PDF Version - Finishing Talk

JULY 2008
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 6
THE BASIC FUNDAMENTALS OF MASS FINISHING
CONTENTS
(PART II)
MASS
FINISHING
1
INDUSTRY
EVENTS
2
NEWS &
NOTES
3
FROM THE
FORUM
6
FINISHING
SPOTLIGHT
9
THE LAST
WORD
15
By:
A.F.
Kenton,
President of Nova
Finishing Systems
I have not mentioned
anything about burnishing media up to
now. That is because,
other than size and
shape, there are no
major differences or
variations for this type
of media; but size still
determines weight, and
that is a factor for selection. Non-abrasive
shapes work parts the
same way that abrasives do, but because
there are no abrasives,
there is little to no material removal. Any ma-
terial removed is due
to
metal
fatigue
caused by flexing. An
exception to this is a
sharp, spiral cut cylinder that is only made
by one company, and
is designed to actually
remove material as
long as the spiral ribs
are still intact. Fine,
inorganic materials can
be added to steel for
deburring, but it is not
recommended because
of cost factors, and
because all steel media
is heat treated to create a case hardening
that is very thin. Besides
steel
and
stainless steel metal
shaped media, porcelain is also used to
accomplish the same
task. The big difference
between these two
compositions is, once
again, the weight factor. In fact, that is the
main popularity of steel
media - it is heavy,
about 300 lbs per cubic
foot versus about 100
lbs for porcelain and
most other ceramic
abrasives. Steel works
relatively fast to produce a bright, shiny
surface
appearance;
however, shine does
not necessarily translate into smoothness.
In addition to steel and
Inside This Issue:
From the Forum:
Continued on page 4
Finishing Spotlight:
Finding a
Solvent Solution
Dummying
that’s Right for
Tanks
you
(page 6)
(page 9)
(page 15)
Page 2
FINISHING TALK
INDUSTRY EVENTS 2008
July 14-18
August 18-19:
September 14-16:
MST Conferences
AESF Electroforming Course
Southern Metal Finishing
Orono, ME
Rochester, NY
Charleston, SC
www.mstconf.org
(202) 457-8401
surfacefinishingacademy.com
July 17-18
September 3-5:
September 15-16:
Composites World Expo
Powder Coating School
Schaumburg, IL
Charleston, SC
www.compositesworldexpo.com
surfacefinishingacademy.com
September 8-13:
September 18:
IMTS '08
Overview of UV Coatings Tech.
Chicago, IL
Virtual Learning Conference
www.imts.com
www.coatingstech.org
Lean & Green Summit
Boulder, CO
www.leanandgreensummit.com
August 5-6:
Powder Coating School
Mystic, CT
surfacefinishingacademy.com
August 15:
September 10-11:
Bel-Air Finishing Workshop
Powder Coating Forum
North Kingston, RI
www.belairfinishing.com
Cleveland, OH
www.pcimag.com/pcforum
Have an upcoming event? Tell
us about it at
www.finishingtalk.com!
Page 3
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 6
NEWS & NOTES
US & Canada Students pursuing careers in machining technology and manufacturing technology will have two new scholarships available through the Society of Manufacturing Engineers
(SME) Education Foundation,
thanks to funding from the Gene
Haas Foundation. The Gene Haas
Foundation Machining Technology Scholarship and Manufacturing Technology Scholarship will
be awarded to qualifying students
starting this summer. The Foundation made the scholarships
possible through a $160,000
grant. Through its partnership
with Project Lead the Way -- a
nonprofit program that offers science, technology, engineering
and math (STEM) curriculum in
middle and high schools -- the
SME Education Foundation will
have the opportunity to draw
from a national network of students participating in programs at
more than 3,000 schools. This
scholarship is specifically designated for students interested in
coursework focused on machine
operation & maintenance. For
more
info
visit
http://
www.sme.org/foundation
and
http://www.pltw.org.
