC controls,accurately mixing the base and thecatalyst within + or – 1 per cent.There is a better gloss retentionwhen mixed fresh and sprayed.These machines have a tremendousROI and large wood shops save onwaste, solvents and rejects. With alot of solvent being used to flushguns and wash belts, it is importantfor the wood shops to look at sol-vent recovery units.These units arecompact and either air-cooled orwater-cooled, depending on size.They distill the waste to get cleansolvent and by doing so, the con-sumption of solvent is reduced dras-tically, resulting in tremendous sav-ings in waste disposal.Floor convey-or systems work well in case goodsmanufacturing plants, where theitems are heavy. Overhead convey-ors are used to spray doors wherethe conveyors move at 20-25 feet

per minute or more.Wood Shops, today, are seriously

looking at colour changers for flatlines.An example is the flat line forhandling stains. Suppose there are10 stains attached to ten pumpsthat are used constantly, a pump foran odd colour and a pump for sol-vent. The pumps would force thestains into a colour changer andthen head to the guns, return to thecolour changer and back to thepumps. A PLC panel would have atouch screen where you couldchange colors within seconds orminutes. These systems are provid-ed with air purges.When changingcolours the waste is minimal for thestains & solvents and very quick.Production demands are easily metand quality is unmatched.

Shops are looking at pumps withvery low maintenance. Bellowdesign pumps are being used inmost cases for medium and highpressures.These pumps are easy onfluids, have no pulsation and thefluid is not exposed to air,hence nocrystallization in certain cases.These pumps are made of stainlesssteel making them easily adaptableto water based as technologychanges.The quality of the stainlesssteel is very important when han-dling acid cure post catalyzed coat-ings. Diaphragm or small hydraulicpiston pumps handle stains. Properselection of filters and fluid regula-tors become paramount. Carefulselection results in un-interruptedand consistent spraying.

Guns, whether automatic ormanual, are now being designed tokeep the weight low. The deadpockets inside the gun are mini-mized assisting in easy cleaning andno contamination. The sealers and

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lacquers are sprayed by the airassisted airless guns, as are the wip-ing and spray stains. Some of thespray stains and NGR’s are sprayedby the high volume low-pressureguns.

When it comes to booths, smallmanufacturers are trying to isolatethe sanding areas from finishingareas.The medium sized companiesisolate the paint booths and wherepossible, have air make up unitsinstalled to create positive pressurein the spraying areas. With largecompanies air make up units areimperative and the spray areas arealways isolated.The booths are gen-erally of the closed type.To save onbooth filter changes, baffles are

installed before the filters.Small manufacturers are paying

more attention to diameter ofhoses.On the air assisted airless sys-tems 3mm fluid hoses are recom-mended instead of the 5mm or ¼”hoses and ergonomic hose kits areavailable from manufacturers. Byusing the 3mm fluid hoses, waste isminimized; there is less consump-tion of solvent and less overspray inthe atmosphere, making thesprayer’s job easier.

The end users are moredemanding today. It is very impor-tant for the equipment manufac-turers to work closely with thewood shops and the coatings

manufacturers and suggest, aswell as implement, equipmentthat improves the finishing opera-tion. The result is the installationof automatic systems; electronictwo-component machines, solvent

recovery units and paint kitchens,as well as introducing water basedchemicals or high solids whereverapplicable and economical. ■

This article was supplied by Exel Industrial.

INDUSTRIAL FINISHING: WOOD FINISHING TRENDS

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INDUSTRIAL FINISHING: MASKING

SHERCON’S FIRST HAND LOOK ATSOLVING MASKING PROBLEMSE-coat, powder coat and wet paintare not smart. These finishesdeposit on every available surface,including places they are not want-ed. Removing unwanted finishtakes time, labor, and bogs produc-tion lines.

“Coating shops often becomebottlenecks on a production line,”says Ruben Dominguez, a SeniorDesign Engineer with Shercon, amanufacturer of masking products.“Not because it’s difficult to apply afinish, but because it’s hard to takeit off where you don’t want it.”

Masking products are hardlynew. There are die-cut tape masks,which are typically suited to mask-ing flat surfaces where alignment isnot critical. For more difficult appli-cations – such as non-flat surfaces,apertures or in situations whereease of insertion and removal areneeded to meet the demands ofhigh-volume production – moldedmasks are a logical step.

“Any time I see operators per-forming secondary operations aftera finish step – like removing finishfrom threaded studs or other sur-faces,” says Dominguez,“I’ve founda situation where a custom moldedmask would make a huge impact onproductivity. It’s all about asking thequestion,‘Why are you doing this?’”

He recalls watching operatorsmanually removing e-coat and pow-der coat from the inside of severalbores on heavy equipment,an oper-ation that was consuming signifi-cant time.They had tried construct-ing their own home-brewed masksusing tape, but application wasslow and the results with theirmulti-step e-coat and powder coatlines were mixed at best.

Dominguez, an expert in thedesign of tape and custom moldedmasks in his own right, designed atapered molded plug with a flangedhandle for easy insertion and

removal.He eliminated the expenseof a post-coating machining stepand did away with a productionbottleneck. The client was verypleased.

“The ergonomic handle allowedworkers to quickly insert the mask,the tapered plug completely pro-tected the bore from their coatingprocess, and it removed with a sin-gle tug, leaving a razor-sharp finishline,” says Dominguez.

He adds, “Instead of using twooperators to perform a time-con-suming extra machining step, theyjust plugged in a fix.That mask paidfor itself very quickly.”

Because of the engineeringcosts,custom molded masks are notalways the best solution, but theycan resolve difficult coating issueslike poor finish quality, poor consis-tency, slow mask application andremoval, and poor production lineproductivity.

THE CASE FOR CUSTOMMOLDED RUBBER MASKSCustom molded masks make sensein a wide variety of situations.Theycan protect unusual surfaces andopenings, and do so while provid-ing excellent results in very hostilefinishing environments. They differfrom die-cut tape masks in severalkey ways:

• They protect unusual shapes,bores, apertures and curvedsurfaces in hostile finishingenvironments

• They install and removequickly

• They are reusableLet’s look at these characteristics:

EXCELLENT PROTECTIONIN DIFFICULT ENVIRONMENTSCustom molded masks can maskalmost any surface, aperture, orcombination of the two.No applica-tion is really beyond them,and evensimple applications, which wouldnormally be fodder for a standard

mask, are often handled more effi-ciently by a custom molded mask.

Oscar Puluc, a Shercon DesignEngineer, helped a client who wasmasking threaded holes with a sim-ple tapered plug, but was forced totap out the first three threads ofeach hole because the tapered plugoffered incomplete protection.Puluc’s solution was a threadedmask that could be rapidly insertedwith an air gun and provided 100per cent protection.The expense ofthe mask was minimal compared tothe labor costs and productivitylosses involved with re-tappingeach hole.

Ruben Dominguez recalls anoth-er application where a customerwas using tape to individually mask12 threaded studs and a heavy steelmask to protect the hub surface ona wheel assembly. It was a time con-suming process, and because of thesteel mask, a heavy duty one.Dominguez solved both problemswith a molded rubber mask thatprotected all 12 threaded studs andthe hub surface too. Now, the clientuses a single mask that applies inminutes. In addition, workers couldready the molded Ultrabake maskfor another cycle simply by shakingit over a waste container,where theaccumulated finish would simplyfall off.

A more extreme example wasthe construction of a bonded rub-ber/metal mask to protect a largetransmission aperture to severalatmospheres of pressure.

“Again, these masks can handlealmost any application” saysDominguez.“They solve previously‘unsolvable’ masking problems, butcan also replace the cumbersome,

manual masking techniques usedon many lines with a fast, plug-and-play solution that pays off withincreased productivity.”

RAPID INSTALLATIONAND REMOVALProductivity is key on high volumeproduction lines, and custom mold-ed masks are often used to elimi-nate coating shop bottlenecks.When operators are forced to man-ually create a mask from tape, applymultiple masks,or engage in a time-consuming alignment process, it isprobable that a custom moldedmask would speed up the processand pay for itself very quickly.

Properly designed moldedmasks are self-aligning, and canmask multiple surfaces with oneinsertion (e.g. masking manythreaded bores with one mask).Since they are molded in threedimensions, they can be ergonom-ically designed with flanged han-dles, rings, or other aids.

