Cathodic Electro Deposited coating is used extensively in the automotive industry. In this process, the component after phosphate pre treatment is dipped in the bath of Ecoat chemicals and given an electric charge. The coating gets deposited on the component. The component is removed from the bath, washed and then baked.
A complete Ecoat system consists of the following:

• Pre treatment line
• Ecoatline
• Material handling system
• Oven

The word is synonymous with Non Stick Coatings the world over.

These Coatings have extensive applications because of a unique non-stick property, chemical inertness, good dielectric stability and low coefficient of friction.
Teflon Coated products are easy to clean, act as dry lubricants, are abrasion resistant, and can withstand high temperatures of over 200 Degrees Centigrade.
They can be insulating or conductive depending upon Type of Teflon applications.
The Teflon Coatings are available both in powder and liquid form.
They are applied on clean and grease free surface.
Grit Blasting is recommended and all previous coatings removed before application of New Teflon Coating.
The application is a spray type paint and then baked at curing temperature. The coating is typically 35 micron thick.
The versatility of these coatings allow almost unlimited applications covering a wide variety of materials and configurations.
Various formulations are available to meet the multifarious requirements of the industry.
Applications cover both Industrial and Food Grade coatings.
The coating is extensively used in rubber moulds, ball moulds, biscuit and bread dies where mould release is an essential part of the process.
It is also used in industries where ease of flow or dry lubrication is necessary.

Rubber to Metal Bonding Adhesive Coating Machine ‘Chemlok’ is the proprietary product of Lord Corporation. ‘Megum’ is the proprietary product of by Rohm & Haas.

These coating has exceptional reliability in rubber to metal bonding. This type of coating is required in rugged automotive & industrial applications like industrial lining, hydraulic hoses, military components, brake shoes & automotive vibration control components.

SALIENT FEATURES
It is a fully automatic process. The complete cycle is controlled by PLC. The vertical motion of the guns is on linear axis with servo motors. There is a heating system for baking. There is a built in program for cleaning cycle. SS tanks are used for supply of coating chemical as well as the cleaning solvent. The system is fitted with pneumatic paint stirrers. Settings can be done from the touch screen for the linear movement of the spray guns, which can be set according to the length of the components. This prevents over spray. The setting is to be done by the supervisor and / or the operator.

These can be fluidized bed or powder spray. Glide Coating is a generic name for Polyamide Coating. The component is cleaned for all traces of oil and rust. If necessary it is sand / shot blasted or given zinc phosphate pre-treatment. It is spray coated with an adhesive primer and baked. The component is mounted on a PLC controlled dip coating system. The PLC can be programmed for speed and different time intervals. The coating equipment dips the component into the coating bath and holds it there for a preset time. It then takes out the component and again holds it for a second preset time interval. The component is again dipped for a second time to achieve proper coating thickness and subsequently cured.

Coatec India supplied the Dip Spin Machine for Zinc Flake coating of bulk parts like fasteners. This process is not directly suitable for coating of sheet metal parts with flat surfaces. Such components with flat surfaces can be coated with a modified dip spin method or best by simple spray and bake method.

Dip Spin Coating machine is used to give a surface coating which raises the corrosion resistance (salt spray test - from 120 hours to 1000 hours) and is useful for coating Fasteners, Clamps, U bolts, Nails, Screws, etc that need high corrosion resistance.

Process involves placing the phosphate pre-treated products in a mesh basket submerged in coating solutions & spun to remove the excess coating. The machine can also be run in the manual mode. All controls and alarms are through the touch screen. The machine can handle 10 Kg of fasteners per batch.

This single process covers a very vast range of surface modification technologies: Nickel, Nickel Chrome, Hard Chrome, Acid Zinc, Alkaline Zinc, Copper, ABS, etc. and it also encompasses barrel or vat methods. This is a complete science in itself.

Coatec India brings state of the art technology for the plating industry which, in India, has not seen major technological advances in the equipment.

