Feature Articles

Bringing You the Future of Coatings with PVD
Products Finishing partners with Society of Vacuum Coaters

In Mechanical Finishing, All That Glistens Is … Or Is It?
Surface finish types for commercially supplied stainless steel sheet are detailed in various standards. ASTM A480-12 and EN10088-2 are two; BS 1449-2 (1983) is still available, although no longer active. These standards are very similar in that they define eight grades of surface finish for stainless steel. Grade 7 is “buff polished,” while the highest polish—the so-called mirror polish—is designated Grade 8

More Environmental Cases are Going Criminal
Surface finishers and others operating in industries highly regulated by federal, state and local environmental protection agencies have seen an increase in the number of violations that have escalated from administrative notices of violations and fines, or even civil penalties, to criminal prosecutions

Mechanical Vapor Recompression Evaporation
MVRE is underutilized in the treatment of industrial wastewaters that are typical of metal fabricating and finishing industries. Increasing energy costs, rapidly decreasing freshwater resources, and growing sensitivity towards the environmental impact of industrial management practices are the driving forces in the development of more sustainable technology.

Waterborne painting process is a first at South Carolina BMW plant
PPG launched the first use of waterborne compact paint technology in a U.S. automotive manufacturing plant at the BMW assembly plant in Spartanburg, S.C. This painting process has turned out to be a 2012 award winner and has opened up a new way for auto manufacturers to go leaner and become more efficient in their operations.

Just Peachy in South Carolina as Palmetto Plating thrives on ingenuity, automotives
More than 1 million of them pass through tanks each year at Palmetto, which specializes in anodizing, black oxide, chromate conversion coatings, decorative and hard chrome, electroless nickel, pickling, and passivation.

Drawn to Closed-Loop Cleaning
For Gem Manufacturing of Waterbury, Conn., meeting customer quality standards is critical to the success of the business. Part of that means removing the synthetic and water-soluble drawing lubricants used in Gem’s transfer and progressive presses, as well as any other contaminants that could have a detrimental impact on performance.