Tag Archives: Applications

Importance of SPCC Steels in Industrial Applications

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SPCC steels are widely used in industrial applications no matter it is an automotive sector, or a home appliance manufacturing industry. SPCC materials have played a significant role in the development of different industries in the globe.

Due to its flexible mechanical properties, like hardness, tensile strength and yield strength it can be formed in to circular shapes, 3d varying peripheries, little bit drawing, stamping, and bending. Moreover SPCC steels are also widely used in construction industry, Since SPCC coils are also used for preparing galvanized product which is called as SGCC steels, therefore galvanized profile are used for construction of industrial frames.

The automotive sector varies in its consumption of SPCC materials, since the rim of motor bikes, bicycles’ rear & front fenders, chain covers, etc are all prepared from SPCC grade. SPCC steels are available in bright and dull finishing. Bright finish is used for coating purposes whereas dull finish is used in painting applications.

The consumption pattern of SPCC materials in the world shows that the demand is increasing rapidly and compelling the need of more capacity of producing it necessitating more rolling mills facilities.

The input material of this material grade is commercial quality hot rolled steels i.e. SPHC steels, which is then cold rolled to form SPCC steel. Normally SPHC coils are more reactive to environment, and thus forms scale on its surface therefore SPHC steels is firstly pickled through acidic solution in pickling lines and then it is cold rolled to form SPCC steels. The cold rolled SPCC material is now quartered hard steels and then it is annealed to form standard temper grade. This standard temper grade is then skin passed from another mill to re-roll the grain structure after annealing. At final stage of commercial quality cold roll mild steel, it can be rolled to give dull finish or bright finish surface.

SPCC steels and material coils are extensively used in manufacturing oil drums, and other types of drums. 0.90 mm to 1.6 mm thickness of cold roll SPCC coils are consumed for drum manufacturing. These SPCC materials are also used for cupboard manufacturing, making of cabinets, and casings of C.P.U etc. The world is gradually moving to explore more and more about SPCC steels as to where more it can be consumed for the well being of human race. Research and development is still on way, steel companies and related institutes are endeavoring level best to ensure its effective usage and improvement regarding its crystallographic structure.

Role of Solvents in Herbal Extracts & Industrial Paint Applications

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Choosing the right solvent for extracting from plant material is essential if you want to obtain the full benefits and who knows this better than the herbal extracts manufacturers. If the herbal extract has to be used orally for medicine formulations then the solvent will be different than the one used for isolating secondary plant compounds. Normally, in the first case vinegar, alcohol and vegetable glycerine are made use of while extracting the herbal compounds and in most cases, alcohol is the popularly chosen medium. It is highly effective in the breakdown of tough herbs such as berries and barks and helps in extraction of waxes, fats, resins, few volatile oils and many alkaloids from herbs.

Food-grade vegetable glycerine is another solvent type that helps in the extraction of some alkaloids, tannins, acids and few minerals from plant material. Herbal extracts prepared using vinegar are called as herbal vinegars. However, secondary plant compounds are extracted by means of solvents other than those used above. Pure acetone, ethanol at a rather upper boiling point, methanol at a rather lower boiling point or water/acetone mixtures is normally used in these cases. For extraction of lipophilic compounds, solvents such as chloroform or petrol are resorted to.

In the paint industry, solvents play an important role in dispersing or dissolving the resin or pigments for paint formulations. It enables the paint to arrive at the required consistency so that it can be applied smoothly and evenly. Evaporation of the solvent takes place after application of the paint enabling the pigment and the resin to develop a coat of paint that dries rapidly. Solvent based paints are a preferred choice due to the performance advantages provided by them and account for a large percentage of industrial applications.