Indianapolis, IN On-line registration for COATING 2008, the
international
conference
and
trade show for the end users of
industrial coatings, is now available on the show website:
Fowww.thecoatingshow.com.
cusing on today’s “hot topics,”
COATING 2008, September 23 –
25, will bring you the latest on
green technologies, energy efficiency, cost reduction and quality
improvement in both its conference sessions and through its
more than 150 exhibitors on the
show floor. The three-day conference will feature more than 30
sessions covering everything
from liquid to powder coating,
electrocoating to IR curing and
pretreatment
to
porcelain
enamel. Call Goyer Management
with questions, or to have a registration brochure mailed to you,
at 513-624-9988.
Troy, MI BNP Media has announced that Finishing Today
magazine will cease publishing
effective after the July 2008 issue. Finishing Today magazine
provided coatings professionals
with the latest industry and product news, including advances in
finishing materials and equipment, and current trends in environmental, legislative and business issues that impact finishing
operations. “After exploring a full
range of viable positionings, in a
very crowded and competitive
market, a very difficult decision
was made to close down Finishing Today magazine”, stated John
Schrei, Publishing Director of BNP
Media, the largest family-owned
b-to-b media company in the
country. www.bnpmedia.com
On behalf of all of us here at Finishing Talk, we want to wish all
of our friends and the staff at
Finishing Today the best, and we
are sorry to see you go!! ~FT~
Plymouth Meeting, PA
Federation of Societies for Coatings
Technology (FSCT) President
Yasmin Sayed-Sweet has announced that Joe Pontoski has
resigned as FSCT Executive Director effective July 8, 2008. “Joe
has been an outstanding leader
for the FSCT especially during
this past year as we finalized the
merger with the National Paint &
Coatings Association (NPCA). His
dedication, commitment and passion for the organization will be
sorely missed and we wish him
every success in the coming
years.” Following Pontoski’s resignation, Pat Ziegler, Director of
Communications, and the FSCT
CEO will takeover Pontoski’s duties. For more information, please
contact NPCA's Andy Doyle, (202)
462-6272, or
www.coatingstech.org.
Charlotte, NC With over 330
exhibitors and roughly 5,600
trade visitors, the American Coatings Show enjoyed a hugely successful premiere as the new highlight event of the US paint and
coatings industry. Held from June
2-5, 2008 at the Charlotte Convention Center in NC, the combined trade show and conference
exceeded all expectations right
from the start. 332 exhibitors
from 14 countries displayed a
comprehensive range of products
at over 69,000 sq. ft of space on
all aspects of paint and coatings
formulation. Companies from
abroad accounted for 24 percent
of the exhibitors, and in addition
to the US, leading countries represented at the show included
China, Germany, India, Canada,
South Korea, and Great Britain.
Featuring more than 70 presentations and other events as well as
750 attendees from 25 countries,
the American Coatings Conference, which ran from June 2 to
June 4, had more than twice the
attendance originally expected.
For information about the American Coatings Show & Conference,
please visit www.americancoatings-show.com.
Page 4
FINISHING TALK
BASIC FUNDAMENTALS OF MASS FINISHING, CONT FROM PG 1...
porcelain, aluminum shaped materials, brass, zinc, and other
metals are available in cut wire
products and balls.
Before we talk about the subject
of organic materials, I want to
mention a few things about the
physical shape of media, because shapes are a factor in the
processing of parts. Most shapes
can fall into two categories; I
have classified them as either
bulldozers or steamrollers.
