finishing talk newsletter - january 2009

8/14/2019 Finishing Talk Newsletter - January 2009

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/finishing-talk-newsletter-january-2009 1/16

F i n i s h i n g S p o t l i g h t :

Inside This Issue:

J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 9 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1

C O V E R S T O R Y

1

I N D U S T R Y E V E N T S

2

N E W S & N O T E S

3

F R O M T H EF O R U M

6

F I N I S H I N GS P O T L I G H T

9

T H E L A S TW O R D

1 5

C O N T E N T S

(page 6)

T R E N D S I N I N D U S T R I A L P A R T S C L E A N I N G

Continued on page 4

(p.15) (page 9)

OK...SillyQuestion

F r o m t h

e

F o r u m

:

Survival is not enough: What you can do to thrive in today's economy

which processes, mediaand measures will weneed in future to meetthe required cleaningquality.

When it is the wrongplace, even the lightestof soiling can have direconsequences – from alarge number of pro-d u c t i o n r e j e c t s ,

through costly rework-ing, right up to produc-tion stoppages. Partscleaning thereforemakes a significantcontribution to theadded value chain in

the manufacture of components. Indeed,technical cleanness re-quirements for work pieces has increasedsharply in the last fewyears, and there is noend in sight. This pre-sents both manufactur-ers and users of indus-trial cleaning technol-

ogy with new chal-lenges.

I n d i v i d u a l p a r t

cleaning or batch

process Sadly, there isno magic formula for

Increasingly popular From necessary evil toadded value factor – itis difficult to think of another process in themanufacturing chainthat has seen such ameteoric rise as indus-trial parts cleaning. Andthe cleaning resultsdemanded by all sec-

tors of industry – espe-cially the automotiveindustry – are not onlyhigh, they look set tobecome even higher.So we must ask our-selves the question



F I N I S H I N G T A L K

January 27-28, 2009

SFA Powder Coating CourseDallas, TXwww.surfacefinishingacademy.com

February 1-2, 200 9

Coatings for Concrete ConferenceLas Vegas, NVwww.coatingstech.org

February 8-12, 20 09

NASF Management ConferencePalm Beach, Aruba

Website: www.nasf.org

February 15-18, 200 9

PACE 2009New Orleans, LA Website: www.pace2009.com

February 17-18, 20 09

RadTech UV/EB WestLos Angeles, CA http://www.uvebwest.com/

March 2 – 3, 2009

COATING WESTLas Vegas, NVwww.thecoatingshow.com

March 4-5, 2009

21st Century Cleaning Tech.Philadelphia, PA

www.surfacefinishingacademy.com

March 4-5, 2009 SFA Powder Coating CoursePhiladelphia, PA www.surfacefinishingacademy.com

March 17-19, 2009

Middle East Coatings Show 2009Cairo, Egyptmiddleeastcoatingsshow.com

March 22-26, 2009

American Chemical Society 2009National Meeting & ExpoSalt Lake City, UTwww.acs.org

March 31– April 2, 2009

European Coatings Show

Nuremburg, GermanyEuropean-Coatings-show.com

For more calendar events,please visit:

www.finishingtalk.com/events

I N D U S T R Y E V E N T S 2 0 0 9



V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 8

N E W S & N O T E S

Washington, DC The National Associa-tion for Surface Finishing (NASF) hasannounced the names of the new officers

and board members for 2009. MichaelSiegmund, MacDermid, Inc., Waterbury,Conn., has been selected to serve as thepresident of the trade association for2009. He will succeed Ray Lucas , ValleyChrome Plating, Inc., Clovis, Calif., whohas completed a two-year term. Otherofficers for 2009: Tony Revier , UyemuraInternational Corporation, Ontario , Calif.,vice president; Pat Gleason, MicrofinishCo., Inc., St. Louis, Mo., secretary/treasurer; Rick Delawder, SWD, Inc.,

Addison, Ill., executive committee mem-ber at-large; and Ray Lucas, past-

president.

