Today’s products, whether architectural structures, construction equipment, workpieces and tools or garden benches, are subjected to a variety of negative forces and stresses. These may be chemical or elemental. If you want to protect your components and products against the adverse effects of the environment, you need to apply an industrial powder coating. In doing so, you must find a means of making the process cost-effective and environmentally friendly.
What Is Powder Coating?
Powder coating is a method of applying a resin in a specific format. This is a dry powder – hence the name. Using either electrostatic spraying or a fluid bed, the finishing company applies the coating to a properly cleaned and prepared substrate. The resins will vary according to usage and base materials. In industrial applications, the ones listed below are commonly utilized to achieve the best results possible:
- Nylon
- Polyester
- Polyester triglycidyl isocyanurate (TGIC)
- Polyester TGIC-free
- Polyester/isocyanate: More frequently referred to as Polyurethane coatings
- Super durable polyester
- Epoxy
Companies, to provide their items with certain advantages over non-coated parts and products, also use resins in combination.
Advantages of an Industrial Powder Coating
The reason for employing an industrial powder coating is simple. It provides the workpiece or component with a certain advantage. This is essential in a very competitive and global marketplace. By coating parts, the company is providing them with certain qualities otherwise lacking. These include:
- Durability: Surfaces that have received a powder coating prove to be more highly resistant to such things as scratching, fading, chipping and other forms of wear-and-tear
- Better-Quality Finish: This is a matter of aesthetics. The appearance resulting from powder coating is highly superior to t those used in other methods e.g. painting
- Environmentally Friendly: Because they do not contain solvents, powder coatings are perceived as being more environmentally friendly than other methods. The level of possible volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a major pollutant in some methods, is also significantly lacking.
- Return on Investment (ROI): In many ways, using industrial powder coatings can save money. From improved durability, reduction in corrosive costs, adherence to the strict guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and lower maintenance and replacement costs, using a coating can actually be a good return on the initial investment.
- Efficiency: Very little is lost during the process of powder coating. Whether it is in a large or small batch, the material usage is close to 70%. This has an effect on waste disposal and simply product control for finishing companies.
An industrial powder coating is an effective and economic means of protecting basic components. They offer both the finishing company and the manufacturer of the components advantages that range from product to environmental and employee protection and safety.
