Appliance Design - October 2007 - (Page 19)

COATINGS materials, including a metallic, chrome look. Achieving that look with powder coating offers a huge advantage over actual chrome plating. According to Langlois, electroplated hexavelent chrome, the predominant and still successful method of chrome plating, has environmental problems and is one of the materials restricted by the European Community’s RoHS Directive. The company’s CRT, or chrome replacement technology program, uses polyamide (PA) and polyamide blending materials that undergo the company’s pretreatment and application process to produce the desired chrome look. New conductive material While ASF utilizes substrate pretreatment to make the plastic part conductive, another method is to use parts molded with a conductive polymer. The material is made conductive by the incorporation of conductive fillers. GE Plastics, Pittsfield, Mass., is one supplier of such materials. GE Plastics developed a special resin for powder-coating applications. Its Noryl GTX conductive resins are a blend of PA with modified polyphenylene ether (MPPE). It is reinforced with conductive filler packages to ensure electrostatic adhesion of the powder coating. GE Plastics’ Peters says that the polyphenylene ether has a glass transition temperature (Tg), or heat resistance, of about 415 DegF, when added to the high temperature polyamide. Combined, the material is able to withstand the curing temperatures of typical powder coating systems. One of the technical issues that needed to be addressed was the conductivity balance of the material, according to Korzen. Metal parts will conduct the charge consistently throughout a part. With plastics, when adding these conductive fillers, the challenge is dispersing the fillers throughout the entire part so A plastic refrigerator handle is powder coated at Alliance Surface Finishing’s R&D facility. The application is a single coat, red metallic. We just put all the old heating technologies out to pasture Datec’s patented Composite Coating heating technology opens the door to innovative new product design from appliances to aerospace. Our ceramic coatings provide low proﬁle uniform heat to a wide range of substrates including MICA, METAL, GLASS, QUARTZ AND INDUSTRIAL FIBERS. Datec is changing the heating industry, one leading edge innovation at a time. Ice-maker handles in a variety of metallic colors — including copper, brass and silver — coated by Alliance Surface Finishing. For more information call 905 629 3779 or visit www.dateccoating.com For more Information Enter 109 www.applianceDESIGN.com AD10074Dat.indd 1 applianceDESIGN October 2007 19 9/10/07 10:31:54 AM http://www.dateccoating.com http://www.dateccoating.com http://www.appliancedesign.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Appliance Design - October 2007

Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch Applying Powder Coatings to Plastic Parts is No Longer a Pipe Dream New Technology Platform Provides the Ability for a single IC to Control Two- Motors in a Single Appliance, Simplifying Motor Control Design Advanced Motor-Control Techniques have Become More Accessible to a Wider Array of Appliances, Helping to Improve Efficiency and Reduce Noise Adding USB Host Capability to Appliances Permits In-Field Programming and Acquisition of Test Data ZigBee Modules Make it Easier to Design Wireless Connectivity into Applications New Concepts such as Rapid Tooling and Rapid Injection Molding Provide Stepping Stones Between Prototyping and Full Scale Production A Number of Factors and New Developments Affect the Decision on Whether to Build Prototypes In-House or Outsource to a Service Bureau DesignMart Advertiser’s Index Association Report: CEA

Appliance Design - October 2007

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