Nashv ille, TN The dates for COATINGEAST have been moved up twoweeks. The conference will be co-locating with the Electrical Mfg. & CoilWinding show and they have encoun-tered a conflict within their industry thatrequired a date change. They have there-fore agreed to change the dates soCOATING EAST can continue to co-locate. The new dates for COATING EAST2009 are: September 30 & October 1,2009. Also, they have announced their

programming for COATING WEST, sched-uled for March 2 & 3, 2009 in Las Vegas.

Grand Rapids, MI GE Aviation wasselected by the US Army to partner with

Aviation Applied Technology Directorate(AATD) to research, develop and applythe technology behind an integrated cor-rosion health monitoring system (I-CHMS) for rotorcraft fleets. The contractis valued at $2 million and will cover a 2-year span of rotorcraft research andmonitoring.

Johnsonville, TN DuPont announcedthe start-up of a new titanium tetrachlo-ride purification unit at the company’stitanium dioxide site. Majority of the pro-duction of the high-purity chemical will beused in the growing titanium metalmanufacturing industry. In addition to itsspecialized applications in pearlescentpigments used in products ranging fromcars and cosmetics to bicycle helmets.

London, UK Rolls-Royce said on Dec.23 it had struck deals to supply and ser-vice engines for Airbus planes owned byEtihad Airways of the United Arab Emir-ates worth $575 million. The Britishmaker of plane engines said that Etihad,the national carrier of the UAE, has cho-sen its Trent 700 engines to power an-other eight Airbus A330 aircraft. The Air-bus jets, which will be delivered between2009 and 2011, will bring Etihad's Rolls-Royce powered A330 fleet to 24 aircraft.

Orlando , FL Event Chairman, Ken Han-kinson, of the National Association forSurface Finishing (NASF) Regional Com-mittee, has decided to cancel the 2009Regional / Energy Conference previouslyscheduled for January 20–21 in Orlando,FL. due to poor attendance and speakerresponse.

Tokyo, Japan Toyota Motor Companyhas forecast its first ever operating lossIn a statement Monday, the companysays profits for its business year ending inMarch 2009 have been slashed by boththe soaring value of the Japanese yenand a worldwide decline in auto sales.Toyota sales were down by more than athird in the United States and Europe inNovember. In the last financial year, Toy-ota enjoyed an operating profit of morethan $25 billion. Last week Japaneseautomaker Honda cut its annual profitforecast by two thirds. In the UnitedStates, automakers are in even biggertrouble. General Motors and Chryslerhave been granted federal governmentaid of up to $17.4 billion to stave off bankruptcy while they undertake a majorrestructuring. Ford says it can do withoutfederal aid for a while longer, but willlikely need help next year if sales do notimprove

Correction: There was a typo in the Nov/Dec 2008 issue of Finishing Talk in the article What Your Chemical Supplier Should Tell But Doesn't by Jack Berg,President of SERFILCO. At the end of the top paragraph on page 5 - the word should be adsorption, not absorption, as carbon is used for adsorption. Our apolo- gies for the mistake.

Gebze, Turkey Rohm and Haas Co.celebrated the opening of its new manu-facturing facility for plastics additivesacrylic impact modifier and processingaids. This new manufacturing facility hasa potential capacity of 40, 000 metrictons, to respond to the growing demandfor acrylic impact modifiers and process-ing aids from the plastics industry in thelocal domestic and neighboring markets.This is the first time that Rohm and Haashas opened a new plastics additives plantin 25 years.

WASHINGTON, D.C. The BluegrassState will roll out the red carpet for metalfinishers, suppliers, end users, and OEMs

on June 16 - 17, 2009. That’s when theparticipants of SUR/FIN 2009 - the North American surface finishing industry’s pre-mier trade show and technical confer-ence—are expected to descend on theKentucky International Convention Centerin Louisville to network, preview newproducts, and share best business andoperational practices. SUR/FIN 2009 issponsored by the National Association forSurface Finishing (www.nasf.org). AtSUR/FIN 2009, you’ll find a technical pro-gram that includes sessions focused onOEM and captive platers, as well as the

expansion of exhibitors and attendees toreflect the entire supply chain. Potentialattendees are also invited to submit tech-nical papers for presentation at the con-ference. For more information, visitwww.nasf.org or contact Cheryl Clark at202-457-8403; (e-mail) [email protected].

