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Coatings &
chemicals
for
wire treatment
Wire coating is an extensive technology, ranging from extruded
coatings for single-strand steel wire to such advanced techniques as
grafted coatings for ignition wire and high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF)
thermal spray coatings.
These coatings, and many hundreds more, must meet stringent
specifications for the finished product. These properties may include,
among others: predictable and homogeneous chemistry; formability
and adhesion; hardness, bond strength, and corrosion protection;
and friction-, wear-, and sticking resistance.
Heavy demands are nothing new to wire coating professionals, which is just
as well in an era of slim profit margins and closely monitored productivity. Any
process that can save work or money is made to do so, and to do so again.
When it was discovered that low surface roughness frequently permits easier
and faster finishing, work began on eliminating the finishing step altogether.
All of this perfectibility is much to impose on a coating for wire – and on the
chemicals that enable the coating to do its work. Wire is made from metal. Metal
is made from minerals. And all 800-plus minerals contain multiple chemical
compounds in their makeup. But prodigious demands are routinely accepted
by those who supply coatings and chemicals for wire treatment, a selection of
whose products and services is found in this section of Wire & Cable ASIA.
Wire & Cable ASIA – November/December 2008
Photo courtesy of Heatbath Corporation