Posted by Sun Coating on | Comments Off on The Science Behind High-Performance Coatings
In today’s world, as in the past, high-performance coatings are in demand for use in many areas. One of the first of these fluoropolymers was discovered by accident by scientist and chemist Roy J. Plunkett in 1938. Plunkett was an employee of DuPont for 58 years and is credited with discovering the non-stick coating known as Teflon, which is made using the chemical polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE).
About Fluoropolymer Coatings
Fluoropolymer coatings blend fluoropolymer lubricants and resins. The non-stick properties of the coating protect surfaces from chemical damage and corrosion and make them resistant to high temperatures that support thermal stability.
While fluoropolymer coatings were, and still are, a popular choice for cookware, the coating was not widely used for industrial purposes. This has changed with the implementation of additional processes that have enhanced and improved coating capabilities.
Excalibur Fluoropolymer Coatings
There is a high-performance coating available called Excalibur. At Sun Coating Company, we offer this anti-stick coating that goes above and beyond the standard fluoropolymer product. What makes this coating superior to conventional non-stick coating is its external-reinforced coating. This is accomplished through a combination of stainless-steel alloys combined with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE-rich) coatings. PTFE is also known as Teflon.
The toughness and hardness provided by the stainless-steel plus PTFE’s non-stick properties have supported the development of Excalibur to be used for heavy industrial purposes. The coating has earned the distinction of being the most wear-resistant of PTFE coatings.
Excalibur Coating Process
The process that Excalibur goes through to achieve its reinforced coating is straightforward. The initial substrate (material) is prepped with an abrasive to roughen the surface so elements within Excalibur’s coating will adhere to the surface better.
The next step involves stainless steel particles that have been heated to extremely hot temperatures and are then applied to the surface via spraying. As the steel particles cool down, they will naturally harden, melding into the surface of the substrate/material. As the particles meld onto the material’s surface, they form what are referred to as “peaks” and “valleys” versus creating a smooth surface. This provides a strong base that will support the nonstick coating.
In the next step, the material receives its first coat of nonstick, which begins to fill the “valleys”. As more nonstick is applied to the material, both the “valleys” and the “peaks” are covered, resulting in material coated in exceptionally strong nonstick held firmly in place by the “peaks” of stainless steel.
The benefits of Excalibur include:
Durability
Resistance to corrosion
Resists wear
Low friction and release
Works under the harshest of conditions
Excalibur is just one of the available industrial products we offer. For more availability, consider the high-performance Whitford nonstick coatings for industrial and consumer use.
Each of the coatings provided by Whitford meets FDA compliance requirements. Along with Excalibur, additional long-lasting coatings available from Whitlock include:
Dykor
Eterna
Eclipse
PFA+
QuanTanium
Quantum
Quantum2
Xylac
XylanHB
Xylar XLR
Xylar
What We Offer
At Sun Coating Company, our focus is to provide customers/clients with advanced fluoropolymer coatings. These coatings improve the properties that have a direct effect on resistance to wear, corrosion, abrasion, noise reduction, low friction, high temperatures, and more.
These coated products can be used in many industries, from automotive, food processing, and hot plate welding to fasteners, screw machine parts, washers, and many more.
Contact Us
For more information about our products, our website has in-depth descriptions of our available custom coatings. Contact our sales department for more information. Use our convenient online form to request a quote about your specific needs. You will be contacted by a staff member to discuss your product requirements.
Posted by Sun Coating on | Comments Off on What Is Industrial Coating and Why Is It Essential?
You can protect and preserve machinery, equipment, and surfaces with industrial coatings. They apply across myriad industries and markets. If you need protection against corrosion at your facility, consider investing in coatings that will seal and protect essential structures. From harsh environments to high-traffic areas, you can keep your facility safer with the right mixtures of paints, chemicals, and powders. Learn more about industrial coatings and why they’ve become essential to so many manufacturers.
What Are Industrial Coatings Used For?
There are two examples of coatings to keep top of mind for their longevity and utility: fluoropolymer coatings and Teflon coatings. Fluoropolymer coatings blend resins and lubricants into a high-performing mixture that applies smoothly. A dry film lubricant in the formulation creates a hard, slick coating that acts as a barrier between harsh chemicals and sensitive equipment.