Roswell, GA The Research TriangleRegion of North Carolina is the new homeof Sipcam Agro USA, Inc. and its twowholly owned subsidiaries, Advan LLCand Sostram Corp. The new corporateheadquarters officially opens on Jan. 5,

2009.The relocation coincides with thecompany’s plans for growth, based onnew technologies as well as traditionalplant protection chemistries. Owned bythe Sipcam/Oxon Group, an Italian com-pany known for its formulation andmanufacturing expertise, Sipcam AgroUSA utilizes a distribution-focused mar-keting strategy to provide fungicides,herbicides and insecticides to the agricul-tural marketplace.




T R E N D S I N I N D U S T R I A L P A R T S C L E A N I N G … ( C O N T F R O M P G 1 )

make targeted treatment of channels, boreholes and surfacesnecessary. We can also see a

tendency toward individual partcleaning in several other fields of the automotive supply industry.The reasons for this are strictercleanness requirements as wellas avoidance of damage due tounnecessary parts handling. It issafe to assume that the ever in-creasing level of automation inmodern manufacturing will leadto increased use of individualpart cleaning – providing theprocess can run inline. An opti-mum workflow can only be guar-anteed when the various manu-facturing steps and intermediatecleaning between these stepsare perfectly matched to one an-other. This involves bringingmanufacturing steps and clean-ing procedures together to forma technological process that, incertain circumstances, can beperformed in a single unit. Indi-vidual part cleaning is also set toincrease in fields where it offers

logistic advantages, for exampleif downstream processes requirecomponents to be in a specificposition. Batch processes alsohave potential here, as they of-fer the advantage of highthroughput in a relatively short

achieving precisely defined resid-ual soiling values on the surfaceof components. Each cleaningtask needs an individually de-fined solution. Key factors in thisregard are the material or com-bination of materials, the soiling,the geometry of the component,the degree of cleanness requiredin terms of both film and particu-late soiling, and the productionthroughput. The appropriateprocess is derived from all thesecriteria. For example, companiesengaged in engine and gearmanufacturing have alreadybeen using individual part clean-ing for many years, as the ge-ometry of various parts and thestrict cleanness requirements


Batch processes allow high-grade cleaning of mass-produced parts withhigh throughput per unit time. This helps keep down the proportion of

cleaning costs within the total production costs of a work piece.Image from: EMO

Individual part cleaning, which en-gine and gear manufacturers havealready been using for a long time,will also become more common inother sectors due to the strict clean-ness requirements and increased

automation of production processes.Image from: Dürr Ecoclean GmbH




F R O M T H E F O R U M : O K . . . S I L L Y Q U E S T I O N

This month, DC Inc. questions forum members

Steve Anzelc, PE, JSF!, and Bill Doherty aboutcrude/gas price fluctuations and how they affectthe powder coating industry. Check out what theyhad to say, and feel free to add your thoughts totheir ongoing discussion by visiting the forums atwww.finishingtalk.com/community and choosingthe “Powder Coating” forum. For more ‘From theForum’ discussions, check out our internet televi-sion show, Finishing Talk Live, where hosts PaulFisher and Paul Skelton bring the boards to life!

www.finishingtalklive.com

DC Inc.

For the past two years, every time crude/gasprices have gone up I have received a letter fromthe powder companies informing me of a priceincrease to counteract raw material and shippingcost. Now that crude/gas prices have taken a

beating, why are the powder and shipping costnot falling?

Steve Anzelc, PE

Supply and Demand. Oops! I mean, Demand andDemand economics… :)

DC Inc

LOL - It is below $60 a barrel today.

JSF!

Here is the problem with riding crude oil price upand down as though it was parallel to CoatingsRaw Materials (RMs) Cost movement…

It is not. Why?

Because the RMs are impacted by Oil and NaturalGas prices in terms of base constituents, but

many times the impact of the oil and gasswing is overridden by the supply and de-mand curves of the actual raw material orthe raw materials upstream between thatRM and oil or natural gas.

