Powder coating is one of the fun the things I do at the machine shop I
work in so here's my three cents worth:
The process is indeed static based, and there is some serious voltage
building up here. I made the mistake of holding the part by the hanger
in my hand (with gloves on) and it shocked me so hard my hand went numb
for awhile. Lesson 1: don't be the ground.
The part is hung from a grounded bar that is negatively charged. This
can be switched by the powder coating machine, but I never have tried.
The powder is VERY fine and comes out like a smoke screen. The powder
itself is anodized (positively charged) and adheres to the part. In
powder coating less is more. You don't need a lot of the stuff. Oh and
if you have tapped places or pem nuts you need to put some studs in or
the threads will get all buggered up. After that, you cook the part for
10 minutes at 400 degrees F. Let it cool and that's it. Very
interesting process.
To my knowledge you can powder coat aluminum but for the life of me I
can't say I remember trying. We mostly powder coat steel to resist rust
and to cover up imperfections but Al is already rust proof. Most of our
aluminum parts get zinc plated or anodized (black) or oxidized (black).
When I get to work tom. I'll powder coat some scrap Al and make sure I'm
not wrong.
hope this helps
Ryan Smith
Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech ----> VT 37 Clemson 0
Engineering Co-op Nortel Model Shop
72 Emerald Green Spit
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