Topics surface technology

Restoring technical objects requires dedication, sensitivity and a lot of time. However, time is a factor that can be weighed against money in any industry, which is why restorers are always looking for ways to optimise their work processes without compromising the result.

A young entrepreneur is building a new site with a highly flexible powder coating system for his company in Ticino. The site still has reserves of 6,000 square metres. The coating system takes up around 1,000 square metres. The company is already working in two shifts.

Increasing demands on surface quality combined with higher requirements for reproducibility, traceability and resource efficiency of the processes require customised processes. A solution is now available for electropolishing demanding metallic components.

When companies want to optimize manual mechanical machining processes, the uncertainties and effort involved in the changeover can be considerable. Digital tools make it much easier to plan automated machining.

It sounds promising that the authorization of chromium(VI) substances is to become a restriction. First signs indicate that a constructive dialog with the ECHA can be possible.

Agricultural machinery manufacturer Horsch relies on a new UHC system coating and achieves a significantly improved high-gloss finish. At the same time, fewer VOCs are emitted. The shorter drying times, which create additional capacity, are also an advantage.

Giga Coating GmbH coats components weighing up to nine tonnes in Twist using a CDP line and two powder coating systems. The parts come from all over Europe and the order volume is around 1.5 million square metres per year. Quality control and thus compliance with minimum coating thicknesses, but also the avoidance of overcoating, therefore play a central role.

Whether the excavator is digging a fresh excavation pit or the tractor is ploughing a field - their field of application demands a lot from paints for agricultural and construction machinery. Added to this are the generally stricter environmental requirements. And last but not least, customers' visual demands on the coating are increasing.

Thanks to its more compact size and improved heat transfer, an efficient titanium plate heat exchanger has made it possible to keep the black chrome process stable while reducing the bath volume by 25 percent.

Compared to machining processes, the photochemical etching process offers greater design freedom at minimal cost and investment. In addition, higher channel densities can be achieved and thinner bipolar plates can be produced.