Maybe rollers or scrapers would
be better terminology. In either
case, you have shapes that have
a lot of diameter, or straight
edge exposed in contact with
the parts being worked. That
means that the main function of
the media shapes is either to roll
or crush, and the other to
scrape. The shape, in mass, also
affects the way the parts move
within the equipment. That is,
rounded shapes tend to move
more and allow parts to seek
greater depths than straight
edge shapes. Geometric shapes
tend to have a build up of resistance and force that removes
material, while somewhat supporting parts higher up in the
work mass. Both shapes work
(provided the media can get into
the work areas), but for smoothness I suggest rounded shapes,
and for a lot of material removal
I suggest geometric shapes.
worked. One of the more common suggestions is to select a
shape that is larger than the
holes in the part. If you have to
go smaller, try not to select a
media that will get stuck in the
hole or is close to the hole diameters when you double or triple up the media in a bunch.
Round or diameter media seems
to get stuck more than the geometric shapes. Before selecting
a media, get a couple of sample
pieces, bunch them up, and just
trying to force them into possible problem areas of the part or
parts is one of the best ways to
check out this lodging problem.
One of the biggest problems
with either shape is the media
getting stuck in the part to be
Why lodging occurs at all is an
interesting story; however, the
main reason is that the shape of
Page 5
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 6
the media is such that the center of gravity is usually right in
the physical center of the shape.
That means that the actual
movement of the media is very
stable and tends not to want to
move at all, which is contrary to
the purpose of mass finishing.
That stability factor is usually
overcome by the energy forces
or action of the equipment,
which sets this media into motion. However, if the media
should find itself restricted, it
usually just rattles around to a
very small degree until it can’t
move any more.
Now, with all of this information
about media shapes, there is
one exception to all of the
above. There is one shape,
called either the V shaped cylinder, cylinder wedge, or tricylinder that looks and is made
differently from almost all the
other shapes. It is interesting
because of its unusual appearance and behavior characteristics. This shape looks like a
piece of pie or triangle in one
direction and a cylinder in the
other direction and it has its
center of gravity on the outside
edge. This latter statement
means that the media shape is
very unstable and very mobile.
It exhibits the characteristics of
both a roller ( it has an overall
round shape) and a scraper
( two flats forming a very sharp
wedge); therefore, it is usually
the best general purpose shaped
media available for all applications.
Up to now, all of the media that
we have discussed is run in what
is called wet processes. That is,
these shapes are run with water
and some chemical compound.
All mass finishing systems are
built with drain systems and provisions for liquid input. Because
parts are made with cutting oils
and pick up oils, greases, and
dirt either by design for protection or by accident, chemicals
are normally necessary to aid in
the processing of the parts.
Common practice is to use a water based biodegradable product
in a diluted strength which can
either be premixed or proportioned into the system. The pH
of the product is important, but
not the only factor. Inhibitors for
protection and wetting agents
are also desirable. The pH of
waters is listed as 6.7 pH. Any
number above water is considered basic, or caustic after 11,
or acidic under the pH of water. Most chemical additives are
interchangeable with either ferrous or non-ferrous parts, but
most people use basic chemicals
for ferrous parts and acidic products for non-ferrous and burnishing.
At one time chemical compounds that produced a lot of
suds were considered desirable
for cleaning of the parts. However, it was determined that the
suds actually slowed down the
mechanical action of media in
mass, causing longer time cycles. This same slow down of
the media in mass can also be
accomplished by just using too
much water in the process, but
it can also be accomplished by
accident when drains become
clogged or restricted due to debris. Even though chemicals are
used to assist cleaning and
brightening metals, which is a
removal process, an inhibitor in
the product is usually desirable
to protect parts against oxidation. Lastly, there are now some
stronger chemical additives
called accelerators that are used
to help speed up the deburring
process. Because the chemical
does most of the work instead of
the media, it is usually recommended the media contain no
abrasive; thereby, there is cost
savings of the media which does
not have the same wear rates as
abrasives.
Dry organic media is the last
category of media used in mass
finishing systems and, as the
name implies, this media is run
dry. Anything that can be processed wet can be done with dry
organic materials. The only
problem is the longer cycle time
due to the weight factor. The
main advantage over wet processing of this media is in the deburring or polishing of small or
flat parts. Both types of parts
mentioned have a tendency to
stick together due to water adhesion, and they also adhere to
the sides of the equipment being
used. This characteristic causes
uneven surface finishing. The
other advantage of dry processing is the elimination of water
pollution controls or restrictions;
but there is a trade off. Instead
of water and waste disposal
problems, there is some concern
for dust particles that need either a cover or proper air ventilation.
