Adhesion of thermosetting powder coatings to sheet aluminum.

Decora粉末涂料有限公司（DPCL）-一家位于安大略圣凯瑟琳斯的加拿大小型公司，生产用于建筑、汽车、住宅和美学应用的定制涂料产品。与其他加拿大公司一样，它面临着激烈的全球竞争，要求制造质量更高的涂料产品（例如，粘合性、化学和机械性能）。这显然需要开发优化的生长和加工条件，以在可能的情况下以100%的产率制造下一代涂层产品。目前，它的粉末涂层黑色和有色金属的各种形式，从预焊接管状框架，汽车零件，建筑面板。与液体涂装工艺不同，粉末涂料具有许多优点，包括环境和工人安全，因为不需要溶剂。 该公司指出，其最大的问题是涂料在包括铝在内的建筑基材上的附着力。 粘合性差会导致产品质量差，影响产量，竞争力，并最终影响公司的发展。 该项目的目标是全面了解涂层制造和工艺参数对涂层附着力、机械性能和微观结构的影响，以满足ISO 9000工业应用的要求。 成功涂覆率的提高将使业务在目前的单班操作基础上扩展到两班，这将为圣凯瑟琳斯的工人提供至少20个高质量的工业工作岗位。

Decora Powder Coatings Ltd (DPCL) - a small Canadian company located in St. Catharines, Ontario, manufactures customized coating products for construction, automotive, residential, and aesthetic applications. Like other Canadian firms, it faces an intense global competition imposing to manufacture coating products with enhanced quality (e.g., adhesion, chemical, and mechanical properties) at low cost. This obviously calls for the development of optimized growth and processing conditions to manufacture next generation coating products with 100% yield, if possible. Currently, it powder coats ferrous and non-ferrous metals in variety of forms ranging from pre-welded tubular frames, automotive parts, to architectural panels. Unlike the liquid painting process, powder coating offers many benefits including environmental and worker safety because no solvents are needed. The company specifies that its biggest problem is adhesion of coating on architectural substrates including aluminum. Poor adhesion leads to poor product quality impacting production yield, competiveness, and ultimately company growth. The goal of this project is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of coating fabrication and processing parameters on adhesion, mechanical, and microstructure of as-fabricated coatings which will meet the requirements of ISO 9000 industrial applications. Increased successful coating rates will allow the the business to expand to two shifts over the present single shift operation which will provide at least 20 more high quality industrial jobs for workers in St. Catharines.