Friday, April 18, 2014

Los Angeles Metalizing Process And Machines

By Essie Osborn


Metalizing is a general term used to refer to the process of applying metallic substance on surfaces that are not metallic. The first instance of this process was witnessed in 1835 when Justus Von coated a glass surface with metallic silver. This made glass one of the earliest materials to be metalized. The introduction of ABS plastic led to rapid growth of this process along with new remarkable improvements up to where the technology is today.

Since substrates used are usually non-conductors, this process involves changing them into conductors first before they are plated. If the substrate is plastic in nature, chemical etching is performed through an appropriate process. Among the most appropriate processes used in etching plastic is to have it dipped into a hot mixture of sulfuric and chromic acid. The surface needs sensitizing and activating after etching. In Los Angeles metalizing is very refined particularly with the invention of vacuum metalizing.

Vacuum metalizing requires evaporating metallic substances within vacuum cabinets hence the origin of the term. Vapor from the vaporizing metal then settle onto the substrates being plated forming an even metalized finish. Another name for this process is thermal evaporation with aluminum as the mostly used metal. Thermal evaporation comes under a set of techniques called PVD, physical vapor deposition.

Metals utilized in thermal evaporation require a constant supply of heat to vaporize. Therefore there are several methods that may be used to supply the required heat. Some of the techniques include plasma, resistance heating, and electron beam. The equipment used to melt and vaporize metal is referred to as a vacuum metallizer and normally it is evacuated to approximately 0.0005mbar.

Aluminum wires are fed into the equipment through independent inter-metallic evaporators. Many metallizers in application are heated through metal resistance heating. It takes seconds for the wires to melt and vaporize. Substrates are supported on coiled process drums and pass over source of evaporation at high varied speeds. Characteristic velocity is one thousand meters in a minute. That velocity enables a thin evenly spread coat to form on substrates.

Process of metalizing has several applications and advantages in the world currently. First, it enhances the aesthetic value of an object to a great extent. Several different colors can be incorporated into the process to make the final product look very pleasing and attractive. The process can also be used to make substrates that control light reflection or transmission, save power, and conduct electricity.

Substrates produced through this procedure are also nice in use in war against counterfeiting and theft. Coat formed from thick strata of vaporized metals depositing on substrates can work as heat shields and barriers to water vapor. Some mirrors installed in famous telescopes like the Hale telescope got produced through thermal evaporation.

Metalizing as a process presents a few disadvantages to the people doing it. For example, the fumes can be very dangerous when inhaled in large quantities. The amount of heat involved in the process may also be a danger to the operator of the process or machine. This calls for use of necessary protective gear and observance of safety rules.




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