“This is the part of the design

process you can’t take for granted”says Dominguez.“You have to knowhow the part hangs on the rack, orwhat the space constraints are.Youdon’t want to design a beautifulmask that can’t be inserted becausethere’s no handle clearance. Thatwouldn’t make anyone happy.”

It is why Design EngineerRichard Ramos prefers to visit hiscustomers whenever possible.“Everybody’s process is different.When you visit a shop,you can lookfor areas that are causing problems,and often resolve several issuesinstead of one.”

Interestingly, Ramos credits hiscustomers with a great deal of cre-ativity, “People on production linesare very innovative, and they pro-duce some pretty ingenuousworkarounds for coating problems.Problem is, a series of manual stepsinvolving operators and X-actoknives can add up, and these thingstend to creep up quietly so youdon’t even notice how much timeis being wasted.”

He adds,“One customer filled a

Masking 102:The Case for Custom Molded Masks

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completed gear assembly withwax so they could machine theoutside without depositing metalfragments on the inside. Wedesigned a molded mask with alip that sealed the aperture. Theydidn’t need to pour in the wax orheat the whole assembly forremoval.We saved them a lot.”

Molded masks also typicallycycle quickly from the exit of thecoating line to the start. Makingthem ready to use again ofteninvolves little more than flexingthem over a waste container, a nicetime savings over steel masks,which often require a burn-off stepbefore they can be used again. Tomake sorting easier, they can becolor-coded.

REUSABILITYAdvances in rubber compoundingallow manufacturers to producemolded masks with precisely theright combination of flexibilityand durability. They can handleapplications where flexibility iscalled for; yet survive multipletrips through harsh e-coat andpowder coat cycles.

Dominguez recalls one customerwho employed single-use plasticcaps to protect threaded studs, butwas throwing away literally barrelsof the things. This conflicted withthe company’s desire to be a“green” corporate citizen, and theyalso foresaw a dim future for dis-posal of the plugs. A reusable cus-tom molded mask was designed

and put into production.After sev-eral years, the original masks arestill in use, solving the disposalproblem and speeding up the pro-duction line, too.

“We compound all our own rub-ber in our factory”says Dominguez,referring to the mixing process.“Itallows us to fine-tune the com-pound to suit the particular applica-tion.

SUMMARYCustom molded masks can solve

production problems and often out-perform die-cut tape masks in evensimple applications where align-ment or insertion/removal speedsare important. In difficult environ-ments, molded masks are often the

only reasonable choice.The downside is the initial tool-

ing costs. Still, given the cost struc-ture driving today’s productionenvironments – where consistentquality is paramount and productiv-ity an imperative – custom moldedmasks can make a huge differenceand pay back the initial up-frontcosts very quickly.

The key, says Dominguez, is tolook at your coating shop process-es with fresh eyes, or to invite aprofessional to audit the areaswhere you struggle for productiv-ity and consistency.

“A lot of questions have to beasked.The customer has to ask him-self if they’re really as efficient asthey could be, and if their finishquality is as good as it should be.We also have to ask our clients alot of specific questions or wedon’t improve their coatingresults as much as we could,” saysDominguez. He concludes, “It’s allabout asking the right questions.”■

This article was provided by Shercon Inc.

INDUSTRIAL FINISHING: MASKING

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INDUSTRIAL FINISHING: SPRAY BOOTHS

In the past few years, we haveprobably seen more changes inspray booth design than we

have seen in the previous 20. Themajor booth manufacturers arealways looking for new features thatwill help improve the finishingenvironment. However, the biggestinfluences behind most of therecent changes have been theincreased costs of energy (gasprices have soared over the last fewyears, as have hydro costs) and thenew government regulations underthe Environmental Protection Act.

Today’s spray booths offer manysystem options, so make sure youchoose wisely.

EFFICIENT USE OF ELECTRICITYFor years, all anyone really wantedto know about the booth was: Howmuch gas will it burn during ajob/day/week/month?Today,we areall just as interested in how muchelectricity it will use.How will yourbooth operation impact yourmonthly hydro bill?

If you are looking for a newbooth system, the biggest bang foryour buck is variable frequencydrives (VFDs).These drives controlthe motors on the air makeupintake as well as the exhaust sys-tem. They talk to each other andadjust for the changes inside thebooth cabin.This lessens the loadson the motors, so they require lesspower to operate.The booth drawsthe most amps on start-up. This islessened when the VFDs allow for alow-amp “soft start.” VFD systemscome in single or dual packages,and although single-VFD systemswork well, the most efficient is thedual system. In the dual system,both the input and the exhaust arecontrolled by the VFDs.These dualsystems provide automatic balancecapability, taking that responsibilityoff your painter, and giving him theconfidence to paint in a trouble-freeenvironment.

A VFD system also replaces allthe piston/pneumatic-driven dam-pers that have traditionally con-trolled balance and paint-to-bake

changeovers.Most shops can identify with

seized or out-of-line transitiondampers. VFDs allow for smooth,energy-efficient electrical transi-tions, as opposed to the harsh envi-ronment changes that occur whena damper slams shut or open.

EFFICIENT USE OF FUELBoth indirect and direct-fired airmakeup systems are still availableon the Canadian market.

However, if you want to mini-mize fuel usage, you should consid-er a direct-fired system. Direct-firedsystems will burn just the amountof fuel that is required to heat theair coming in from outside.

Adjustable flames will fire andmodulate depending on how coldthe outside temperatures are. Theold DeVilbiss Company developedits paint-and-bake systems withdirect-fired units back in the late70s and early 80s because these sys-tems were designed for Canadianclimates. Even way back then, fuelefficiency was a major concern.

The other advantage of usingdirect-fired systems is they aremuch more cold temperaturefriendly than indirect. Much ofwestern Canada has very severewinter temperatures. Indirect-fired heaters heat a heat exchang-er, which in turn heats the air.This works fine in more moder-ate climates, but it has been our

experience that when tempera-tures go below minus-20 degreesCelsius, the booth cannot achievetemperature.

Today, you will find that mostmajor booth manufacturers notonly use but also recommend directfire. Unfortunately, if you do nothave access to natural gas orpropane, indirect fire is your onlyoption.

BAKING/FORCE DRY SYSTEMSEven if you do not have naturalgas or propane and have to use anindirect-fired heating system, takeyour time when choosing the bak-ing/force dry system your boothwill use. There are basically threesystems on the Canadian markettoday, and although they all willachieve the same temperatures,the amount of fuel they use variesgreatly.

RECIRCULATING SYSTEMSThese are by far the

most fuel- efficient.When the system is inbaking/force drymode, high tempera-tures are achieved byrecirculating 80 to 90percent of the air whilebringing 10 to 20 per-cent fresh air into thebooth. This means thatin a typical 12,000-cubic-feet-perminute

booth, only 1,200 to 2,400 cfmrequire heating.

FORCE DRY SYSTEMSThese are sometimes referred to astwo-speed systems.

Using damper systems, two-speed motors,or variable frequencydrives, these booths will exhaust100 per cent of the air during thepaint cycle (using our exampleabove, 12,000 cfm).

These systems will still exhaust100 per cent of the air during thebake/force dry cycle,but at approx-imately half the capacity (6,000cfm). If you are considering thistype of system, please think aboutdirect-fired heating and a VFD tran-sition/balancing system.This combi-nation will operate the most effi-ciently in this type of system.Withdirect-fired heating, this system willburn approximately 30 to 40 percent more fuel than a recirculatingsystem. Still, this is a very viableoption for lower production shops.

HIGH-TEMPERATURE AIRMAKEUP SYSTEMSBe very cautious when consideringthese systems.

Air makeup units can be over-sized or have temperatures risebeyond legal limits to achieve bakeand force dry temperatures.

Many of these systems are notonly illegal; they are burning tons offuel and will cost a small fortune tooperate.

Our advice would be to checkwith your local gas authoritybefore installing anything otherthan traditional recirculating or

Energy EfficientSpray Booths


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force dry systems.

HIGH-FLOW SYSTEMSWhile we are discussing fuel andenergy efficiency, we must talkabout another new option thatyou might be considering—high-

flow systems.High-flow booths move more air

than we have become accustomedto.