Teflon FEP coatings are ideal if you want a non-stick finish that creates a slick surface at high temperatures. Teflon coatings include an abrasive finish that resists corrosion and chemical burns. These qualities help minimize interference between moving parts.
Why Is Industrial Coating Important?
Surface protection, fire resistance, corrosion prevention, and safety are four great reasons to apply industrial coatings to your manufacturing facility, industrial garage, or warehouse.
Surface protection
Industrial paint and coating apply smoothly to heavy machinery and can also protect hardscapes, such as stone or concrete floors. You can safeguard your environment from chemical agents that damage unprotected surfaces. In an industrial environment, heavy use can cause equipment to wear out quickly. Applying coatings can increase the longevity of many surfaces.
Acids, salt, and caustic substances can quickly damage surfaces. Protecting your surfaces makes it easy to isolate spills and clean them up before they can affect sensitive materials.
Fire protection
Most industrial coatings resist flames, which may help slow the spread of fire between different areas of your plant. It’s important to vet out different coatings to choose the one that’s right for your application. Industrial coatings can make your entire building resistant to fire, giving employees and customers more time to exit safely.
Corrosion prevention
Do you manage or own an operation that has a corrosive environment? Rust can significantly damage equipment and machines. Fortunately, industrial coatings slow down the impact of corrosive materials, lengthening the useful life of expensive devices. Materials used to cool a surface sometimes erode its metal components, leading to corrosion and rust. However, applying an industrial coating can enhance the performance of a machine and protect it from cleaning chemicals.
Manufacturing safety
You may wonder how industrial coatings can improve safety in your production environment. For machines requiring non-stick surfaces, the right coating enhances productivity while safeguarding employees. Non-slip surfaces, including floors and internal machine surfaces, provide leverage that can prevent falls and injuries. That’s especially important in areas with wet surfaces or involving the flow of chemicals and other liquids.
For improved quality control and safety, industrial coatings are the way to go. To choose the best coating for your operations, consult a top custom coating company with a wide array of product choices and a history of high performance.
Contact a Top Custom Coating Company?
Still, have questions about industrial coating for your manufacturing or industrial operations? The team at Sun Coating Company can help you learn about a variety of custom coating solutions. Our customers range across numerous industries, such as automotive, aerospace, automotive, and food processing. We recommend FDA-compliant coatings that lend corrosion resistance and low resistance to your production operations. Ask about Whitford Xylan Coatings, Chemours Teflon®, and other industrial coatings designed for manufacturing and industrial operations.
Posted by Sun Coating on | Comments Off on Top 4 Tips for Choosing the Right Fluoropolymer for the Job
Sun Coating prides itself on maintaining the highest quality finished coatings in the coating services industry. When people are looking for a fluoropolymer to solve a problem, they often think of the Teflon™ brand first, but what should you consider when choosing the coating?
The versatility of these coatings allows almost unlimited application to a wide variety of parts, sizes and configurations, always adding value far beyond the inherent nonstick qualities. But, did you know the Teflon coating line actually consists of over 150 different systems and four fluoropolymer chemistries?
In order to ensure that you pick the best fluoropolymer coating for your application, be sure to consider the following.
Substrate
Teflon coatings are compatible with most ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Still, because these products are head-applied, properties of the metal allow must be considered, including its oxidation stability to ensure adhesion of the coating as well as preserving part geometric and dimensional integrity. Coatings add thickness, so it will be equally important to make allowances based on the product of choice.
Performance Requirements
The Teflon coating line can provide a variety of benefits depending on chemistry and coating system that you select. PTFE coatings provide the lowest coefficient of friction, while FEP systems can offer superior release (nonstick). PFA coatings can enhance durability and resistance to corrosion, and ETFE coatings will offer increased resistance to abrasion and chemical resistance.
Project Budget and Value
For finished, production-scale items, when cost-drivers are integral with overall value, Teflon S can be an effective solution.
End Use Environment
In addition to understanding the mechanics of use when selecting a coating, it is equally important to identify the end-use environment and the type of exposure to ensure performance objectives are met.
