Advantages Of Electrocoating For The Automotive Industry Today

By Essie Craft


Otherwise referred to as electrodeposition or e-coating, electrocoating is a process through which metallic work pieces are inundated in a water/paint bath. The process uses electricity to deposit the paint onto the metal workpiece, thus giving it a new layer. This process dates back to 1930s when the first ever electrodeposition was done. The process was conducted to apply an organic layer to metal.

Top among the reasons why it is gaining in huge popularity is because it can easily be controlled, it is quite efficient, it is automatic in its operation, and more importantly, it is a cost-effective solution that the automotive industry has been looking for. It creates a corrosion inhibiting later in between phosphate and the inner layers, thus guaranteeing a metal work piece will remain intact and free from corrosion. There are so many advantages that have been linked to this process, top among them:-

Affordability is one of the reasons why more and more people are going the electrodeposition way. Of course there will be an initial capital investment to get you started, but once that is sorted, the operating expenses in an organization can significantly reduce, especially when compared to traditional methods of metallic workpiece coating, such as spraying.

In addition to affordability is efficiency, which many attest to the fact that it is undoubtedly one of the few methods with the highest material transfer efficacy. Something as simple as closed-loop ultrafiller rinsing has proven quite efficient when it comes to material utilization and recovery, sometimes up to 100% of total material used. There are other methods of e-coating which have been discovered over the years which are equally efficient in terms of material utilization, usage, and recovery.

Still on the efficiency issue, e-coating is an efficient form of coating even in hard-to-reach surfaces. Many people have had a problem spray painting closed interior box pieces of automobile pieces. This is, however, set to change with electro -coating because it is automatic and can reach any hidden parts easily and more directly. Spray painting such hidden parts often requires specialized spray equipment which requires a very extensive manual coat application process. More often than not, the results will always vary especially on coat thickness.

Electrocoating is also Eco-friendly hence is attractive to many people, particularly those who are concerned about Mother Nature. At a time and age when many industrial processes are depleting the environment, no doubt e-coating is seen as the best solution to saving the environment and leaving intact for future generations.

These coatings are eco-friendly because they are water-based, containing as little as 1-3% of an explosive organic solvent. Compared to other coatings used in the industry today, no doubt this is a small-enough percentage that will ensure an automotive assembly plant does not emit harmful solvent emissions to the environment.

The last advantage worth mentioning of e-coating is the fact that it is quite controllable. Of course you have to know everything that the process entails including operating parameters, plant maintenance, and bath chemistry. Once that is settled, electro-coating can guarantee the greatest level of control in the world. You can be able to control the film thickness, bath temperature and pretty much everything else that involves the process of electrocoating.




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