Until recently, the average boothmoved 8,000 to 12,000 cfm. High-flow booths are moving anywhere

from 16,000 to 20,000cfm through the tradi-tional auto refinishdowndraft cabin.

One of the bestmeans for the efficientapplication and curingof waterborne paints isincreased airflow pastthe wet surfaces.This isanother Europeanimport based upon thehead start they have

had in refinishing with water- basedproducts. If you have attended clin-ics or discussed the new water-borne paints with your local paintrep, you have likely seen all theacceleration additions that will con-centrate or increase the airflow ofyour existing booth (towers, DirectFired burner fans,portable blowers,etc.).

High-flow booths simply use big-ger motors to drive the input andexhaust systems. Obviously, thesebigger motors will burn more elec-tricity.To heat the larger amounts ofair, the burners also have to beupsized, and thus high-flow boothsburn more fuel. However, for themost part, energy efficiency hasbeen taken into account in these

developments, and they are oftencoupled with automatic balancingand VFD systems such as those dis-cussed above.

The bottom line is that thesebooths are like SUVs—they are slickand big and are all the rage,but theyare not as energy and fuel efficientas the less sexy standard-flow sys-tems. The good news is there aretons of new products that can easi-ly be added to standard-flow sys-tems that will help you with costefficiencies and also handle thenew water-based materials.

This article was adapted withpermission from one that appearedin Collision Quarterly Fall 2007.Photos are supplied by GlobalFinishing. ■

INDUSTRIAL FINISHING: SPRAY BOOTHS


PAINT AND COATINGS MANUFACTURING: SILICONES

and epoxy silicones are normallyemployed. Urethane systems canco-react with silicone carbinols andamines.

A summary of the reactions thatcan take place are as follows:

SILICONE ACRYLATESReaction With Vinyl Monomers

Reaction With Acrylic Monomers

SILICONE EPOXIDESReaction With Organic Epoxides

Reaction With Alcohols

Reaction With Amines

SILICONE CARBINOLSReaction With Isocyanates

Reaction With Carboxylic Acids

Reaction With Epoxides

SILICONE AMINESReaction With Isocyanates

Reaction With Carboxylic Acids

Reaction With Epoxides

VINYL SILICONESReaction With Vinyl Monomers

Reaction With SiH

The reactive silicones can also bemodified with polyether groups,alkylgroups, and fluoro to make themmore compatible, or to increasechemical and stain resistance.

Because of the unique attributesof the silicone backbone, they canprovide water repellency and waterpermeability, as well as UV andchemical resistance, which can bevery useful in architectural coat-ings, such as masonry and woodcoatings.

SUMMARY:Silicones have come a long way intheir use in paints and coatings.Because of the versatility of the sili-cone molecule, it can be modifiedwith various organic groups andthe molecular weight can be modi-fied to make a molecule that can becustomized for specific formula-tions for use as defoamers, slip,flow, mar resistance, pigment dis-persants and as reactants into thepolymer system to help improveheat stability, flexibility, water repel-lence and water permeability.Theycan be used in basically all types ofcoatings including automotive,wood, anti-fouling, architectural,inks and paints. As more formula-tors discover the uniqueness andadaptability of silicones, the futurefor coatings looks very bright. ■

Rick Vrckovnik is the TechnicalDirector for Siltech Corp, a sili-cone specialty manufacturerbased in Toronto, Canada.

continued from page 11

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PLATING AND ANODIZING: POWER SUPPLIES AND RECTIFIERS

PLATING RECTIFIERSBY CHRIS JANACEK

The power conversion systemsand components containedwithin the power supplies,or

rectifiers, used in the surface finish-ing industry today rely mainly onmethods and technologies devel-oped decades ago.This power con-version methodology remains as ahighly efficient and reliable sourceof the high currents necessary inthe surface finishing industry. Thepower conversion componentscontained within the rectifierinclude voltage regulating devices,transformers and rectifying devices.The cooling system and the controlsystem are other major componentsof the rectifier.Three major types ofplating rectifiers are tap switch,vari-able transformer and silicon con-trolled rectifier (SCR). A briefoverview of tap switch and variabletransformer rectifiers will follow,but the majority of this discussionwill be concerned with the SCRcontrolled rectifier.The control sys-tems of today’s rectifiers havechanged and become more sophis-ticated over the years.There are alsonumerous options available ontoday’s rectifiers. Most of theseoptions have been available forsome time,but the sophistication ofimplementation has increased overthe years.

TAP SWITCH AND VARIABLETRANSFORMER RECTIFIERSTap switch and variable trans-former rectifiers represent asmaller percentage of the platingrectifiers produced today. Thesetwo types of rectifiers, while pro-viding lower initial procurementcosts, require more maintenancedue to their mechanical natureand do not provide the level ofcontrol that SCR controlled recti-fiers provide. Disadvantages of tapswitch rectifiers include the nec-essary mechanical maintenance ofthe tap switch itself, the incre-mental stepped voltage output,and less desirable ripple content.Disadvantages of variable trans-former rectifiers include the wearon the wipers of the variabletransformer and their lowerachievable KVA.

POWER CONVERSIONIN SCR RECTIFIERSAs previously mentioned, thepower conversion components of

the SCR rectifier include voltageregulating devices, transformers,and rectifying devices. The voltagecontrol device in the SCR con-trolled rectifier is the SCR itself.There are three basic physical typesof SCRs used in rectifiers; studmount, encapsulated and disc (or“hockey-puk”).An SCR is a three ter-minal device. The three terminalsare the gate, the cathode, and theanode.The gate controls the flow ofcurrent through the SCR.Without agate signal, the SCR blocks the flowof current in either direction.Whena signal is applied to the gate, theSCR behaves like a diode allowingcurrent flow in one direction only.The gating of the SCR controls the

voltage to the main transformer.The main transformer is used to

change an AC (Alternating Current)voltage from one value to another.Each transformer has both primaryand secondary windings. The volt-age in the primary winding of thetransformer induces the voltage inthe secondary winding of the trans-former. In plating rectifiers, themain transformer reduces the rela-tively high voltage, low current pri-mary AC voltage to the necessarylower voltage, higher current sec-ondary AC voltage.

The third power conversioncomponent of the SCR controlledrectifier is the rectifying device.Therectifying device used in rectifiers is

the diode or the diode assembly.The diode is a solid state device thatallows current flow in only onedirection.The diode assembly is thefinal stage of power conversion thatconverts the regulatedAC voltage torectified DC voltage.

The previous discussiondescribes what is known as a pri-mary SCR, secondary diode rectifi-er.There are some rectifiers that usethe SCR as both the voltage regulat-ing device and the rectifyingdevice. These types of rectifiersplace the SCR on the low voltagesecondary side of the transformerand are called secondary SCR recti-fiers. Either type of rectifier canproduce the output necessary for

plating rectifiers.The volt-age and current rating ofthe rectifier, the type ofcooling method used andother factors determinewhich type of rectifica-tion the rectifier manufac-turer uses.

COOLING SYSTEM TYPESThere are different cooling meth-ods available for cooling the inter-nal components of the rectifier.Rectifier cooling is necessarybecause the power conversioncomponents used within the rectifi-er are not perfect conductors andhave power losses associated withthem. While the power conversiondevices used in plating rectifiers arehighly efficient devices, the highpower ratings of the plating rectifi-er can result in generation of largeamounts of heat. Cooling methodsinclude natural convection coolingfor small low power single phaserectifiers, forced air cooled, indirectwater cooled, direct water cooledand combinations of the above. In

large plating rectifiers, the threemajor methods employed for cool-ing are forced air, indirect water anddirect water.A major considerationagainst the use of air cooled recti-fiers is the corrosive nature of theplating environment. If the rectifieris to be located in an unconditionedair space near plating tanks, one ofthe water cooled rectifier typesshould be considered.Table 1 com-pares the three cooling types.

