Dry Film Lubricants
The majority of the work carried out at East Kilbride relates to the spraying and curing of fluoropolymer dry film lubricants used for friction reduction and corrosion resistance. These are products with tradenames like Xylan, Everslik, Emralon, Ceram-Kote, and Sermagard. As with the electroplating work, the key to an efficient turnaround on the work is knowing, from previous experience, how to process each job.
Each component presents it's own challenges. There could be a number of different coatings to be applied, difficult internals with grooves and recessed sections, or the part itself might weigh 7 - 10 tonnes. The experience of the team enables them to process the work in the most efficient way, yet still maintain that crucial level of quality.
All of the sprayers are fully trained in all aspects of the production process and safety. They receive their specific thin film coatings training from Whitford, the manufacturers of Xylan. This qualifies them on;
✔ Mixing Ratios
✔ Pot Life
✔ Air Assisted Spraying
✔ Curing temperatures and Times
Ovens: The larger oven has dimensions 5m x 4.5m x 4.5m and can accommodate large spool bodies. The smaller oven has dimensions 3m x 3m x 2m. Both curing ovens are capable of achieving temperatures of 400 degrees Celsius and are equipped with chart recorders and thermocouples to prove the steel temperatures of components.
Be-spoke curing of far larger components are carried out off-line, still with the stringent control of process capability and traceability.
Spraybooths: The spray booths and air spraying equipment for the PTFE and Moly Coatings
conform to the environmental guidelines set down in our ISO 14001 environmental
management system.
