Powder coating business

A. SME has a nice powder coat class that is great for a person considering a commercial use. Well worth the cost and the time and will really help you know what your final cost will be. It is offered several times a year and in a few different locations.

Q. What is SME? How do I find SME?

A. SME-Society of Mechanical Engineers. You find them by typing SME into Google.com. Also check out the trade shows by going back to finishing.com main page, scroll down to 6 and look for the Calendar of Industry Events

A. Hi Kevin.
1. The precleaning is usually a 3-stage iron phosphate or 5 or 7 stage zinc-phosphate pretreatment.
2. The parts are then electrostatically sprayed with a fine powder of thermoplastic or thermoset plastic with spray guns specially designed for powder coating.
3. Yes, the powder is 'baked', but 'cured' or 'fused' or 'melted' might be better terms, as the gist of the process is temporarily turning the powder into a liquid so it flows together into a coating.
4. Baking temperature depends on the type of powder, but something in the vicinity of 400 ° F might be typical.

But the implication from James Watts posting about SME is that this is not a brand new field where everyone proceeds from the basic science to see what they can do; rather, it's an established industrial science where, with help from vendors and/or consultants, you implement a system from proven components and proven approaches. Good luck.

Regards,