CONTROL SYSTEMSThe single most important functionin the SCR controlled rectifier is thecontrol of the SCR itself. In general,the system component that accom-plishes the control of the SCR iscalled the gate drive. As you mayrecall, the SCR has three terminals,the gate, cathode and anode. Thegate terminal is the terminal thatcontrols the flow of power throughthe SCR.The gate drive is incorporat-ed on a printed circuit board orPCB.The gate drive can be a stand-alone PCB, or a PCB that incorpo-rates the gate drive and other rectifi-er control functions into one PCB.The gate drive receives control sig-nals from an operator panel or acomputer control system. Rectifierscan be operated in either a voltagecontrol mode or a current controlmode. In voltage control mode, acommand is sent to the controlboard that represents the desiredoutput voltage of the rectifier. Afeedback system within the rectifiersends a signal back to the controlboard that indicates the actual out-put of the rectifier. The controlboard responds to this feedback bychanging the gate drive output tomaintain the desired output voltage.This comparison occurs at a veryrapid rate and allows for tight con-

COOLING METHOD COMPARISON CHART

Type Water UsageSize andWeight

Reliability ofCooling Method

Noise LevelCorrosion

Resistance

Ability to with-stand High

AmbientTemperature

Description

Forced Air None Medium Fair High Poor GoodFan causes air move-

ment and cooling

Direct Water Low Low Good Low Excellent ExcellentLocal water sourcecools some or all

components

Indirect WaterLow Low Low Excellent Low Excellent Excellent

Uses closed loopliquid system

w/water to liquidexchanger

Figure 1


trol of the output voltage. In currentcontrol mode, a command is sent tothe control board that indicates thedesired output current of the rectifi-er. The feedback system operates inmuch the same manner as the volt-age control system, except that theoutput current is regulated.

In addition to the gate drive,there are other functions and pro-tection systems that are built intothe various control boards of therectifier. The gate drive itself willnormally employ voltage limit andcurrent limit circuitry that will pre-vent the output of the rectifier fromexceeding a set limit in the event ofsystem component failure. Systemsmay also include a line monitoringsystem to protect the major compo-nents of the rectifier. These linemonitoring systems are designed todetect incoming line problems nor-mally caused by component failurewithin the rectifier. One problemthat line monitoring systems maydetect is excessive incoming linecurrent. Another problem that theline monitor may detect is an unbal-anced line.Either of these problemsis normally caused by failed semi-conductor device,such as an SCR ordiode. Left undetected, these fail-ures can have a cascading effectwhere the remaining good compo-nents fail due to excessive powerdissipation.There are other controlsbuilt into liquid cooled systems thatactuate solenoids to control theflow of coolant in these systems.Finally, there are temperature sen-sors built into most systems thatwill either provide a visual overtemperature warning or actuallyshut down the rectifier if it reachesan over temperature condition.

STANDARD RECTIFIER FEATURESStandard rectifiers will includeknobs for the voltage and currentcontrol mentioned previously.Systems will also include STARTand STOP buttons to initiate andend plating cycles and controlswitches to disable the rectifier out-put without actually shutting downthe entire rectifier.A standard recti-fier will also include analog panelmeters to display the output of therectifier. These controls can belocated in the front panel of the rec-tifier itself, or in a remote controlbox (Figure 2).

RECTIFIER OPTIONSIn addition to these standard rectifi-er controls,options can be added tothe rectifier for specific processes.Ramp functions,cycle timers,digitalmeters, amp hour meters, andpump controls can be added to thebasic rectifier. These custom func-tions are typically added by

installing additional stand alonecomponents within the rectifier orthe remote control box. However,the Programmable Logic Controller(PLC) can in some cases replacethese individual components allow-ing for the addition of multipleoptions in a single instrument.Ripple filters can also be added torectifiers for processes that requireless ripple in the plating process.

Interface boards can be added torectifiers to allow control via a con-trol signal from a remote PLC. ThePLC signal to this interface board istypically a 4-20mA control signal,but can also be a voltage control sig-nal.The 4-20mA current control sig-nal is the most popular choice forPLC control because of its ability totravel long distances without signalloss as well as it being less suscepti-ble to noise. PLC controls are typi-cally added by the end user them-selves or by third party vendors thatspecialize in the installation of largeplating lines. These PLCs can beincorporated into large systems thatalso control automated lines.

Today’s rectifiers are functionallythe same as they have been fordecades. However, the methodsused to control these rectifiers have

progressed over the years. Optionsfor specific finishing needs can eas-ily be added to rectifiers and mostrectifier companies can customize arectifier to fit your specific needs.The large combination of requiredinput and output voltages, currentsand rectifier options makes stock-ing complete rectifiers impractica-ble for rectifier manufacturers.Therefore, investigate your rectifierneeds thoroughly because yourchosen rectifier provider will mostlikely be able to provide the rectifi-er that best suits your needs. ■

Chris Janacek is the EngineeringManager for Process ElectronicsCorporation (Manufacturer ofUdylite brand rectifiers) basedin Mount Holly, NCwww.pecrectifier.com

Figure 2


power conversionequipment from process ElectronicsCorporation exemplifies engineeredquality. For 55 years, PEC has beenmeeting demanding requirementsworldwide with standard andcustom designs. From closed-loop,liquid-cooled power centers toportable bench converters,UDYLITE is the metal finishingindustry’s choice for dependabilityand efficient power.

Process Electronics Corp.P.O. Box 505Mt. Holly, NC 28120 USATel: 704-827-9019fax: 704-827-9595

www.pecrectifier.com

PLATING AND ANODIZING: ELECTROLESS NICKEL

The pretreatment of aluminumalloys for electroless nickelplating traditionally involved

the use of chemicals that gaveexcellent results with respect tocoverage and adhesion of the coat-ing, but were not very user friendlyfor the plater or platers on theprocessing line.

THE BOMBThis was particularly true for hardto plate aluminum alloys such as sil-icated A356 castings or highstrength 7075. The need for aneffective desmut when processingthese alloys is critical and for many

years the standard in the industrywas what became known by manyplaters as the ‘bomb’. The ‘bomb’was a tri-acid mixture of nitric acid,sulphuric or phosphoric acid, and alarge amount of ammonium bifluo-ride. It did a wonderful job ofdesmutting the aluminum afteretching, but it was difficult to makeup (very exothermic make-up) andnasty to work with. It typicallyreleased significant amounts ofNOx during use and under somecircumstances could even becomeunstable (hence the nickname).Even with good tank ventilationmost platers did not like working

with this stuff. Nitric acid was alsoused in the zincate strip step whenprocessing aluminum through adouble zincating cycle and strongcaustic soda etches were also com-mon when processing aluminum.

ADDRESSING HEALTH CONCERNSNew products have been intro-duced in recent years to address thehealth and safety issues of the mate-rials like the ‘bomb’ but in manycases the results were mixed or theproducts simply did not cover thewide range of aluminum alloys thatthe nasty pretreatment chemicalslike the triacid desmut did. Afterreceiving two almost simultaneousrequests from customers to elimi-nate NOx fumes from their alu-minum pretreatment lines Iembarked on a mission to replacethe standard pretreatment chem-istry.The key was to replace the badproducts, while maintaining thequality of the work over a wide vari-ety of aluminum alloys.

CONSIDER PRETREATMENTSYSTEM AS A WHOLEThe first important thing that Ifound is that the pretreatment cyclemust be considered as a whole,from start to finish. Changing just a

single step in the traditional cycleto a newer safer product is likely tolead to some failures.The new saferalternatives work much betterwhen matched correctly togetherfrom start to finish.

RANGE WIDENEDThe second thing I found is thatwhen this proper matching of prod-ucts is done the range of alloys thatcould be processed is actually verywide – everything from difficultcastings to most wrought alloys.Thenew process sequence uses nonitric acid or caustic soda at all(hence no NOx fumes) and theproducts have excellent bath life.The adhesion overall has beenexcellent, but there is a definiteneed for good rinsing betweensteps particularly around blindholes (although in fact this hasalways been the case - even withthe old standards). One benefit isthat the line operators were quitemotivated to get away from nitricbased desmuts so they were happyto rinse more carefully. From theresults obtained at these and othercustomers, it looks like the days ofthe ‘bomb’ are pretty much num-bered when processing electrolessnickel. Both customers had alreadychanged to cadmium and lead freeelectroless nickel baths, so from ahealth and safety point of view,things have come a long way for theaverage guy working the line-whichis good. ■

Robert Jones is Product SpecialistElectroless Nickel/FunctionalElectronic Coatings for AtotechCanada Limited.

Improvements in the Processingof Aluminum Alloys with Electroless Nickel From

a Health and Safety PerspectiveBY ROBERT JONES B SC, CEF

“The key was toreplace the bad prod-ucts, while maintain-ing the quality of the

work over a widevariety of

aluminum alloys.”