Now that you know the things to consider for selection, Teflon and Sun Coating Company have the resources to help you solve all your coating problems. We look forward to hearing from you at sales@suncoating.com or phone 734-453-0822. Also feel free to submit your requirements by using our on-line Coating Questionnaire Form
Posted by Sun Coating on | Comments Off on How Nonstick Coatings Are Replacing Release Agents
To compete in a global economy, most areas of manufacture and industrial processing must find ways to make their products better, faster, and safer, while lowering costs of production. Many recognize that overcoming “sticking” is a way to achieve their bottom-line. But they resort to release agents which, at best, create a temporary “fix”. Quickly they discover release agents add considerable expense, labor, maintenance, and downtime. When not applied correctly, cleanup can be difficult, contribute to issues affecting quality and safety.
From automotive to aerospace, food processing to consumer packaging, adhesives, inks, and printing, plastics, rubber, and molding-nonstick coating brands such as Teflon™, Xylan®, and Sunoloy® eliminate release agents, while delivering long-lasting performance and a multitude of benefits.
Choosing the right PTFE, PFA, or FEP fluoropolymer-based coating for the job requires considerable knowledge, expertise, and the ability to fully understand the customer’s needs. This is the role of the coating service provider. Sun Coating Company, with its nearly sixty years in the industry, readily distinguishes itself by building lasting relationships with our customers, helping them achieve their goals.
Knowing what to look for in the end-use environment, the mechanics of use, is paramount to determining the ideal mold release coating, for example. Factors such as temperature, nature of the “sticky” adherent, allowance for coating thickness, type of substrate, sources for abrasion, and product appearance are just some of the considerations in coating selection.
What we have learned at Sun Coating is that surface attributes within a coating can be altered in measurable ways. The result is proprietary enhancements in surface and functionality not otherwise realized in areas such as thermoforming, two-shot or rotational molding, hot plate welding, laminating, heat sealing, and more.
Recently, a major cheese processing facility reached out to us. Their cutting blades, coated by a competitor, were not working as promised. After our visit, Sun Coating learned that, initially, the release worked, but performance dropped off rapidly on their high-speed line. Using a black light, Sun Coating discovered moisture in the cheese was preventing clean, precise cuts and was able to remedy the situation, provide the right properties and coating for the job.
Posted by Sun Coating on | Comments Off on What Being a Chemours® LIA Means for Sun Coating—and You
Sun Coating prides itself in maintaining the highest quality finished coatings in the coating services industry. Being a Chemours® Teflon™ Licensed Industrial Applicator (LIA) has been a significant component of Sun Coating’s success, reputation, credibility, and consistency over the years. And it also helps that when people are looking for a fluoropolymer to solve a problem, they often think of the Teflon™ brand first.
Sun Coating has been LIA-certified continuously for over 30 years. The LIA program requires a coater to have extensive experience in applying Chemours Teflon™ coatings, as well as tight quality controls and proven consistency in finished coatings. Chemours began the program to stress that Teflon™ coatings require specific application procedures and expertise to engineer the appropriate application system so that every coating will perform optimally.
Sun Coating President Mark Tate explains the importance of being an LIA. “It gives credibility to our company right away when speaking with potential customers,” says Mark. “And it says my organization is worthy, that Chemours believes in us.”
The long-standing LIA program is an elite group of coating companies that have extensive knowledge of Teflon™ industrial coatings and experience in recommending and applying fluoropolymers in a variety of applications. In order to be selected as an LIA, these companies have met a list of criteria and qualifications as well as quality of workmanship. There are currently only 28 coating services companies in the U.S. that are LIA-certified.
Sun Coating Company is also certified to IATF 16949:2016 and ISO-9001:2015 quality standards. Both of these standards recognize the highest performance within Quality Management Systems. Mark Tate believes Sun Coating is the only coating services provider with the IATF recognition.
“We coat every part under the same quality material processes and quality control manuals,” Mark continues. “And we’re diversified. We can coat very small and very large parts as well as part volumes in the millions.”
Sun Coating has grown steadily since its founding in 1962, but peak times of business growth have coincided with automotive industry growth. Sun Coating supplies extensive coating services for Tier 1, Tier 2, and OEM suppliers under the tightest quality scrutiny.
Today, Sun Coating looks to 3D printing as a growth category. The durability, release, and corrosion-resistant properties of Teflon™ coatings make them ideal for metal parts in 3D printing. Another reason for this growth is the competition among new 3D printing technologies, as there are many different methods vying for market share.
Sunoloy® eliminate release agents, while delivering long-lasting performance and a multitude of benefits.