It should be noted the supply (capacity) of cer-tain coatings RMs in NA has been steady for acouple decades with more capacity than demand.In 2004, that changed as the global NA, Europe,SA and Asia economies heated up in conjunctionwith the falling dollar. As Asia’s requirements inparticular for RMs increased due to tremendousgrowth, they needed to feed that demand. Thisgrowth happened in the other regions as well butnot to the same extent as in Asia. Since NA hadcapacity and the dollar was weak they came hereand took our RM supply to other regions. Thisimpacted MANY supply demand curves and inmany cases took the demand to a higher levelthan NA supply. When that happens, RM pricesskyrocket until demand changes or substitutes

are found.

In addition, the chemicals industry that supportscoatings RMs had performed horribly financiallyfor decades due to the overcapacity in NA. All thecoating suppliers used this to play all the RM sup-pliers against each other and drive price lowerand lower for many years. When the tablesturned in 2004, these RM suppliers were notbashful about raising prices even higher than one

would expect (profiteering) to make up for yearsof financial famine. They hide behind additionalcost increases caused by things we know wellsuch as new government regulation on Chemicalsmanufacturing facilities.

Now let’s talk about choices…Oil and Gas are pri-mary constituents of many coatings RM. When

Posted on November 11 , 2008



the RM suppliers “crack” the Oil and Gas moleculethey have choices on where to feed the down-stream molecules… gasoline, diesel or industrialchemicals feed stocks to name three choices for

just crude oil. They select the stream based on its

profitability. Many times this creates shortages of particular RM until the profit of the coatings RMstream equals the other options. The chain canbe very long and complicated between oil and thefinal Coating formula RMs, as many chemical in-termediates and their individual supply chains arenormally involved.

Another issue impacting the long term equationsis the fact that most chemicals plant capacity ad-

ditions are HUGE Capital investments with 2-4year plant installation timelines. The Chemicalscompany CEO and his Board must decide 2-4years in advance what demand will look like, if they miss… they and their company’s financialsare dead. No decision is better than a bad deci-sion. So new capacity installations are thereforefew and far between. Right now the RM suppliersare loving it no matter what oil does. They see

this as their day in the sun.-Lastly it should again be noted…

-Oil and Gas price

-Molecule cracking profit stream choices

-Lack of industrial chemicals capacity

-Asian growth

-Weak dollar

All affect Intermediate RM supply demand curvesand that drives price.

These factors have changed the game betweenthe coatings suppliers and RM suppliers.

The bad news is the RM suppliers have learnedtheir lesson and even when crude has fallen theyhave so far stuck together in terms of price disci-

pline and no new capacity additions. They missedbadly in the eighties and over built capacity. Theypaid dearly for decades. Right now they are lov-ing it no matter what oil does.To assume that be-cause Oil and Natural gas have dropped, RM pric-

ing will fall in parallel any time soon is just nottrue.

DCInc OK. Good info but why then have the coatingscompanies used it as an excuse to raise prices forthe last 2 years?

Bill Doherty Maybe the recent R & D award for Soy basedpowder is the answer. If not I guess we all bettergo back and read Daniel Quinn's novel Ishmael .

Have something to add? Visit the forumsat www.finishingtalk.com today, and letus know w hat you think!





T R E N D S I N I N D U S T R I A L P A R T S C L E A N I N G, ( C O N T I N U E D F R O M P G 5 ) . . .

Perfectly matched filtration and separator systemsextend the useful life of the cleaning fluids,thereby increasing the quality, profitability andenvironmental friendliness of parts cleaning as awhole.