Advertising Contact:Pete Wilkinson PublisherCFCM Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing250 The East Mall Suite 1103Toronto, ON, Canada M9B 6L3Phone: 1-416-255-1808 Fax: 1-416-519-1313Web site: www.cfcm.ca

• Paint and Coating Manufacturers and Suppliers• Paint and Coating Raw Material and Equipment Suppliers• Finishing Equipment and Supplies• Metal Finishing Equipment and Supplies• Custom Coaters and Job Shops• Government, Education and Associations

Print and On-line EditionsFree ListingAll URL Web-links will be active No Charge.Thousands of categories.Sign up on-line at www.cfcm.mercuryemail.com or www.cfcm.caBuyers Guide or print it out and fax to 1-519-442-1359or mail to CFCM.All New Information, no old outdated listings.

Update on-line any time throughout the year. No changes will bemade without your confirmation.Deadline for Free Listing May 15th, 2008.

Printed Buyers Guide EditionHigh Quality Perfect Bound 8-1/8 in. x 11-7/8 in. Journal Size.Heavy 115lb. cover stock with Aqueous Coating for durability.Heavy 60 lb. pages for strength and no bleed through of your ad.Impact: Mails to over 10,000 readers.A real “Keeper Issue” for the Coating Manufacturer and theIndustrial Finisher. Don’t miss this opportunity to Contact theCanadian Industry thoughout the year.

Book Your Ad Today!Advertising Deadline: Space May 15th Ad Copy May 22nd.

Don’t Miss the June CFCM Buyers Guide - The Quality Buyers Guide

PLATING AND ANODIZING: ANODIZING

Temporary Operations & Maintenance Inc.

John Seldon, RPP, C.E.T., CCEP

Waste Sludges: Collection, Concentration,Conditioning - Mechanical DewateringWastewater: Audits, Optimization,Mass Balance, Training

21 Erieus St. P.O. Box 491

Port Burwell, Ontario, Canada

N0J 1T0

Cell: 519-240-2926

Office: 519-874-4213


Talking to those in the industri-al anodizing trade, CFCMreceived comments such as

“There is really nothing new hap-pening when it comes to anodiz-ing.” It seems that this is a case of“ifit’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

Anodizing is a tried and true 85-year-old technique used to coat theexterior of a metal with a protectivefilm using an electric current as apower input. The component isimmersed in the acid bath and isconnected to the positive terminaland an electric current is passedthrough the bath. After beingimmersed for a fixed amount oftime, the component is washed andis ready to use.The acid in the bathis corrosive and proper care needsto be taken in mixing and handling.The anodizing process produces ahard layer of aluminum hydrate.This compound is porous and it canalso be dyed with different colors tomake the component look moreattractive. The thickness layer isabout 0.0005 to 0.002 inches.Automobile parts and electricalhousings are some of the commontypes of components that areanodized.The hard outer layer alsoacts as a resistor to electricity. Caremust be taken when anodizing alu-minum, as the part will be thickerwhen it is finished and may not fitits original purpose.To have colouron aluminum, it must be anodized.Anodizing is also used for metalsother than aluminum such as,niobi-um, tantalum, titanium, tungsten,zirconium. For each of these metalsthere are process conditions thatpromote growth of a thin, dense,barrier oxide of uniform thickness.The thickness of this layer and itsproperties vary greatly dependingon the metal, with only the alu-minum and tantalum (and recentlyniobium) films being of substantialcommercial and technologicalimportance as capacitordielectrics. Aluminum is uniqueamong these metals in that, in addi-tion to the thin barrier oxide,anodizing aluminum alloys in cer-tain acidic electrolytes produces athick oxide coating, containing ahigh density of microscopic pores.

ANODIZING EVOLUTIONThe aerospace industry is creditedwith having given birth to industri-al anodizing as far back as 1923,when it was used to protect sea-plane parts from corrosion. Thisearly chromic acid (Bengough-

Stuart) process is still used today,although its complicated voltagecycle is now known to be unneces-sary. Variations of this processevolved, and the first sulfuric acidanodizing process was patented byGower and O’Brien in 1927.Sulfuric acid is today’s most com-mon anodizing process.

Anodized aluminum extrusionwas popular in the 1960s and1970s,but plastics and powdercoat-ing, being less expensive alterna-tives, took its place.The phosphoricacid process is the newest in

anodizing, used primarily as pre-treatments for adhesives or organicpaints.A wide variety of proprietaryand increasingly complex variationsof all these anodizing processescontinue to be developed by indus-try, so the growing trend in militaryand industrial standards is to classi-fy by coating properties rather thanby process chemistry.The need forcorrosion-resistant aluminum air-craft parts fueled the pioneering ofthe technique, and from there itwas perfected for military use andindustrial applications.

There have also been nanotech-nology applications. A hexagonalarray of nanoscale (on the order ofbillionth of a meter) depressionswas impressed on an aluminum sur-face using a silicon carbide die fab-ricated using electron beam lithog-raphy. Feature interval was 70-500nm, feature depth was 200 nm,andfeature width was of similar magni-tude. Adjustment of process condi-tions produces precisely orderedpore arrays with dimensions suit-able for use as 2-D (two-dimension-al) photonic crystals in the visiblewavelength.

Pores can be used as templatesto make structures such asnanowires and nanotubes.

Anodizing 101



PLATING AND ANODIZING: WATER WISE WITH JOHN SELDON

WATER FACT: WATER AS ASOLVENT“Water is … a good solvent due toits polarity. Substances that will mixwell and dissolve in water (e.g.salts) are known as ‘hydrophilic’(water-loving) substances, whilethose that do not mix well withwater (e.g. fats and oils), are knownas ‘hydrophobic’ (water-fearing)substances. The ability of a sub-stance to dissolve in water is deter-mined by whether (it) … can matchor better the strong attractive forcesthat water molecules generatebetween other water molecules. If asubstance … (cannot) … overcomethese strong intermolecular forces,the molecules are ‘pushed out’ fromthe water, and do not dissolve.”Let’stake a look at a few basic chemistryand math issues that are at the coreof operating a clarifier. It is a sophis-ticated vessel that is dependent onsome basic operating criteria inorder for it to do a proper job.

YOU NEED SOLIDS THAT SETTLESuspended solids may be defined assolids which may be captured bybeing filtered across a 0.45 μm filtermembrane, distinguishing themfrom (smaller) colloidal or dissolvedsolids. Clarification may also sepa-rate substances that don’t settle inwater. Fats and oils will float to thesurface and be captured by skim-ming. A waste stream may haveboth colloidal solids and fine sus-pended solids that need to beremoved to successfully reduce thewaste stream’s loading for any onetype of contaminant. Colloidalsolids tend to not settle and solidstoo fine to settle at a waste stream’sflow rate will not settle sufficientlyto be removed, leaving the effluentwith an elevated contaminant con-centration. Something has to bedone to improve settleability andthis is often accomplished by bring-ing small particles (colloidal, sus-pended) together (coagulation) andthen, if needed, making them evenlarger (flocculation).

COAGULATION, FLOCCULATIONThese two processes are under-

stood to occur sequentially,coagula-tion preceding flocculation,

although it is not unusual to havethe two terms used interchange-ably. Coagulation is the process ofbringing very fine particulatetogether, typically colloidal materi-als, by adding a metal salt (such asferric chloride, FeCl+3, with theiron ion (Fe+3) being the effectiveagent, or aluminum sulphate(Al2SO4, ion (Al+3).These positive-ly charged particles tend to reducethe negative charge of colloidalsolids, allowing them to cometogether to form larger particulate,called “flocs” and increasing theirlikelihood of settling. Indeed theymay also be effective in agglomerat-ing very fine suspended solids aswell, with the same effect. In orderfor the coagulant to be effective, itneeds to contact the colloidal mate-rial by colliding with it. Therefore,coagulant addition is typicallyaccompanied by high energy mix-ing in order to increase the numberof collisions. Mixing time may bemeasured in seconds. Use of metalsalts such as iron and aluminumalso result in the formation of theirrespective hydroxides when addedto the water or wastewater streamthey are used to treat.The nature ofthe hydoxides is such that theytend to form their own flocs whichthen may “collect” the colloidal par-ticles, forming the needed largerparticulate. However, using metalsalts also tends to generate a lot ofsludge volume with poor dewater-ing characteristics. Flocculationextends the process of coagulationand may again use iron or alu-minum salts to accomplish this or,as is often the case these days, usehigh molecular weight polyelec-trolytes (polymers). These latterflocculants are carbon-based mole-cules, often delivered as .1 per centto .01 percent weight to weight liq-uid solutions to the waste streamafter coagulation.They bridge flocsinto an agglomerate resulting in alarger particle more easily settled.Unlike adding coagulant, the poly-mer solution is added into a slowmixing environment, measured inminutes rather than seconds, allow-ing time for the bridging to occurand, with less energy added, pre-venting the new large floc from

breaking up once it has formed.Smaller particulate, from brokenlarger floc, do not tend to reformand typically settle more poorlythan their bigger predecessors.