• Laser position of transporter wagons
• Monitoring of both voltage and current for each flight bar
• Monitoring of parameters like Density, pH and Conductivity
• Complete data logging for the entire system
• Dosing of chemicals with electronic pumps
• Automatic counting of parts on flight bar, calculation of surface area and control of current

Liquid paint can be applied in many different ways determined by: the product, the volume, the quality requirements and other factors. 

Application method: handheld spray guns, high volume low pressure (HVLP) guns, automatic guns, automatic rotary bells or disk.

• Spray equipment: non-electrostatic or electrostatic.
• Typical paint is used for such wet on wet process is epoxy or polyurethane. Paint is normally baked.

Painting components with corners & crevices

• Spray cannot reach each & every area.
• In addition, if the component needs high corrosion resistance, then electrophoretic technology will be more appropriate for depositing the primer paint and is followed by spray with top coat of paint.
• Typical components requiring this technology are auto components.

Painting large components

• These are shot blasted, can be given a zinc phosphate layer followed by primer coat of paint which is either applied through manual spray or electrostatic spray.
• This is followed by spray top coat (normally polyurethane / acrylic) and is forced to dry at 70-80°C temperature.
• Also for plastic parts, spray painting is used.

It is applied with a free-flowing dry powder. The main difference between a conventional liquid paint and a powder coating is that the powder coating does not require a solvent to keep the binder and filler parts in a liquid suspension form.

• Typically apply electrostatically and then cure under heat to allow it to flow and form a "skin".
• Usually used to create a hard finish that is tougher than conventional paint.
• Mainly used for coating of metals - white ware, aluminum extrusions,automobile& bicycle parts.
• Newer technologies allow other materials, such as MDF- medium density fiberboard, to be powder coated using different methods.

Categories of powder coatings

• Thermosetting variety.
• Thermoplastic variety.

The thermosetting variety incorporates a cross-linker into the formulation. When the powder is baked, it reacts with other chemical groups in the powder polymer and increases the molecular weight and improves the performance properties.

The thermoplastic variety does not undergo any additional reactions during the baking process, but rather only flows out into the final coating. The decision to what powder to use depends upon the specific appearance & performance requirements of the end products. The proper coating is a balance of following variables:

1. Cost of powder (applied)
2. Performance Characteristics
3. Application Characteristics
4. Appearance 

1. Powder Application Processes

1. The most common way of applying the powder coating to metal objects is to spray the powder using an electrostatic gun, or Corona gun. The gun imparts a positive electric charge on the powder, which is then sprayed towards the grounded object by mechanical or compressed air spraying and then accelerated toward the work piece by the powerful electrostatic charge. There are a wide variety of spray nozzles available for use in electro static coating. The type of nozzle used will depend on the shape of the work piece to be painted and the consistency of the paint. The object is then heated, and the powder melts into a uniform film, and is then cooled to form a hard coating. It is also common to heat the metal first and spray the powder onto the hot substrate. Preheating can help to achieve a more uniform finish but can also create other problems, such as runs caused by excess powder.
2. Powder can also be applied using specifically adapted electrostatic discs.
3. Another method of applying powder coating, called the Fluidized Bed method, is by heating the substrate and then dipping it into an aerated, powder-filled bed. The powder sticks and melts to the hot object. Further heating is usually required to finish curing the coating. This method is generally used when the desired thickness of coating is to exceed 300 micrometers. This is how most dishwasher racks are coated.

2. Curing

1. When a thermoset powder is exposed to elevated temperature, it begins to melt, flows out, and then chemically reacts to form a higher molecular weight polymer in a network-like structure. This curing process, called cross linking, requires a certain degree of temperature for a certain length of time in order to reach full cure and establish the full film properties for which the material was designed. Normally the powders cure at 200°C (390°F) in 10 minutes. The curing schedule could vary according to the manufacturer's specifications.
2. The application of energy to the product to be cured can be accomplished by convection cure ovens or infrared cure ovens.

The equipment's used for Powder Coating are Powder Coating Booths, Coating Equipment's, Baking Oven & Material handling systems.

The type of plant i.e. batch / conveyorized depends on the production volume & article configuration.

Coatec India supplies the complete range of equipment required by the industry for powder coating