INDUSTRIAL TRAINING REPORT

Menon Alkop Pvt. Ltd, Kagal

Submitted by

Sourabh Bharamkar

In partial fulfillment of requirements for degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Kolhapur Institute of Technology’s

College Of Engineering
Kolhapur

Year 2019-20

Department of Mechanical Engineering K.I.T’s COE(Autonomous), Kolhapur Page 1

 CONTENTS

Sr. No Name of Topic Page No

1 Company Profile 3

2 Plant Layout 8

3 Organization Structure 9

4 Machines 10

5 Customers 11

6 Process flow chart 12

7 Case Study 13

Department of Mechanical Engineering K.I.T’s COE(Autonomous), Kolhapur Page 2

 COMPANY PROFILE

Menon Alkop Manufactures high value, intricate, high, integrity, high precision Aluminium
Die cast components.

Menon Alkop is a division of Menon Bearing Ltd. A professionally managed TS-16949

company listed on BSE.

Part of the 300 crore Menon group of companies with 3 decades of experience in automobile
engineering and supplying critical auto components to leading OEM brands all over the
world, including general motors, USA, Mask truck, Tata motors Cummins.

At Menon Alkop quality assurance is a continuous activity interacting people,

communication process control, designing, engineering products and inspection. The quality
process starts at very beginning of each production schedule and our quality control
operations use documented quality systems to control each and every process efficiently.

Menon Alkop is organized into cellular structure based on ITI principles and our high speed
machines are flexible to handle a wide variety of operation and range of volumes for casting
as well as machining.

History:-

Finding the balance between efficient technology and cost effectiveness takes a special
ability. A certain competence that we have developed through restless tests and tweaks for
over a decades constantly innovating, assimilating, paying attention to the small details the
key to our success, since 1969 our engineers have worked rigorously in providing our
customers with cost effective solutions using appropriate technology.

Since the establishment in 1969 our products have earned the reputation of quality cost
effective prices, our ability to provide total engineering solutions has been appropriated by
customers across the world, we believe that more than our in-house labs and our sophisticated

Department of Mechanical Engineering K.I.T’s COE(Autonomous), Kolhapur Page 3

and products in actual operations every day. Today our customer list boasts of top brands
across the world.

Menon Bearing Ltd is engaged in the manufacturing of auto components. The company’s
products include bi-metal engine bearing, bushes and thrust washers for light and heavy
automobile engines, two wheeler engines, compressor for refrigerators, air conditioners and
others, It offers aluminium die for connecting roads, bearings for crank shafts, flanged
bearings and tri-metal bearings.

Menon Group:

Menon alkop Ltd. is a subsidiary of menon bearing and is a part of multi product auto
components group. The menon group, since the inspection in 1969 has grown rapidly and
today has nine companies in its fold, with a workforce of more than 1200 and business
activities in 24 countries around the globe, the menon group has emerged as one of the largest
or original equipment supplier of some of the most critical engine components faced to high
combustion and high friction, to the leading names in the global automobile industry. The
menon group has more than 3 decades of experience with automobile engines and high-tech,
hi-quality engineering and is known for its strength quality controls and strength in design
and engineering.

1. Menon Pistons Ltd.

Menon pistons Ltd. a manufactures aluminium alloy pistons, piston pins and piston rings for
passenger cars, Heavy and light commercial vehicles, Heavy duty diesel engines for power
generation and earth movers, compressors etc. with the 3 plants located in and around
Kolhapur, the company manufactures 24 million pistons per month. Today MPL is ISO IIS
16949 certified and also been awarded.

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2. Menon and Menon Ltd.

India’s first QS 9000 certified manufacture of gray iron automotive components like cylinder
blacks, cylinder heads and hydraulic control assemble, Menon and Menon Ltd.

3. Menon Bearing Ltd.

The menon bearing factory is located in area of 21534 square meter, with 4338 sq. meter area
and employing a workforce of 142 our fully integrated cellar manufacturing lines based on
the JIT principles are capable of handling multiple metals a wide range of material and
feature in India MBL is O.E.O supplier to Tata Motors and John Deere, Maruti Udyog Ltd.
Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. and Kirloskar Copel.

4. Menon Piston Rings Ltd.

Menon piston rings manufactures cast iron, Alloy cast iron, steel, Hard crome planned, hard
crome ground, piston rings, with diameter ranging from 60 mm to 205 mm and application
that range from passenger cars to heavy duty engines for martine and power generation MPR
manufactures 6,00,000 rings per month. MPR exports 35% of total production and has been
awarded status of ―Preferred Supplier‖ from MACK trucks, USA.

