April 2011 ISSUE

April 2011 |

COVER STORY

Rent an E-Coat System? Now You Can

Imagine turning space usually set aside for storing parts needing to be shipped out for e-coating into an actual e-coat assembly, one that a plant could lease for a specific job and then turn it back in when the job is finished.

FEATURES

Electroplating

Antimicrobial coatings: Billion Dollar Bugs

Antimicrobial coatings are starting to make an even bigger entry into U.S. homes. More consumer goods manufacturers are offering “germ resistant” surfaces on many household items such as refrigerators, dishwashers, stoves and other appliances and fixtures. A report by Global Industry Analysts Inc. says the U.S. antimicrobial coatings market alone is expected to reach $1 billion by 2015.

Liquid Coating

Painting on Oil ... Rigs that is

When part-time oilman Terry McIver went to Brady, TX in 2004 to buy a used drilling rig, he was surprised to find the company he was visiting was going bankrupt and had just two employees left from over 200 it had a year earlier. Brady left with the oil rig, but a few months later he went back and bought the company.

Parts Cleaning

PCX PREVIEW: Precision Cleaning

In the finishing world, there are four common precision cleaning processes: hydrocarbon, aqueous, semi-aqueous, and vapor degreasing. Each has its strengths and disadvantages, but one of the biggest problems with aqueous and semi-aqueous cleaning is the quantity of electricity they take.

Electrocoating