Superior finishing and flexibility of use are the two major benefits offered by them and in some applications as in case of architectural coatings it is the best option due to high performance requirements. There are different solvents used in industrial applications depending upon the purposes. Mineral spirits, VM&P naphtha, denatured ethyl alcohol, lacquer thinner, toluene, xylene are just to name a few of them. However, the solvents in the paint industry are regulated by governments due to environmental concerns. But with advancements in science and technology, modern hydrocarbon and oxygenated solvents help to economically address environmental issues besides offering durability and high product performance.

As far as reactive dyes are concerned they form an important ingredient for the textile industry. With regard to textile processing, there are three types of solvents that are being used; namely Tri-chloro Ethylene, Methyl Chloroform and Per-chloro Ethylen. Among the three, however, tri-chloroethylene is most suited. Though several advantages are obtained by solvent dyeing reactive dye manufacturers however, attribute high production costs to solvent dyeing in textile processing.

Laser Marking and Laser Etching on Glass for Industrial Applications

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The marking of glass for industrial use has been done for hundreds of years. In the past the methods used have included ink stamp marking, sand blasting, air grit, acid etching, scribing etc.

Industrial applications of glass marking include:

1. Marking of safety information on safety glass used in commercial and residential construction. This includes glass areas around doors and/or entrance and exit locations.

2. Marking of glass for commercial and residential construction to identify the glass or door manufacturer [for product identification and marketing/sales activity]

3. Marking of headlamp or tail light lens in automotive applications for manufactures name, year of manufacture and/or part number. Also used in the manufacture of televisions for marking mirrors and lens.

4. Marking of serial number, product identification, or other manufacturing information for the prevention of theft and validation of warranty claims

5. Marking serial numbers, part numbers, text, or bar codes allowing for parts to be tracked though the production process until final assembly and shipment

The traditional methods of glass marking all involve contact with the surface of the glass product which exposes the product to stress and potential damage. Co2 lasers offer significant advantages for marking glass products. The RF excited sealed beam Co2 laser coupled with a galvo head and software offers the fastest, cleanest, most reliable method for marking and etching glass.

A Co2 laser can laser mark glass with bar codes, especially 2-D or data matrix bar codes, which can easily be coupled with vision systems for reading the data contained in the bar code. The use of bar codes on glass allows for the product to be tracked all the way through the production process until final assembly. This helps assure a continuous uninterrupted supply of product. The laser marked or laser etched bar code can also be used after the sale of the product for identification purposes and validation. This helps to eliminate warranty costs related to counterfeit or unauthorized products.

A Co2 laser marked or laser etched bar code can also be read by vision systems in the manufacturing process to determine the identity of the part. Examples include prescription strength of eye glass lens, or the type of front headlamp lens used in a Honda Civic. This ensures that the part is sorted and used properly throughout the manufacturing process and that the correct number of parts is produced based on anticipated sales for final assembled components.

The advances of Co2 laser marking of glass over traditional methods are extensive. These include:

o No contact with the part as in scribing methods thereby reducing the possibility of breakage to and damage of the part, as well as elimination of the maintenance required for the scribe unit

o No solvents, thinning, or cleaning agents to purchase and keep in stock as in the case of ink marking or ink printing systems, thereby significantly reducing costs of operation and eliminating the need for continuous maintenance associated with these various ink printing technologies

o No pads for ink printing to maintain as they can fall to an angle or become turned sideways causing the printed image on the glass to appear sideways or not square

o No need to stop the glass in place and make sure a secure fit with the rubber mask is formed as in the case of Airgrit marking

o With Co2 laser marking for industrial glass applications the product can be marked on the fly [while moving]. If stopped or ‘squared’ for marking, five to eight lines of text plus logo’s can be laser etched in less than 0.5 of a second

o With Co2 laser marking no supplies are necessary and no secondary process exists for cleaning or maintenance

o With Co2 laser marking changes to the mark [different text, different logo, difference shape, etc] can be accomplished with a simple click and drag command of the mouse

Co2 laser marking for glass in industrial applications is the fastest, most effective, least costly method in which to mark the product.