5. Menon Automobiles:-

Menon automobiles, the base unit of the menon group is now the largest engine
reconditioning and re-building facility in western India Popular for its expertise in heavy
engines of Komastsu, CAT and Cummins more than 300 engines are reconditioned every
month, 80% of which are HVC/tractors/Machines earthobing and power generating engines
menon automobiles has sophisticated machines like crank shaft grinders, line boring
machines etc. and is a practical test cell for MBL products where those getting fitted on
engine and we can monitor their problem

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Mission:-

 To dedicate ourselves for the global services through enterprise.

 To strive to create instruction of excellence which should serve as role model in terms
of
 Product Quality
 Customer Partnerships
 Creation of human resource wealth
 Integration with the society to which we belong
 To use honest business practices to maximize productivity, efficiency, profits
and long term stockholder value as only those that are strong will be of use of
society.

Values:-

Work sincerely and ethically to enhance stockholder value.

To enhance value to the society we belonging to through

 Value generation
 Environment Products
 Safety and health of our employees and community development

Vision:-

 To became dependable supplier by offering total solution in aluminium.

 To became renowned manufacture of precision and intricate aluminium components.

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  Departments:-
1. Material and raw material department
2. Foundry department
3. Machine shop
4. Quality check assurance
5. Storage and dispatch
6. Maintenance department

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 Plant Layout

Toilet
Cooling tower
Utility Powder & Pump Station
coating
Sub Station

Main Gate 9 m wide road

Material
gate
Security shot
Heat Treatment
Dining Room
blasti-
Room Area Fettling
ing Main Store
m/c Area
Room
Rest Room

Packaging
box store Raw material
store

Finish Product Material recycle

Store area

induction
Final inspection furnace
&
dispatch
Area

Die Spectro
Machining lab Foundry 10 m
STD line casting Office wide
Room line road
melting
furnace
Production
office W.I.P Runner
Area &
Riser
cutting
Impregnation Area
Plant Maintenance
Department

Machining
line Die Store

Emergency Exit Shop floor entrance

Die mold
Tool Room VMC
Toilet

Office entrance

V.C & M.D Conf. Export Reco- H.R &

J.M.D Export Engg.
cabin hall Dept. rds
Dept. Dept. Account
Dept.

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 ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

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 MACHINES

1) 6 HPDC - Buhler make machines of 250 -660 Tons capacity.

2) 2 Tilt Gravity GDC Machines with Auto Laddlers.
3) Inductotherm Melting Furnace, which shall produce uninterrupted good quality alloy
melt.
4) Thermotronix -USA make Hydrogen analyzer, to detect hydrogen gas content in the melt
so that degassing can be done precisely.
5) Very effective German made Rotary degasser for removal of unwanted entrapped gases &
inclusions.
6) Molten metal transfer through fork lift mounted non wetting, highly insulated ladle,
7) Metal holding in Elec. Resistance furnaces.
8) Shell core making machines & Shell Core Decoring machine.
9) Shot Blasting Machine & Casting Trimming Presses.
10) Auto pouring ladles to help in accurate pouring of metal in the die w.r.t. weight, time &
angle.
11) Optical Emission Spectrometer for online Chemical Composition Analysis.
12) Deckel Maho - German make Vertical Machining Center for manufacturing of Dies.
13) Electro Discharge Machine (EDM) For Die sinking.
14) CAD / CAM Software back up - Unigraphics (UGS) & PRO-E.
15) Horizontal Machining Center for Cylinder Head Machining.
16) CNC Machining Centers, SPM's for Component Machining.
17) In-house Impregnation plant to improve pressure tightness.
18) Heat Treatment Facility- T5, T6 Treatments.
19) 3 Co-ordinate Measuring Machines.

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 CUSTOMERS

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 PROCESS FLOW CHART

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 CASE STUDY

 Name of component:–
S & C Housing

 Company Name:-
Honeywell

1. Raw material, receipt, inspection and report:-

a) Raw material

 Material Grade:-
ASTM B85 A-380

 Standard:-
ASTM B85

 Chemical composition:-

Alloy element Percentage

Silicon 7.5-9.5
Iron 2.0
Copper 3-4
Manganese 0.50
Magnesium 0.10
Nickel 0.50
Zinc 3.0
Tin 0.35
Total others 0.50
Aluminum Balance

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 Mechanical Properties:-

Tensile strength 324 MPa

Yield strength 160 MPa
Impact strength 4J
Shear 190 MPa
Hardness 80 B.H
Elongation 3.5 % in 50 mm

 Physical properties:-

Density 2.71 g/cm3

Melting point 566 °C
Thermal conductivity 96 w/m k
Coefficient of thermal conductivity 21.8 µm/m k
Electrical conductivity 23 %IACS

b) Raw material receipt:-

c) Receipt & Inspection:-

Inspection of raw material is done with the help of Spectrometer.