Dry organic media comes in the
Continued on page 8...
Page 6
FINISHING TALK
FROM THE FORUM: DUMMYING TANKS BEFORE ELECTROPLATING
Posted on March 14, 2008
Our column for July is a quick refresher on
’dummying’. Forum members Harold Evans,
DustinGebhardt, and Finishing Market discuss the basics of dummy plating, and Finishing
Market tosses in a few pictures. Feel free to add
your thoughts to their ongoing discussion by visiting the forums at www.finishingtalk.com/
community and choosing the “Electroplating” forum. For more ‘From the Forum’ discussions,
check out our monthly internet television show,
Finishing Talk Live, where hosts Paul Fisher and
Paul Skelton bring the boards to life!
www.finishingtalklive.com
Harold Evans
What is dummying tanks? How is it done? What
happens to the anodes while dummying is going
on? I will need to answer my student’s questions
in the near future.
Dustin Gebhardt
Dummying is the common term for dummy plating, or using a scrap piece to plate, usually at
lower or higher then normal current densities.
If you were constantly nickel plating zinc, or copper, or brass parts, you would frequently dummy
plate the bath at low current densities to PREFERENTIALLY remove the copper and zinc. Normally, the dummy has a large surface area, to
maximize the amount of material removed. In
my experience, a large piece of corrugated sheet
metal is used with a current density close to
5ASF or lower.
There are other uses for dummy plating. In a
hex chrome bath, it can be used to remove chlo-
rides and activate the anodes. These dummies
are usually very small to prevent the buildup of
tri chrome. You can also perform a high-current
density dummy plate to remove excess brightener.
A separate dummy tank is usually one that is
used to perform the dummying in. You can also
do a continuous dummy, where you use a small
tank with a separate rectifier, anodes, and
dummy panel to perform the dummying continuously. Usually, you pump the solution into the
tank, which is higher in elevation than the main
tank. As the dummy tank fills, it overflows back
into the main tank. Many platers use them in
high-production shops to minimize down time.
One thing to consider with the current price of
nickel. While dummy plating targets a certain
contaminant (usually), you are still plating a majority of your normal metal. That is to mean, in
a nickel bath, you can try to dummy out zinc,
but the majority of the deposit on the dummy
panels will still be nickel. The zinc content will
be higher than on a normal deposit, but it will
still
be
mostly
nickel.
Finishing Market
Hello Harold,
As far as I know
you can use almost
any kind of compatible material to
perform this dummy
plating.
You can
see in the pictures
that these Dummy
Plates have been
fabricated so as to maximize the surface area.
Page 7
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 6
Dustin Gebhardt
Those type of panels tend to work very
well. They can also be rotate 90 degrees to help
remove shelf roughness in a pinch. The smaller
you make the "shelves" the more uniform the
surface area will be, and generally the more effective the panels will be. This will allow you to
HCD dummy the bath without affecting the LCD
chemicals, and vice versa. With panels that
have larger folds, you tend to build up a lot of
plating on the corners and very little in the concave areas, making the panels less efficient.
Do you have something to add? Log on to the
Finishing Talk forums today to join in on this
discussion – or start a discussion of your
own! www.finishingtalk.com/community
117 Westerly Hills Dr.
Forest City,
NC, 28043
Ph: (828) 245-1115
Fax: (828) 245-1216
Carolina Process Control provides the metal finishing industry
with a single source solution for all their industrial waste
water treatment system and component needs. We design,
build and install turn-key waste treatment systems for pH
neutralization, heavy metal removal, water recycling, zero discharge and other chemical processing applications.
www.carolinaprocesscontrol.com
Page 8
FINISHING TALK
BASICS OF MASS FINISHING - CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
form of small random shaped
particles of granules or sawdust
fiber, which can either be used
by itself, or in a two part form.