MATH AND METAL SALTSADDITION RATEIf a ferric salt is being added to awaste stream it is useful to knowthe ferric ion concentration leveladdition rate (Fe+3/L or, better,weight Fe+3/unit weight of con-taminant). Jar testing is often usedto determine the appropriatedosage for a metal salt addition rateto a wastewater stream. Oftendosage addition rates of metal saltsor polymers are stated as “parts permillion,ppm”.That is, so many partsof iron salt solution to a million(equivalent) parts of fluid beingtreated. For example, 1.0 ppm.However, this aproach of chemicaladdition can be less than cost oroperationally effective exceptwhere the contaminant of concernis at a constant concentration in aset waste stream flow rate.

Consider the following:A typical commercial delivery of

liquid ferric chloride would becharacterized by product informa-tion (check this information foreach load):

1. Concentration of iron salt; say, 38per cent as FeCl3. (Caution. Ironsalts may be identified with“water of hydration” associatedwith them (i.e. FeCl3 · 6H2O);ensure that the concentrationinformation from the supplierreflects any water of hydrationassociated with the concentra-tion value. For this example, nowater of hydration is included inthe 38 per cent).

2. Density of the solution, say 14.3pounds/gallon, or 1.43 kg./L.

Calculate the amount of ferricion (Fe+3) per unit volume of solu-tion delivered.

Calculate the ratio ofFe+3/FeCl3. From the periodictable the atomic weight of iron (Fe)is 58.85, and chlorine is 35.45.Therefore, the gram molecularweight (GMW) of FeCl3 is equal to

(1X 58.85 + 3X 35.45) grams =165.2 grams.The ratio of Fe/FeCl3 isequal to (58.85/165.2) = .356.

Calculate the grams of FeCl3 in aliter of solution. Knowing that theiron chloride concentration is 38per cent by weight of the solutionand the solution weighs (density)1.43 kg/L, the weight of FeCl3 insolution is equal to (.38 X 1.43kg/L) = .5434 kg/L.That is, there are.5434 kg (or 543.4 gr.) of FeCl3 in aliter of the delivered solution.

Calculate the amount of iron, Fe,in a liter of solution. Knowing theratio of iron to iron chloride is .356,the amount of iron in a liter of com-mercially delivered solution (usingthe above parameters) is equal to(.356 X .5434 kg) = .1935 kg (or193.5 gr.) as Fe+3.

SO WHAT?Cost. And the consistent use of aresource.At some point in establish-ing the operating parameters forthe clarifier,a dosage rate for iron asFe+3 (or Al+3, polymer, lime) wasestablished that optimized the per-formance of the clarifier for thecontaminant chemical in question.Using less would provide pooreroperation, excess use would addcost to the operation without a cor-responding improvement in per-formance. This may have beenestablished initially by a jar testingprogram and then refined through afull scale testing program across theclarifier.

Ideally, the dosage would be stat-ed on a weight of iron (for thisexample) to a unit weight of con-taminant, say .3 gr of iron to a gramof contaminant – a ratio of .3.

That is, if the contaminant was ata concentration of 10 mg/L, youwould need to add (.3 X 10) mg =3.0 mg of iron for every liter ofwaste solution to obtain optimalresults from the iron. That is, theratio of Fe+3 weight to contaminantweight in any volume stays thesame: 3.0 mg Fe+3/10 mg contami-nant giving a ratio of .3.

We know there are 193.5 gr.(193,500 mg) of iron in a liter(1,000 ml) of delivered solution. 1ml contains 193.5 mg.of iron. If yourequire 3.0 mg of iron per liter of

Clarification viaSedimentationOr a Little Chemistry, a Little Math, Makes for Better Effluent


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wastewater, then you need:(3.0/193.5) ml = .0155 ml of ironchloride solution to be added to theliter of wastewater. For the 1 Lexample immediately above, adding.0155 ml of the iron solution to aliter of wastewater would providethe needed .3 ratio ofFe+3/contaminant, by weight.

If your flow is 1,000 L perminute, then you need to deliver(1,000 X .0155) ml/minute = 15.5ml of iron chloride solution/minute.On a concentration basis you arestill delivering .3 mg of iron per mgof contaminant ((15.5 ml iron chlo-ride X 193.5 mg Fe+3/ml)/(1,000 Lwastewater X 10 mg contami-nant/L) = (2999.25/10,000) = .3).

If your wastewater flow and thelevel of contaminant were eachconstant and the iron chloride solu-tion was consistently supplied atthe same metal salt concentration,then you could always add the ironsolution at a rate of 15.5 ml/1,000 Land obtain a ratio of .3, the valuefound to be the best for treating thecontaminant. 1 L has 1,000 milli-liters (ml).A 1,000 L has a million ml(i.e. 1,000 X 1,000 or 1X106 )ml.Therefore, for every minute,15.5 mlof iron solution is added to a millionmls. of wastewater: 15.5ml/ per1X106 ml.This can also be stated asan addition rate of 15.5 parts permillion (ppm).

But wastewater flows rarelyreflect such consistency. Say thecontaminant’s concentrationdropped to 8 mg/L and the metalsalt addition continued to be addedat 15.5 ml/minute. The amount ofiron being added would continue tobe 2999.25 mg, (rounded to 3,000mg). The amount of contaminantwould be equal to 1000 L/min. X8mg/L = 8,000 mg./min.The ratio ofFe+3/contaminat would be(3,000/8,000) or .375, an increaseof 25 per cent over the ideal ratio.Consequently your iron solutioncosts are now 25 per cent greaterthan needed.

Similarly, if the contaminant con-centration remained at 10 mg/L,butthe wastewater flow dropped from1,000 L/minute to 800 L/minute,the amount of contaminant perminute would again drop to 800mg/min and the ratio would againincrease to .375 and excess ironsolution would be wasted.

On the other hand, if the level ofcontaminant increased from 10mg/L to 12 mg/L, the amount ofcontaminant/minute would equal12 mg/L X 1,000L = 12,000 mg.With the iron still being added at3,000 mg/minute, the ratio ofFe+3/contaminant would drop to(3,000/12,000) = .25, a 16.7 percent decrease in the ratio. Less iron

is being used per unit contaminantbut what is being used is less effec-tive as the ratio is too low.As a con-sequence, the treatment processmay be compromised and the efflu-ent discharge may not be meetingregulatory requirements. Similarconsequences are found if the con-taminant flow increased without acorresponding increase in metalsalt addition.

Ideally you add the treatmentchemical to the contaminant at anoptimized fixed weight to weightratio, as argued above, assuming allother operating parameters arewithin operating guidelines (i.e.flow rate).To achieve this requiresreal time monitoring of the contam-inant concentration (for a metal,with an inline specific ion elec-trode) and of flow. Using a comput-

er-based analysis system, the weightof contaminant can be calculated inreal time and the amount of chemi-cal needed for treatment can bedelivered through a variable speedpump, automatically adjusted bysignals from the instrumentation.

In SummaryIf you are clarifying via

Sedimentation:You need to get any dissolved

contaminant you wish to remove,out of solution.

Colloidal solids do not settle andvery fine suspended solids may notsettle well.

Colloidal and suspended solidsmay be formed into larger particlesto aid in settling (“floc”) by theaddition of a coagulant, often ametal salt.

Floc may be further agglomerat-

ed by a flocculant, again to aid insettling; these are often polyelec-trolytes.