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2. Alloy melting and metal treatment:-
Two Induction furnaces with capacity of 500 kg are used for melting aluminum alloy (A-
380).

Fresh ingots and runner riser charging ratio for melting

Charging ratio for melting

Metal making (Kg) Fresh ingot (Kg) Runner & riser (Kg)
100 30 70
125 37.5 87.5
150 45 105
175 52.5 122.5
200 60 140
225 67.5 157.5
250 75 175
275 85.5 192.5
300 90 210
325 97.5 227.5
350 105 245
375 112.5 262.5
400 120 280
425 127.5 297.5
450 135 315
475 142.5 332.5
500 150 350

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Degassing treatment:-
Degassing of molten Aluminum alloy is a foundry operation aimed to remove hydrogen
dissolved in melt.

 Hydrogen in aluminum:-
Liquid aluminum actively dissolves hydrogen, which forms as a result of chemical
reaction with water vapor:
2Al + 3H2O → Al2O3 + 6H
Solubility of gaseous hydrogen in liquid aluminum at its melting point (1220.7°C) is
0.61 in3/lb (2.2 cm3 per 100 g).
Solidifies: solid aluminum at melting point contains only 0.014 in3/lb (0.05 cm3 per
100 g).
Therefore aluminum alloys release excessive amount of hydrogen Solidification. This
result in porosity defects distributed throughout the solid metal. Size of the hydrogen
pores and their quantity is determined by the initial content of hydrogen, the alloy
composition and the solidification conditions.

 Sources of hydrogen in molten aluminum:-

o Atmosphere humidity;
o Wet metallic charge;
o Wet furnace lining (crucible transfer ladles);
o Wet foundry instruments;
o Wet fluxes and other consumables;
o Furnace fuel combustion products containing hydrogen

 Methods of hydrogen content estimation:-

1. Slow solidification: In this method small portion of liquid aluminum (about 2
in3/33 cm3) is poured into a cavity in a heated refractory brick. The alloy
slowly solidifies and the released hydrogen is concentrated in the upper part of
the casting in form of frozen bubbles. Quantity of the hydrogen bubbles at the
sample surface is determined by the hydrogen concentration.

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 2. Vacuum method: This quantitative method uses solidification of a sample
portion of the aluminum alloy in a small crucible at low pressure. Hydrogen
dissolved in the alloy starts to form gaseous phase (a bubble) is formed both
the pressure and temperature are measured. These parameters are used in
determination of the hydrogen content by means of numeric diagrams.

 Methods of degassing:-
1. Degassing by fluxes:-
Fluxes composed of chlorine and fluorine containing salts are used for
degassing molten aluminum alloys. Degassing fluxes are commonly shaped
in form of tablets.
Degassing operation starts when a flux tablet is plunged by a clean preheated
perforated bell to the furnace bottom. The flux components react with
aluminum forming gases compounds (Aluminum chloride, aluminum
fluoride). The gas is bubbling and rising through the melt. Partial pressure of
hydrogen in the formed bubbles is very low therefore it diffuses from the
molten and the gas is then removed by the exhausting system.
The process continues until bubbling ceases.

2. Rotary degasser:-
In the rotary degasser method an inert or chemically inactive gas is purged
through rotating shaft and rotor.
Energy of the rotating shaft causes formation of a large number of fine
bubbles providing very high surface area to volume ratio.
Large surface area promotes fast and effective diffusion of hydrogen into the
gas bubbles resulting in equivalent activity of hydrogen in liquid and gaseous
phases.
Rotary degasser allows a more complete hydrogen removal as compared to
the flux introduction. Rotary degasser may also combine the functions of

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 degassing and flux introduction. In this case inert gas serves as carrier for
granulated flux. The method is called flux injection.