The finer material is normally
used with larger wood shapes in
a 5:1 mix of shapes to particles.
The reason for this two part mix
is that there is hardly any weight
to the organic materials. They
weigh only between 20 to 35
pounds per cubic foot; therefore, bulk or the wood shapes
are desirable for adding weight
to the process to improve cycle
times. Other, non-abrasive heavier media can be added for bulk
and produce good results.
When any dry organic materials
are combined or mixed with polishing rouge, they are excellent
in producing almost hand buffed
looking, polished parts. When
combined with inorganic materials, they are very effective as
abrasives. Because of the weight
factor, the deburring and polishing qualities of these blended
mixes still take a longer time to
produce the same results as wet
process media, but usually the
surface finish is of superior, finer
and cleaner quality.
Within the last 5 years, a new
form of dry organic materials
has been developed that looks
something like plastic media.
There is now a patented composite process that takes inorganic and dry organic materials
and makes them into shapes,
which are used in dry processing. These shapes are made in
such a way that they can actu-
ally have more inorganic abrasives than the dry organic material, but they are still used dry.
Also because of the increased
weight of this preform, it is now
competitive to wet processing
media in time cycles and without
the problems associated with
water. According to the manufacturer, this new material will
outlast all other abrasive media
by 5 to 20%. The advantages
offered by this dry media and
applications normally warrant
the extra high cost of this new
product.
As you can tell, there are three
main factors that control deburring or burnish of parts in a
mass finishing system, they are:
the equipment, the media, and
either the liquid or additive to
the operation. Surface finishing
on parts can be repeated over
and over again if these elements
are constant. Any variation of
one of these elements will
change the results or time cycle.
Basically, once a machine system is selected you are locked
into some limitations of that machine system. Therefore, that
means that media selection is
probably the most important
variable in the processing of
parts, and effects the costs of
operation and the surface finish
the most. Hopefully, with some
of these basic fundamentals
down, you can better achieve
the processing results you are
looking for. If you do, however,
need help or further information,
you can contact A.F. Kenton at
Nova Finishing Systems Inc. or
call 1-800-444-4159.
[1] NOTE: The author has written a book which completely
classifies all methods of deburring and/or surface finishing
into 5 energy classes of equipment and then rates them with a
numbering system based upon
how they perform and what they
are capable of achieving. The
book is entitled Understanding
Deburring and Mass Finishing
Systems.
[2] NOTE: Although zirconia is
listed here, the more common
fast cut media is made with aluminum oxide and has very similar characteristics and normally
costs less.
Nova Finishing Systems Inc.,
manufactures small, heavy-duty
bowl finishers that stack up to
most of the big equipment on
the market, but cost much less.
Nova series vibratory equipment
also comes with the same warranties of the larger machines.
For more information on this
equipment line, contact:
Nova Finishing
PO Box 185, Hatboro,
PA 19040
215-942-4474
800-444-4159
Fax 215-953-1342
novafinish@earthlink.net
You can read Part I of this
article by checking out the
June issue on our website:
www.finishingtalk.com/publication
~FT~
Page 9
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 6
FINISHING SPOTLIGHT:
T
he widely discussed and anticipated Sur/Fin 2008 conference and tradeshow culminated
on June 18th, after three days of
industry discussion, education,
exhibition, and camaraderie.
The conference, put on by the
National Association for Surface
Finishing (NASF), showcased
more than 150 exhibitors and
attracted more than a thousand
finishers and general attendees.