The rate of addition of a coagu-lant or a flocculant is best definedon a weight to weight basis to opti-mize its performance in capturingthe contaminant and optimizing thecost of the chemical.

Monitor your wastewater flowand contaminant levels in real timeto aid in adding treatment chemi-cals at the appropriate rate. ■

John Seldon is presi-dent of TemporaryOperations &Maintenance Inc.,Port Burwell, ON,

and has 35 years experience inthe industry.


continued from page 12

Glassfillers.com 701Grace Davison 1331Green Seal Inc. 714GSI Exim America 1212GTI Graphic Technology, Inc. 810Guocai Chemical Co., Ltd. 221Halox 1405Hetian Ceramic Co., Ltd. 233Heucotech, Ltd./Heubach GmbH 1838HEXION Specialty Chemicals, INC. 853Hockmeyer Equipment 937Honeywell 1225hte Aktiengesellschaft 1029Hualun Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. 330Huber Engineered Materials 323Huntsman 446Hydrite Chemical Co. 1024Imerys 913Incorez Ltd. 1913INEOS Silicas Americas 1621Inpra Latina Latin Press Inc. 713Intercorp, Inc. 1123Interfibe Corporation 912International Speciality Products (ISP) 335ISI PLAST S.p.A. 739Jiasi Chemical Co., Ltd. 322Jixin, Guangdong Deqing Synthetic Resin 404JLM Chemicals, Inc. 1956JPCL PAINTSQUARE 1142Jyoti Ceramic Industries 923Kaneka Texas Corporation 600Kenrich Petrochemicals, Inc. 1010Keystone Aniline Corp. 414King Industries, Inc. 329Kion Specialty Polymers 1721Korea International Trade Assoc. 411Kowa American Corp. 1906Kronos Worldwide, Inc 1121Kuraray America, Inc. 1806KW Container 745

Kyowa Hakko USA 1466LANXESS 515Lehigh Technologies 410Leneta Company 743Liaoning Liangang Chemical 225Lingyu Powder Machinery Co., Ltd. 722Lintech International LLC 1566Linx/AS LLC 729Lubrizol (formerly Noveon) 1565LUM Corporation 814Mathis USA, Inc. 830Michelman Inc. 1022Micro Powders Inc. 1339Minifibers, Inc. 1210Mississippi Lime Company 1213Momentive Performance Materials 422Munzing Bloomfield 1112Muster-Schmidt Farbkartenvertrieb 728Myers Engineering, Inc. 1132Nagase America Corporation 604NANO-X GmbH 521National Paint & Coatings Association 1539Scandinavian Colour Institute 715NEPA OVERSEAS 343Netzsch, Inc. Fine Particle Technology 833New Way Packaging Machinery Inc. 301Newson Gale Ltd 832NiCHEM Corp. 412Nobel NC Co., LTD. 1831Non-Metals, Inc. 1251Norman International 625NorthPak Container Corporation 1040Nubiola Inc 821Nuplex Resins 440NürnbergMesse North America IncOak Printing Co. 849OM Group 1749Omega Minerals 1123Omya Inc. 1021OPC Polymers 1319Hebei Oxen Special Chemicals Co, Ltd. 320Paint + Coatings Industry (PCI) 629Paint PAC 334

Palmer International 511Pan Technology, Inc 1013Paramount Colors/Meghmani Organics 1053PDCA 1763Peninsula Polymers, Inc. 1810PeopleFlo Manufacturing, Inc. 101Perstorp Polyols Inc. 813Pflaumer Brothers Inc. 1418PhibroChem 1367Phoenix Container, Inc. 724Piedmont Chemical Industries 1222Polymer Valley Chemicals, Inc. 321Poly-Resyn Inc. 1119Polyurea Development Association (PDA) 1764Potters Industries 910Premier Mill An SPX Brand 842Pritty/Aakash Pearlescent Pigments Co 229Prom Chem Ltd 1729Prox-Chem America, Inc. 507Q-Lab Corporation 944Quick Blades 1033Raabe Company, LLC 845Ranbar Electrical Material 1001Beijing Ranger Chemical 311Raschig North America 1122Reactive Surfaces, LTD 1867Reaxis Inc. 1023Reichhold 1305Revelli Chemicals Inc. 1467Reynolds Industries Inc. 928RHE AMERICA LLC 1104Rio Tinto Minerals 1709Hangzhou Riwa Chemical Co 332Rockwood Pigments NA, Inc. 1345Rohm and Haas Company 538Russell Finex Inc. 837Sachtleben Corp. 1345Saint-Gobain ZirPro 720San Esters Corp 1904Sanmu Group Co., Ltd. 317Schlenk Metallic Pigments GmbH 1704Scott Bader 602Shamrock Technologies Inc. 607

The Shepherd Color Company 800Shine Aluminium Co., Ltd, 305SiLi Sigmund Lindner GmbH 1005Siltech Corporation 921Solutia Inc. 1219Southern Clay Products 1345Specialty Minerals Inc. 601Three-Ring Pigments Co. 406Toyobo Co. Ltd 1954TRIAD Sales, LLC 939TRInternational Inc. 341Tronox LLC 1844Troy Corporation 1429General Paint and Manufacturing

Division of True Value Mfg. 938U.S. Silica Company 805Ultrablend, LLC 645Unimin Specialty Minerals, Inc. 423Union Process Inc. 931United Mineral & Chemical Corporation 1760United Soybean Board 1011Univar USA Inc. 819The University of Southern Mississippi 812Vanderbilt Company, Inc., R.T. 1014Velsicol Chemical Corp. 1218Verichem Inc. 1858Vertec BioSolvents, Inc. 1223Vertellus Performance Materials Inc. 1110Vicinity Manufacturing 721Vihol Shailesh 1958Vincentz Network GmbH & Co. 1639VMA-GETZMANN GMBH 1146Wacker Polymers, L.P. 653World Minerals 913Worlée-Chemie GmbH 523WSSFC Wuzhou Sun Shine Forestry

& Chemicals Co., Ltd. 223Xinjing Science & Technology Co., Ltd. 217X-Rite, Incorporated 1138Yinlong Industrial Co., Ltd. 328YongFeng Chemicals Co. 505Young's Corporation 1130

AMERICAN COATINGS SHOW 2008 PREMIERE

EQUIPMENT AND ENERGYSaving energy is always a con-

cern when it comes to the anodiz-ing line. It has been suggested thatadditives in the bath and/or increas-ing acid concentration and/or tem-perature adjustments are ways toconserve energy.

Another is a change in pulse.Direct current (DC) or pulse anodiz-ing with pulses in milliseconds iscommonly used in most job shops.Perhaps the newest buzz in this areais that the use of slow, square-formed pulses can decrease process-ing time by 50 per cent and totalenergy consumption in the anodiz-ing tank by up to 30 per cent.Apparently existing anodizing linescan be retrofitted with only a fewequipment modifications for this tooccur. But retrofitting requires a lotof theoretical knowledge aboutpulse anodizing principles on thepart of the shop. The current willeventually even out when highervoltage in a pulsed process isapplied and the anodic film willreach a thickness proportional tothe voltage applied.The voltage alsocontrols microstructure.When volt-age is rapidly lowered,current densi-ty decreases in a range ofmicroamps that corresponds to very

high resistance in the anodic film,the formation of which slows toalmost zero due to a very low elec-trical field across the barrier layer.After a while,depending on the typeof alloy being processed, electrolyteconcentration, voltage change andtemperature, the anodic layer willthin enough for an increase in theelectrical field across the layer.Field-assisted dissolution and formationhappens, increasing the total disso-lution rate due to lower resistancein the reduced thickness of theoxide layer. After a while, currentdensity will reach a steady level cor-responding to the value of the lowervoltage and the anodic layer reachesa new thickness with smaller cellscorresponding to the lower voltage.

Pulsating between two densitiesapparently works because the sur-face of the metal has time to recov-er during periods of low current.

The industry has rejected slowpulsing in the past due to lack ofevidence and current high capitalinvestments in their shop lines.However, new testing and researchhas shown it to be an effective wayto decrease energy use.

Equipment exists in the market-place for every anodizing need,such as an aluminum finishing line

designed to anodize, alodine, chem-film and seal aluminum products,including fasteners and fabricatedcomponents, with tanks to accom-modate racks and baskets. Supportutilities can be located behind thetanks to allow operators clearaccess.This method allows for a dryfloor configuration that recovers orcaptures most all chemistry backinto the tanks or waste piping.