3. Material transport to holding furnace:-

After degassing treatment, molten metal is transported to holding furnace. The capacity of
holding furnace is 500kg. Holding temperature is about 660-770 °C

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4. PDC/GDC process :-
There are two main types of die casting process: Gravity Die Casting (GDC) and Pressure
Die Casting (PDC). In GDC, molten metal is poured into the mold using gravity. In PDC,
the molten metal is injected into mold under pressure.
In GDC geometry complexity is limited, whereas in PDC highly complex geometries can
be produced. PDC (0.8 to 2.5) requires more tolerance than GDC (0.8 to 1.5). In GDC
parting line is vertical whereas in PDC it depends on the geometry and critical
dimensions. GDC has lower production rate (typically few pieces per hour) compared to
PDC which can produce a few hundreds parts per hour.
PDC is further divided into two types: Cold Chamber Die Casting and Hot Chamber Die
Casting.
Pressure range on the Hot Chamber Die Casting is from 7 to 35 MPa whereas for Cold
Chamber Die Casting it ranges from 14 to 140 MPa.

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5. RR cutting & fettling:-

In the fettling process, the unwanted materials from the cast product like runners, flash
and gate, overflow materials, sharp edges are removed.

To remove the extra material, bench grinding machine, belt grinding machine, machine
tools and files are used.

6. Heat treatment:-
No heat treatment is required for this component.

The typical aluminum heat treatments are annealing, homogenizing, solution heat
treatment, natural aging, and artificial aging (also known as precipitation hardening). It is
important to keep in mind that the heat treating of aluminum is quite different from steel.

Annealing:-
The purpose of annealing is to essentially reset the crystalline grain structure, restoring
slip planes and making it possible to continue shaping the part without requiring excess
force. To anneal a work hardened aluminum alloy, the metal must be heated to
somewhere between 570°F to 770°F for a set amount of time, ranging from just thirty
minutes to a full three hours. The time and temperature are depending on two things: the
size of the part that is being annealed and the composition of its alloy.
Annealing also relieves internal stresses that can develop in a part during processes such
as cold forging or casting, stabilize the dimensions of a part, and resolve issues that result
from internal strains (such as warping). Also, annealing can be successfully performed on
aluminum alloys that are considered non heat treatable alloys. It is commonly used on
aluminum parts that are forged, extruded, or cast.

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 Homogenizing:-

Homogenizing is used to redistribute the precipitating elements more evenly throughout

an aluminum part. This is typically necessary when working with cast aluminum alloy
parts. When the part begins to cool, the outside edge that is in direct contact with the
mold will cool first. This results in a skin of aluminum grains, or crystals. As the part
continues to cool inward, the result is fairly pure aluminum near the skin and some
regions near the center. The alloying elements precipitate out, resulting in the aluminum
grains being locked into place. The cast part ends up with some regions being soft and
others being strong. This segregation between regions can be reduced and the resulting
part rendered more workable for forming by going through the homogenizing process. An
aluminum part is homogenized by raising its temperature to just under its melting point,
which is usually between 900°F to 1000°F. After the entire part has reached this
homogenizing temperature, it is allowed to slowly cool. The result is a cast part with a
uniform internal structure.

Solution heat treatment:-

While the cooling rate is not a factor in annealing, it is a factor in another similar
aluminum heat treatment process called solution heat treatment. During the solution heat
treatment process, the elements that are responsible for age hardening (which makes the
metal part difficult to work with over time) are dissolved. Those dissolved elements then
become spheroids, and the result is a homogenized structure. However, the part must be

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 quenched, or rapidly cooled, to preserve that final distribution of dissolved elements in
the alloy that was achieved as a result of heat treatment. The part is then much easier to
work with. Over time, though, those trapped elements will precipitate out again and cause
age hardening.

The exact temperature for solution heat treatment depends on the alloy composition of the
aluminum, but it typically occurs somewhere in the range of 825°F to 980°F — but the
temperature used must be within ±10°F of the target temperature. If this temperature is
not achieved, the solution heat treatment will not be successful. If the temperature is too
low, strength will be lost; if the temperature is too high, then the part could end up
discolored, critical elements could melt, or there may be increased strain within the part.

Once the part has reached that narrow window for the target temperature, it needs to soak.
This soaking time can be anywhere from 10 minutes for a thin part to 12 hours for larger,
thicker parts. However, heat treatment specialists do have a general rule of thumb: one
hour for every inch of cross-section in the thickness.

Next comes the quenching step. The objective of quenching here is to ―freeze‖ the
trapped elements in place, or to cool the aluminum part rapidly enough that the alloying
elements do not have a chance to precipitate out as the part cools. Water is the most
commonly used quenchant, and typically the most effective quenchant for aluminum
alloys.