Special events this year included
the NASF’s Indianapolis Branch
Reception, held at Jillian’s restaurant and game room just a
few blocks away from the Indianapolis Convention Center. An
unanticipated number of people
turned up for food and fun – but
the more, the merrier! Finishing
Talk Live’s co-hosts Paul Fisher
and Paul Skelton filmed a live
showing of their IPTV show,
with special guest Michael Siegmund of MacDermid. They put
on a great show, despite difficulty competing at times with
the mingling sounds of onlookers, numerous pool games, and
even a bowling alley.
Busloads pulled up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on
Continued on next page...
Page 10
FINISHING TALK
Tuesday night, for a private Industry
Night Party. The Hall of Fame museum opened its doors to the hoards
of eager party goers, and presented
its dazzling array of antique race cars
and motorcycles, speedway memorabilia, and more, to the delight of all in
attendance. There was a delicious catered buffet spread out in the Pavilion, and the evening was highlighted
by small bus tours of the Speedway
itself, giving riders the opportunity to
get off and take photos at the finish
line (which is composed of bricks from
the original track surface!).
Educational opportunities consisted of
a wide array of symposiums and training courses. Featured sessions were
those that were covered during the
Automotive Symposium, Airline/
Aerospace Symposium, and the Surface Finishing Research technical conference. Within these broader fields
were classes, lectures, and workshops
Page 11
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 6
with themes such as NanoTechnology, Organic Finishing,
Light Metal Finishing, Conversion Coatings, Electroless
Deposition, Management Outlook, Process & Environmental,
and more. This year’s featured
speaker, Dr. Robert Schnorbus
of J.D. Power, gave those in
attendance an in-depth look
into the impact of global sourcing, supplier concerns, and
other related regional and
global issues affecting the
automotive industry.
The NASF member pavilion
was a popular spot for casual
socializing, catching up with
phone calls or e-mail, taking a
quick break from all the walking - I think I even spied a few
people attempting to catch up
on their sleep after a night out
in Indy - in addition to a con-
venient location to learn more
about the NASF and membership benefits.
Planning for SUR/FIN 2009 in
Louisville, Kentucky is already
underway (that means a
shorter drive for those of us at
Finishing Talk next year!). You
can find additional information
about SUR/FIN, the NASF, educational opportunities and
more by visiting www.nasf.org.
Page 12
FINISHING TALK
EPA AMENDS HAZARDOUS WASTE LISTING
E
ffective July 7, 2008, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) will amend the list of hazardous wastes
from non-specific sources (called F-wastes) by modifying
the scope of the EPA Hazardous Waste No. F019. Specifically, the agency plans to exempt wastewater treatment
sludges from zinc phosphating, when such phosphating is
used in the motor vehicle manufacturing process—
provided that the wastes are not placed outside on the
land prior to shipment to a landfill for disposal, and the
wastes are placed in landfill units that are subject to or
meet the specified landfill design criteria.
codes 336111 and 336112, respectively). Other motor
vehicle manufacturing industries (e.g., heavy-duty truck
or motor home manufacturing) are not affected by this
rule.
Entities potentially affected by this action are at least
seven current F019 generators within these two industries, consisting of four auto and three light truck/utility
vehicle plants, and up to 42 other facilities in these two
industries that may begin applying aluminum parts and
could potentially generate regulated F019 waste without
this final rule (based on 2005 Biennial Report data).
Note: This action might also affect the 19 auto and light
truck plants with prior F019 delistings issued between
1997 and 2007, because this action could supplant their
delisting status and conditions, depending upon the extent of state government voluntary adoption of this final
rule [1].
Note: This final action on the F019 listing does not affect
any other wastewater treatment sludges either from the
chemical conversion coating of aluminum or from other
industrial sources. Additionally, this rule amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act (CERCLA) list of Hazardous Substances and
Reportable Quantities so that the F019 listing description The EPA has established a docket for this action under
is consistent with the amendment to F019 under regula- Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2006-0984. All documents
tions for hazardous wastes from non-specific sources.
in the docket are listed at the www.regulations.gov website.