For aerospace anodizing anoption is a medium volume barrelplating/anodizing facility.Operations can include cadmiumand nickel electro-plating, all alu-minum anodize processes,and relat-ed finishing operations such ascleaning, etching, passivate andchromate conversion coatings. Thesystem could feature 14 x 36 inchplating barrels with up to 100 lbscapacity per load and produce 4barrels of plated parts per hour, or400 pounds per hour.

A line could include a semi-auto-matic chain-crane anodizing plantfor architectural parts.

There are horizontal and verti-cal automatic anodizing plants.Automatic anodizing plants havecentral control rooms for chemi-cal polishing and laboratoryunits. These are just a few equip-

ment examples.

RECYCLINGOf course, one cannot talk aboutanodizing without looking at recy-cling and the environment becauseetching and anodizing generates alarge amount of solid waste, eventhough the chemicals used arewater-based. Many plants use recy-cling equipment to extend chemi-cal life and reduce waste treatmentcosts.

Purification is important becauseit can enhance the uniformity of theanodized film.

Many plants collect the rinsewater as a 35 per cent solution forresale as fertilizer. Seasonal andregional demand for the rinse waterreduces the original chemical costby 10 to 20 per cent.

With the increased focus on envi-ronmental concerns in all facets ofbusiness,anodizers can look at recy-cling to reduce process chemicalcosts, reduce waste treatmentchemical and labor costs, and, inmany cases, enhance product quali-ty. And any ideas to conserve ener-gy such as reworking the pulsing inthe anodizing process or looking atadditives or temperature changesare a step in the right direction. ■

PLATING AND ANODIZING: ANODIZING continued from page 25


You don’t have to be a super hero, but you’ll sure feel like one by participating at SUR/FIN 2008. Not only will you bring substantial value to both your company and career, but you’ll be part of North America’s only event that embraces the entire supply chain. You’ll learn about recent and emerging technology innovations, collaborate with industry luminaries, and obtain practical business knowledge to help you succeed in today’s competitive marketplace. You may not be inspired to jump out of tall buildings or attempt to be faster than a speeding bullet, but you’ll leave feeling like you’ve been given the mental power of a locomotive.

SUR/FIN 2008: A bigger, better attitude.

To reserve your booth or register, contactCheryl Clark, NASF1155 15th Street, NW, Suite 500Washington, DC 20005Phone: 202-457-8404Fax: 202-530-0659e-mail: [email protected]

June 16-18Indiana Convention CenterIndianapolis, Ind.

Are you a super hero?

SUR/FIN 2008, A NEW ATTITUDE

THE PRELIMINARY LIST OF EXHIBITORSAS OF APRIL 2, 2008 INCLUDES:

AB Plastics 39ACM Technologies 828American Plating Power 517Agmet Metals Inc. 912AMETEK Chemical Products 343Amity International 900Applied Thermal/Hydro Miser 709AquaPhoenix /Hawk Creek 927Artek Surfin Chemicals Ltd. 810ASC Process Systems 541ASMEGA/Baker 823Associated Rack 908Atotech USA Inc. 317Aucos Elekr. Geraete GmbH 819B&P Plating 707Baron–Blakeslee 439Benchmark Products, Inc. 309Bex, Inc. 901CFCM 929CATHO–PIN Products Inc. 413Chautauqua Metal Finishing 917Columbia Chemical Corp. 310Core Plating Technology 109Coventya, Inc. 617Corrotec Incorporated 229Crown Solutions LED 740Crossair, LLC 911CST–SurTec, Inc. 423Cyanide Destruct 108Darrah Electric Company 839Denora Tech Corporation 816Desco Dryers/BKTS, Inc. 322Dipsol of America Inc. 110Distributor Resources 707/709/806Divine Brothers Co. 538DuBois Chemicals 909DUALL Division, Metro-Pro 101DYMAX Corporation 905Dynapower/Rapid Power 201Dynatronix, Inc. 117Eco-Tec Inc. 733Ellettroplast 808Elsyca 811Endura Corporation 232Enthone Inc. 417Enviro Tech Intl 439EPi Electrochemical 523Fanta Equipment Co. 107Finishing Today 741Fisher Technology Inc. 118Flo King Filter Systems 607Gannon & Scott 817GF Piping Systems 510Gilbert & Jones Co., Inc. 438Global Filtration Systems 622Goldschmidt Industrial 328GuangDong GuangHua 931Hach Company 133Hardwood Line 323Harrington Plastics 701Haviland Products 130Hayward Industrial Products 717Heatbath 712Hendor PE, Inc. 639Hurmg Yieh Machinery 131Imperial Zinc Corporation 408Indelco Plastics Corporation 640Integran Technologies Inc. 834Integrated Technologies, Inc. 539Ipsen, Inc. 903JacksonLea 442Jessup Engineering 102JPS Technologies, Inc. 830JP Tech 540KCH Engineered Services 100/301Kocour Corporation 832

Kontek Ecology 122Lanco Corporation 307L–Chem, Inc. 706Luster–On Products, Inc. 233MacDermid, Inc. 507Matrix Metrologies 135MBA Manufacturing 806Meadville New Products 709MEFIAG Division,Metro–Pro Corporation 101

Metal Finishing Magazine 829METALAST International 543Met–Chem Inc. 501Met–Pro Corporation 101MicroCare 835Midwest Air Products 210NewAct Inc. 230OMG Electronic Chemicals 234Oxford Instruments America 506Palm Technology, Inc. 216Pavco Inc. 611PerkinElmer 231Petroferm 410PKG Equipment 114

Plating Process 923Plating Systems & Technologies 801Precision Process Equipment 711Process Electronics Corporation 723Process Technology 217Products Finishing Magazine 211ProMinent Fluid Controls, Inc. 807Pyromet, Inc. 906Reliable Plating Works 329Rexcon Controls 800Ritchey Metals 345Rohm & Haas 601Ryan Herco Flow Solutions 918ScrubAir Systems, Inc. 508Sequoia Mfg. 228SERFILCO, Ltd. 207SET Environmental 916SETHCO Division 101Siemens Water Technologies 407SII NanoTechnology 609Sirius Technology 617Spectrum Industries 928Spraying Systems Co. 111Taiwan Hopax Chems 833

Taskem 617Technic, Inc. 623ThermoFisher Scientific 710Titan Metal Fabricators 208TrueLogic Company 126Univertical Corporation 339UPA Technology 223Uyemura International Corp. 401Vanaire 123Varian 106Vergason Technology Inc. 443Viron 932Vulcanium 729Warco/Warrender, Ltd. 132Witt Lining Systems 412World Resources 129YUKEN America 332

SUR/FIN 2008 is sponsored by the NationalAssociation for Surface Finishingwww.nasf.org

continued from front cover


CLASSIFIEDAD INDEX

Alliance Plastics 21

American Coatings Show 12

Andicor Specialty Chemicals 6

AvoFix NDT 5

Bex 4

Canadian Finishing Systems 27

CEFLA Finishing Canada 16

Chemroy 11

Coating 2008 Show 30

Conn Blades 10

CDS Cyanide Destruct Systems 24

DeFelsko 11

DuPont Coating Solutions 15

DuPont Titanium Technologies 10

ElektroPhysik 7

Exel Industrial Canada 7

Fielding Chemical Technologies 9

Fischer Technology 27

Global Finishing Solutions 13

Henkel Outside Back Cover, 32

Inortech Chimie 2

Integran 7

NORSPEC Filtration 20

Paintline Products 5

Process Electronics Corporation PEC 24

Radtech e5 UV EB Show 18

Shercon 23

Siltech Corporation 21

SURFIN Show 29

Temporary Operations and Maintenance 25

Charles Tennant 5

Troy Canada 31

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Contact your local Autodeposition Process Center for your Autophoretic® Coating Chemical needsor contact Henkel at 866-332-7024. You can also find us on the web at www.autophoretic.com.Email: [email protected]

® and TM designate trademarks of the Henkel Corporation or its Affiliates. ® = registered in the U.S. and elsewhere. © Henkel Corporation, 2007. All rightsreserved. 4988 (2/08). The above listed companies are entirely independent of Henkel Corporation and are solely responsible for their products and services.

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