Sunday, August 31, 2014

How Los Angeles Metalizing Is Done

By Mattie MacDonald


Matalizing is the general term used to refer to a group of processes used to coat non-metallic materials with metal. The method was invented by a German called Von Liebig around 1835. It is believed that the first application of metalizing was in making mirrors. Actually, Liebig was trying to coat aluminum on a glass surface at the time of the discovery. In Los Angeles metalizing is applied in many applications and the industry provides employment for many people.

This process occurs inside vacuum chambers to avoid contamination of metal coatings by impurities. The vacuum chamber system comprises of several components which include spray torch, robot, power supply, control console, feeder, and media supply. The number of control consoles may be more than one on a single machine depending on size and how much it is sophisticated. Consoles may be separate devices or they be integrated into the rest of the system.

The metal that forms the coat on objects is melted by the spray gun. Some metals have very high boiling and melting points hence the spray torch must reach those temperatures for the metals to vaporize. Temperatures are controlled using the control consoles. After melting the coating material, the gun accelerates them to the object to be deposited. Temperature of the spray torch is raised through resistance and plasma heating among other techniques.

Fuels used to produce flames are supplied into the system by the media supply. This component may be incorporated in some models as an integral feature or it may lack completely in some systems. The operator feeds the powder, liquid, or wire used as a coat through the feeder. The feeder directs the material directly to the torch for melting. Feeders are accessible by system operators through parts that terminate on the outside.

Robots are the circuitry used for the manipulation of substrates and torches. The object may need to be turned over and over during the process so that the coat can be applied effectively in all parts. Besides the substrate, the torch may also need to change the direction in which it applies the coat. Power supply is normally a standalone component that powers the torch.

The process is started by preparing the substrate and then feeding it into the system. Once in the feeder, the material is delivered to the torch to be melted. The wire is heated until its boiling point is reached at which it turns into vapor or fumes. The fumes go into the air before settling down onto the substrate. For the process to be efficient, substrates are positioned directly under the torch.

Thickness of coatings is varied using the consoles. Generally, the thickness of the coatings grow as more fumes settle on a substrate. This implies that allowing more time for deposition forms thicker coats. Uniformly spread coatings are formed after the fumes settle and cool down.

Metalizing is applied in many industrial, commercial, and household applications. In industries, it is applied in making structural materials. Structural materials produced by this method form thermal barriers for protection against high temperatures. Other uses are making layers for protecting objects against wear and tear, corrosion, and erosion. The process also beautifies objects.




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