For information on specific aspects of the rule, conThis final rule could directly affect businesses that genertact
James
Michael of the Office of Solid Waste (5304P),
ate certain wastes from the manufacturing of motor vehiU.S.
Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
cles in the (1) automobile manufacturing industry and (2)
Avenue,
NW,
Washington,
DC 20460, via e-mail at
light truck/utility vehicle manufacturing industry (NAICS
michael.james@epa.gov, or by phone at (703) 308-8610.
Page 13
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 6
PRODUCTS FINISHING INTEGRATES FINISHING TALK FORUMS
P
roducts Finishing magazine recently unveiled the
product of its collaboration with the popular metal
finishing community and forum, Finishing Talk. Over
the past two years, Finishing Talk has exploded onto
the industry scene as a cutting edge online community, forum, newsletter, and marketing company for
metal finishing professionals. With a rapidly growing
membership and an active community forum, Finishing Talk was an appealing choice for a cooperative
web endeavor with Products Finishing.
"The people that use PFOnline will now have another
resource that harnesses the power of the Internet,"
says Products Finishing Publisher Don Kline. "They
can now get their questions answered by an active
community that includes top finishing professionals
from all over the world. PF is excited to be working
with Finishing Talk."
Products Finishing magazine is an industry renowned
publication with more than 40,000 subscribers - the
largest circulation in the finishing industry. The
magazine's Web site, www.pfonline.com, is an established and respected resource for metal finishers. It
contains a large database of industry suppliers and
products, extensive archives of past issues, an inter-
active clinic touting prominent consultants and educators, and more. The addition of the Finishing Talk
Forums to the site will be an added benefit, possibly
drawing a new generation of finishers into the Web
site.
The collaboration will be a big boost for the up and
coming Finishing Talk community, as well. Though
Finishing Talk will remain an independent Web site
after the integration, the forums will also be accessible through Products Finishing's site. This will serve
to increase traffic on the forums and bring added
exposure to other products and services that Finishing Talk currently offers.
"We are pleased to have this opportunity to expand
our membership and provide a place for finishers to
discuss issues of importance to them, within a likeminded community. With a new gateway to the forums, via PF online, more of these individuals will
benefit from this great service - and it's free!" commented Paul Fisher, Administrator of FinishingTalk.com, and publisher of the Finishing Talk newsletter (yep, that’s us!).
Visit the new portal at:
www.pfonline.com/forums.
FINISHING TALK’S ARTICLE CONTEST EXTENDED
Starting on June 1st 2008 and ending August 31st, Finishing Talk will be holding an article contest. Articles
must be industry-related (powder coating, painting, electroplating, anodizing, etc…), and no longer than 2,000
words. The winning articles will be published in upcoming issues of Finishing Talk. Articles will be judged on
relevance to the industry, professionalism, accuracy, organization of ideas, originality and overall flow. Accompanying images may be submitted along with the article or editorial. We are open to a variety of styles - from
the purely technical to pure opinion - so go ahead and submit what you’ve got! Articles may have been published previously, but the author may only submit a pre-published article if they hold the rights to it and have
the authority to do so. The 1st place prize will be 6 months of free banner ads for your company on the
Finishing Talk website. 2nd place receives 3 months of banner ads, and 3rd place will receive a banner
ad for 1 month. You may submit your article digitally either through the Finishing Talk forums at
www.finishingtalk.com/community and click on ‘article submissions’, or by e-mail to Anna Levitsky,
anna@finishingtalk.com. You may also mail a hard copy to PO Box 349, Rutherfordton, NC 28139. Good luck!
Page 14
FINISHING TALK
5-6
Page 15
THE LAST WORD
FINDING A SOLVENT SOLUTION THAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU
I
n the finishing industry, solvents are primarily used for parts
cleaning. Many of these, such as
trichloroethalene (TCE), can be
advantageous in that they are fast
acting and quick to evaporate,
which minimizes drying time. On
the downside, these same solvents
can be extremely toxic, carrying
the health risks of liver and kidney
damage, neurological disorders,
and even cancer. They are also
culprits when it comes to soil and
water contamination, and other
areas of environmental degradation. So what is a finisher to do?