Cleanness tests becoming more important

Cleanness checks of material surfaces have be-come a significant part of quality-oriented manu-facturing. Non-destructive methods of analysiswith a high degree of accuracy and reliability areneeded to check the cleanness of surfaces on

With water-based cleaning, the trend is moving towardcleaners that are capable of removing heavy soiling atlow temperatures. Image source: MAFAC GmbH

components and functional areas. These methodsmust also be able to work fast, preferably at fullproduction speed. Only then can deviations from

specified values be detected quickly, allowingrapid reactions.

parts2clean 2009 What trends are there inplant and process engineering? What direction aredevelopments in cleaning fluids taking? Whatmethods of analysis allow the effectiveness of cleaning processes to be checked both efficientlyand reliably in terms of residual particulate andfilm soiling? You can find answers to these andmany other questions at parts2clean. The leadinginternational trade fair for cleaning within the pro-duction process is being held from 20th to 22ndOctober 2009 in Stuttgart, Germany. Additionalthere will be an international convention titled Re-quirements, Technologies and Markets Worldwide.

This article was written and submitted by:

Doris Schulz, freie Journalistin (DJV)

SCHULZ. PRESSE. TEXT.

Martin-Luther-Straße 39

70825 Korntal, Germany

Fon +49 (0)711 854085

Fax +49 (0)711 815895

[email protected]

www.parts2clean.de



F I N I S H I N G S P O T L I G H T : P R E C I S I O N P L A T I N G C O .

A bout 5 years ago, PrecisionPlating, a Chicago-based com-pany originally specializing indecorative plating, celebrated its100 year anniversary. Foundedby Robert Zacharias in 1904,Precision Plating has withstoodthe test of time - but not withouta fight. In its first twenty years,the building that housed thecompany, then known as theRobert Zacharias Company, andits operations was destroyed by

a fire. Though uninsured, Zacha-rias still managed to regroupand centralize the business at anew location in Chicago.

Ten years later, the strength of the company was once again

tested by another obstacle - theGreat Depression. The resultinglull in business forced Zachariasto resort to selling religious pic-tures, which were made all themore appealing by their silverand gold plated frames. Even inthe economic downturn, thecompany continued to fullyguarantee its products in an ef-fort to maintain its reputation of quality.

The subsequent demand for pre-

cious metal plating instigated byWorld War II allowed Zachariasto utilize some of the assets healready had: oblique open plat-ing barrels and horizontal port-able barrels which made it possi-ble to plate small parts to exact-

ing tolerances. In this way, theRobert Zacharias Company be-gan focusing on precious metalplating for military application -becoming a leader in the indus-try, and inspiring the new com-pany name - Precision Plating.

Over the next 80 years, Preci-sion Plating moved twice, havingoutgrown two facilities, and fi-nally settled in its present loca-tion at 4123 W. Peterson Avein Chicago, IL, in 1971. Even this

building proved too small for thecompany's ambition, however,and an expansion project wasunderway two years later. Thereligious picture frame businessfell to the wayside as the de-

Continued on next page...





mand for Job shop plating rosedramatically. From here, Preci-sion Plating established itself early on in Coil work, and withthe hiring of Jim Belmonti asPlant Manager in the 1970's, thecompany moved into its currentfocus in electronic plating.

Today, Jim (James) Belmonti'simpact on the company lives on.

Aside from purchasing the com-pany in 1989 and becomingCEO, Belmonti has turned it intoa family business - in more waysthan one. His two sons, Garyand Jeff (now President and VicePresident, respectively) are bothstrong contributors to the busi-ness, dedicated to continuing itslegacy as it embarks on its sec-

ond century. But extended fam-ily plays an even bigger part inthe continued success of Preci-sion Plating. A simple glance atthe company's websi te ,www.ppc1904.com , makes itapparent that the companyplaces great value in its work-ers. Indeed, the companybases its good fortune not juston its "strong focus on 100%customer satisfaction" and the"importance of quality from thevery beginning", but also on itsemployees, who are showncon t i nu ous ap p r e c i a t i o nthrough company sponsoredfamily picnics, employee of the

month awards, and the supportof a strong, workplace commu-nity.

Precision Plating will be turninga robust and respectable 105years old this year. So, what'sit's secret? Throughout theyears, the company has main-tained its values and placedthem as the top priority. Whilethey have evolved to fit thetimes, the fundamentals are stillthe same: a set of core valuesbased on its responsibility to itscustomers, employees, suppliersand the environment.

