The development of aluminum-intensive vehicles has risen in concert with new governmental mandates and burgeoning consumer demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles. To support this emerging vehicle-design technology, the coatings industry responded by formulating an extremely heavy-duty, corrosion-resistant surface treatment that facilitates the bonding of structural adhesives in aluminum vehicle components.
An organic, ultra-thin coating, this advanced surface treatment is essentially transparent to the naked eye, yet it delivers bond durability that is nine times stronger than comparable titanium-zirconium and silicate-based treatments. As an added benefit, the new treatment also eliminates the need for chrome-based pretreatment regimens, including their associated environmental hazards.
At the request of a large OEM, PPG Coatings Services designed, fabricated and installed a state-of-the-art aluminum adhesive bonding system in 2014. This system can process 10,000 square-feet of product per-hour with a part window measuring up to 30” wide x 60” high x 124” long. The line also is equipped with an advanced 2D barcode scanner that tracks every piece of product processed in real time.
PPG Coatings Services meets customer expectations for quality assurance, QS, ISO and IATF certifications with the Process Monitoring and Control System (PMC) installed on this production line. The system’s process logic controls and inline sensors monitor more than 150 coatings process parameters, storing data for daily and historical statistical process control charting. The system also helps prevent, detect and correct problems, providing PPG Coatings Services’ customer with genuine confidence and true peace of mind.