The good news is that an increasing number of alternatives to traditional solvents are appearing
across the spectrum, making it
easier to safeguard your worker’s
health and the health of your community.
Where do I begin?
The mounting government crack
down on non-reusable or nonrecyclable solvents is a good
enough reason in and of itself to
start rethinking and minimizing the
use of solvents in your operation.
But where to start? The easiest
first step is the first step of any
‘sustainable’ approach; that being
to reduce wherever possible. If
you can use less of any hazardous
substance, then make sure to do
so.
Once you’ve filtered out what can
be reduced, it’s time to focus on
what can be replaced. It is important to first go through and identify the uses and volumes of solvents you have in your facility,
which will allow you to determine
which ones should and can be
substituted with something else.
Examine your current stock of solvents, keeping an eye out for
those containing chemicals or
compounds that may soon be
phased out. You should ask yourself the following questions:
1. What are the parts that need
to be cleaned?
2. What contaminants are being
removed during the cleaning process?
3. Why are these parts being
cleaned? (In some instances, it
may turn out to be an unnecessary step and expenditure)
4. How can I stop contamination
at its source, prior to the need for
cleaning?
5. To what degree must the
parts be cleaned?
After you have answered these
questions, you can apply this
knowledge to your quest to find
the most functional and effective
alternatives.
Alternatives to Consider
There are several popular and
cleaner alternatives to solvent
cleaners available to finishers today. One of the most popular is
water-based cleaning, also known
as Aqueous cleaning. Various
processes to remove contaminants
include the use of acidic and/or
alkaline aqueous solutions, as well
as immersion, pressure spray and
ultrasonics. A compromise between solvent use and aqueous
cleaners is what is known as a
Semi-Aqueous cleaner: a semistable mixture of water and solvents (or ‘emulsions’). These are
often used for removing waxes,
heavy greases, tar and baked-on
organic materials.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Blasting is
another option that consists of two
main technologies: CO2 Pellets and
CO2 Snow. The Pellets combine
solid CO2 and a gas to strip paints
BY ANNA LEVITSKY
and to remove grease and oil,
whereas the CO2 Snow relies on
flakes of frozen CO2 to clean surfaces. Another cleaning alternative
is Supercritical Fluids. Lacking in
surface tension, these fluids can
quickly and thoroughly dissolve
contaminants, and are easy to
remove. Yet another option is Media Blasting, which is a process
that uses abrasive media (such as
sand, glass beads, and more recently plastic particles) dispersed
at high pressure against a surface
to remove contaminants.
A great resource for finding comparable
solvent
replacements
is the Toxics Use Reduction
Institute’s (TURI) Surface Solutions Laboratory,
(www.cleanersolutions.org). Here
you will find the easy to navigate
‘Replace a Solvent’ page, allowing
you to search for alternatives
based on the solvent you wish to
investigate, and then narrowing
down your results by contaminant,
substrate, and even equipment
type. TURI is an especially helpful
resource, due in large part to the
fact that they actually test these
alternatives, and rate them according to their effectiveness in
application.
Another good resource is the Integrated Solvent
Substitution Data System (ISSDS)
at http://es.epa.gov/issds.
Always consider the potential environmental impacts, health and
safety concerns, solvency, flammability, cost, and stability of a
solvent before choosing the right
one(s) for your needs. Since there
is no single ‘miracle solvent’ out
there, be sure to evaluate each
option thoroughly in order to
achieve the best results, while
causing the least negative impact
to your workers, your community,
and your environment.
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PO Box 349
Rutherfordton, NC 28139
July 2008
Anna Levitsky, Editor
Phone: 704-995-2263
anna@finishingtalk.com
www.FinishingTalk.com
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