F I N I S H I N G S P O T L I G H T , C O N T I N U E D . . .




modated for a small premiumcharge. The process is environ-mentally-friendly, clean, fast

and cost effective – especiallywhen compared to other alter-native deburring processes.

More information is available atthe company’s web page http://w w w . n i t r o f r e e z e . c o m /deburring.html .

The Cryogenic Institute of NewEngland, Inc. offers a full rangeof Nitrofreeze® cryogenic ser-vices, including cryogenic burrremoval service, cryogenic de-flashing services, conventionalcryogenic treatment, heat & freeze thermal cycling, shrink fitting services, and dry ice(CO2) blast cleaning. It alsooffers engineering services,cryogenic lab work in support of R & D, and custom equipment

design for new and unique cryo-genic applications. It is a corpo-rate sustaining member of theCryogenic Society of Americaand ASM-The Material Society.

CONTACT:

Ryan M. TaylorCryogenic Institute of New Eng-land, Inc

(508) 459-7447Fax: (508) [email protected] Http://www.nitrofreeze.com

process is able to protect thesurface finish and critical dimen-sions of the parts during burr

removal because the parts areprocessed in a cryogenically fro-zen condition. This not only pro-tects the part, it also promotesthe clean removal of the unde-sired machine burrs when pre-cisely attacked by the systemscryogenic-grade polycarbonateblasting media.

“One of our biggest challenges is

that many potential customers inneed of machine burr removalsolutions, including machinists,manufacturing engineers andquality managers, have notheard of Nitrofreeze® cryogenicdeburring,” according to RyanTaylor, Product Marketing Spe-cialist at Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. “This is de-

spite the fact that our cryogenicdeburring offers many advan-tages, including consistentcleaning, repeatable results, andour ability to remove burrs inrecessed and blind holes assmall as 0.015 inches”, headded.

The company processes parts forcustomers on a job-shop or ser-

vice basis. Typical batch sizesrange from dozens of individualcomponents to tens and evenhundreds of thousand per week.Typical turnaround time is withina few days of receipt and fastturn service for prototype of other rush parts can be accom-

Worcester, MA - The CryogenicInstitute of New England, Inc. ispleased to announce expanded

capabilities for the removal of machine burrs from complex ma-chined parts. The process,known as Nitrofreeze® cryo-genic deburring service, hasbeen adopted by a wide range of customers in diverse industriesincluding medical devices, aero-space, automotive, and processcontrol, among others. Nitrof-

reeze® cryogenic deburring ser-vice is ideal for today’s advancedmaterials, including most plas-tics, composites, organics, poly-mers and advanced synthetics.

“The adoption of these advancedmaterials by engineers has ex-panded the market for associ-ated finishing processes and thecompany’s Nitrofreeze® cryo-

genic deburring service has filledthis niche”, according to RobinRhodes, President of the Cryo-genic Institute of New England,Inc. The company first offeredits cryogenic deburring processin 2003 and it has since becomeone of its fastest growing prod-uct lines.

Many of the parts that benefitfrom this unique form of burrremoval have intricate shapesthat are cut or milled on sophisti-cated CNC machines. They con-tain critical dimensions and havestrict requirements for a blemishfree surface finish. The Nitrof-reeze® cryogenic deburring

N I T R O F R E E Z E C R Y O G E N I C D E B U R R I N G S E R V I C E E X P A N D S



Z I N C A L L O Y E L E C T R O P L A T I N G S B Y : D A V I D F R E N C H

Electrochemically, alloys canbe designed to produce different

corrosion potentials than theiralloying elements. It is possible,therefore, to maintain the sacri-ficial protection of zinc coatingover steel, but at a different po-tential, closer to steel, by alloy-ing it with another metal, pref-erably more noble than zinc. Asa result, the alloy corrodes at amuch slower rate than zincalone, affording better corrosion

protection. Some of these plat-ing alloys have also been foundto be excellent replacements forcadmium.

Zinc-Nickel Alloy

Some Advantages:

• Excellent corrosion resis-tance, generally 5X betterthan pure Zinc

•

Excellent corrosion resis-tance when exposed to hightemperature

• Highest abrasion resistanceof all zinc alloys

• Excellent covering power fordeep recesses

• Replacement for the toxicmetal, Cadmium

• There are two types of zinc-nickel plating systems avail-able commercially:

• Alkaline-type (non-cyanide)bath

• Acid-type bath

The nickel content in this alloyranges from 5-15% by weight of

the deposit; the balance is zinc.Corrosion resistance studieshave shown a peak performance

after chromating in alloys con-taining 10-15% nickel. At nickellevels higher than 25-30%, thedeposit ceases to be sacrificialto steel.

The alkaline-type bath plates at20-40% efficiency, and has theadvantage of producing uniformthickness and nickel distributionin the deposit across low- andhigh- current density areas. Thedeposit has good ductility andhas been successfully used onparts requiring post plate form-ing. The inherent alkalinity of the bath reduces the post plat-ing corrosion tendency of non-plated surfaces, such as internalareas of tubular parts.The acid type bath plates fasterat twice the efficiency and hasbeen used to produce 10-15%nickel alloys. However, due toits higher efficiency, plated ma-terial distribution varies acrossthe current density range, andnickel content in the depositmay be higher in the low-current density areas.

Proper care must be exercisedwith zinc-nickel alloy baths tonot substantially exceed 15%

nickel in the deposit in order tomaintain optimum corrosion re-sistance. As the nickel contentincreases beyond 15%, chro-mate Passivation becomes ex-ceedingly difficult, and eventu-ally impossible to obtain result-ing in reduced corrosion resis-tance.


Pilot lab and field tests haveshown the zinc-nickel process tobe superior to all other zinc al-

loys in terms of corrosion resis-tance, and range of applica-tions, including cadmium re-placement.

Zinc-Iron Alloy

Some Advantages:

• Economical Way to Get Ex-tended Corrosion Protectionover Zinc

•

Easy to Make Black - DoesNot Need Silver Based Black Chromate

This process produces alloy de-posits containing 15-25 % iron.The deposit has enhance corro-sion protection, good weldabilityand ductility that are needed insubsequent manufacturingsteps. This alloy can be adjustedto improve adhesion of elec-tropainting of formed steel com-ponents. When chromating,black is the most suitable forthis type of alloy.

Although zinc-iron offers goodcorrosion resistance as platedand chromated, exposure toheat deteriorates this resistancerapidly.

Zinc-Cobalt Alloy

• Easy to Apply Black Chro-mate

• Excellent Corrosion Protec-tion Bright Finish, Good Ad-hesion and Ductility

Zinc-cobalt alloy plating has be-

Continued on next page...




come more popular because of its relatively lower cost of opera-tion compared to zinc-nickel. Itoffers lower corrosion resis-tance; however, the level is stilladequate for certain applicationsand an improvement over plainzinc of the same thickness.The coating can be applied in anacidic or caustic bath. The de-posit will contain up to 1% co-balt. The acid-type bath has ahigher cathode efficiency, andreduced hydrogen embrittle-ment, but its plating thicknessdistribution varies substantiallybetween low- and high-current-density areas.

Tin-Zinc Alloy

• Excellent Ductility

• Excellent Solderability• Excellent Conductivity• Extremely high corrosion

resistance to salt water and

sulfur dioxide• Maintains high corrosion re-

sistance even after hardcrimping and bending

• Can be safely applied to sen-sitive electronic componentsand glass to metal seals,with no attack to the glassReplacement for the toxicmetal, Cadmium

•

Provides good protection onsteel when in contact with Aluminum

This alloy contains 70-90% tinwith the balance being zinc. Thedeposit is ductile and maintainsgood solderability even afteraging. Corrosion resistance

Contact me for information onthe corrosion resistance of thevarious zinc alloy deposits.

This article was written and sub-mitted by:

David French & Associates336 Orchard Circle,

Charlotte, NC 2821 7

Manufacturing Broker& Consultant

Serving the Metal Coating& Fabricating Industries

PRO-pHx VP Technical SalesEnvironmentally SustainableRemediation Technologies

www.pro-phx.com [email protected]

Z I N C A L L O Y E L E C T R O P L A T I N G S ,

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equals or exceeds that of zinc-nickel alloys. Chromating is usu-ally limited to clear or yellow.Passivation and Post PlateTreatment.

There are several hexavalentchromate Passivation treatmentsfor the zinc alloys, which arenecessary to produce the en-hanced corrosion resistance of these alloys. Recent develop-ments have introduced trivalentchromate formulations as wellas chromate free passivates in

various finishes ranging fromclear to iridescent and black.Inorganic and organic topcoatsare also available to further en-hance overall corrosion resis-tance and provide other proper-ties such as lubricity and torqueand tension.



M E E T T H E N E W F A C E A T F I N I S H I N G T A L K ! B Y : L E A H G R E E N E

Happy New Year everybody! Myname is Leah Greene and I’mthe new editor here at FinishingTalk. I’m also new to the metal

finishing industry and as youcan imagine I’m eager to getmore acquainted with this in-credibly interesting industry.Much of the news about manu-facturing and the metal finishingindustry that I’ve read sincestarting this position has notbeen very positive. I’ve eventalked to a few who fear that2009 could even be worse.

So in an effort to help all of ourreaders stay competitive in sucha interesting economy, I’ve puttogether a quick list of possibleNew Years eve resolutions thatif incorporated into your organi-zations yearly business strategy,could pay dividends. Rememberthe key element in keeping yournew years resolution is by mak-ing realistic ones.

Here are a few that I’ve pickedup over the past few monthshere at Finishing Talk.

Identify Your LimitationsEvery organization has limita-tions, so identify yours becauseThese very limitations, if leftunidentified, will eventuallyerode the value of your organi-zation. Once these areas areidentified, consider bringing in

some extra support to increaseyour efficiency. It’s important toweigh the cost of early improve-ment against the cost of clean-ing up a potential mess downthe road – particularly one thatcould have been avoided.

Collaborate This is the recur-sive process where two or more

categories to your database like “Client, Prospect, ChristmasCard List, and/or Vendor. Youcan even get a little more in-

depth by adding categoriesabout specialties such as NiPlating, Anodizing, Powder Coat-ing, etc. Also don’t forget tocapture all personal informationyou can about each contactsuch as birthday, spouse name,etc. Once all of this informationis in place you can easily createsub-lists that allow you to begintarget marketing your productsand services. Use it often, andupdate it daily.

If you have any additional ideasthat you’d like to share that ourcommunity could benefit from,please visit our forums atwww.finishingtalk.com/community. Iwould love to hear your input onthe newsletter, any ideas orquestions you have, feel free tocall or email me [email protected].

It is going to be an exciting New Year here at Finishing Talk and Iam personally excited to estab-lish a relationship with you all.

people or organizations work together toward an intersectionof common goals. Collaborationcan be done with a key supplier,

an industry alliance, or evenwith a competitor. It beginswith a little brainstorming – butcan easily lead to new innova-tive ideas. You will not only dis-cover a hidden market or prod-uct, but you will also most cer-tainly learn from other’s per-spectives and experiences, notto mention split up burdensomeproject responsibilities. Collabo-ration when done right helpsmake the two halves biggerthan the whole.

Join an Online Network These online communities arepopping up everywhere.There’s a community for every-thing these days; from pets tohobbies to our very own metalfinishing bulletin boards (weprefer www.finishingtalk.com).With a quick search on FaceBook I found Finishing.com,Cache Valley Plating, andDragon Powder Coating. Notonly is Face Book a great way toreach out to a younger audi-ence, it is an excellent tool forconnecting with industry friends,coworkers, and even clients.

Use a Database All good mar-keting programs start with agood database. A couple of common programs for contactmanagement today include Out-look and ACT. In either of theseprograms you can create a

“master database” that you canadd to over time. You alsoshould add as much additionalinformation about these con-tacts as you can. Try adding

T H E L A S T W O R D



PO Box 349

Rutherfordton, NC 28139

January 2009

Leah Greene, EditorPhone: 828-245-2601

[email protected]

www.FinishingTalk.com

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finishing talk newsletter - january 2009

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