Any forming that needs to be done to a solution heat treated part should be done very
soon after quenching is complete. Otherwise, natural aging will begin and the part will
become more difficult to work with. This is the reverse of what happens with heat treated
steels, which are extremely brittle and hard after quenching.

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 Natural Aging:-
After aluminum has been solution heat treated, the elements that dissolved will begin to
precipitate out over time. This causes the grains to lock into position, which in turn
increases the natural strength of the aluminum and is called aging.

The natural aging, or age hardening, process takes place at room temperature over a time
period of four to five days, with 90% of the hardening occurring within the first day.
Because of this effect, aluminum parts often need to be shaped rather quickly after going
through a solution heat treatment process.

Artificial Aging:-
For some aluminum alloys to be able to reach maximum hardness, they need to have the
dissolved elements fully precipitated out. Not all aluminum alloys can reach sufficient
hardness during natural aging at room temperature. Some can only harden to a certain
point, but that can be resolved through precipitation hardening, which is sometimes called
artificial aging.

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 In precipitation hardening, the aluminum is heated to an alloy specific temperature
between 240°F and 460°F, within ±5°F of the target temperature. It will then soak for a
period of between six to twenty-four hours, followed by cooling to room temperature.
The result includes a significant increase in the yield strength of the aluminum, slightly
less of an increase in tensile strength, and a decrease in ductility

Aluminum Heat Treatment Furnaces:-

Almost all of the aluminum heat treatments mentioned above require extremely precise
control over temperature in order to achieve the desired effects. This involves the use of
high-quality furnaces and ovens that can achieve a uniform temperature distribution,
extremely accurate control instruments, and skilled technicians that know how to use the
equipment properly.

Not only must the correct temperatures be reached, but the temperature-time cycles for
the heat treatment process must possess uniformity and continuity. In addition, the
furnace must be designed so that the part being treated achieves a uniform temperature
throughout.

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 Heat Treating T Temper Codes

 T1 - Cooled from an elevated temperature shaping process and naturally aged to a

substantially stable condition.
 T2 - Cooled from an elevated temperature shaping process, cold worked, and
naturally aged to a substantially stable condition.
 T3 - Solution heat treated, cold worked, and naturally aged to a substantially stable
condition.
 T4 - Solution heat treated, and naturally aged to a substantially stable condition.
 T5 - Cooled from an elevated temperature shaping process then artificially aged.
 T6 - Solution heat treated then artificially aged.
 T7 - Solution heat treated then over aged/stabilized.
 T8 - Solution heat treated, cold worked and then artificially aged.
 T9 - Solution heat treated, artificially aged, then cold worked.
 T10 - Cooled from an elevated temperature shaping process, cold worked, then
artificially aged.

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7. Shot blasting
Shot Blasting is a surface treatment process using high velocity steel abrasive. Shot
blasting is method through which it is possible to obtain excellent cleaning and surface
preparation for secondary finishing operations.
In general shot blasting concentrates abrasive particles at high speed (65-110 m/second)
in a controlled manner at the material thereby removing surface contaminates due to the
abrasive impact. Initially in the 1930’s the shot blasting process used compressed air for
propelling the steel shot. This method remains in use today for cleaning metal frames and
welded elements. Shot blast production lines, both manual and automated systems,
became possible with the introduction of centrifugal wheel blast machines.
When it comes to finishing and cleaning operations, the shot blasting surface treatment
technique is a highly effective option. The high speed controlled shot blast creates an
abrasive impact which removes surface contaminates, thereby making it an effective
method for cleaning iron, steel, forgings, machine parts, fixtures etc..

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8. Machining:-

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Department of Mechanical Engineering K.I.T’s COE(Autonomous), Kolhapur Page 28
9. Impregnation:-

Vacuum impregnation is a preferred, OEM approved method for sealing leak paths and
porosity in metal castings, sintered metal parts and electrical components. Using
specialist impregnation equipment, voids are filled with a chemically and thermally
resistant polymer sealant under vacuum. This process seals porosity and leak paths within
the component, making them leak free and suitable for production use, reducing scrap
rates, improving productivity and quality.

i. Impregnation:-

The impregnation stage is the first part of the porosity sealing process. Air is evacuated
from the porosity under dry vacuum and a liquid sealant is drawn into the porosity, filling
any void and leak paths.

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 ii. Drain:-

Once the sealant has filled the porosity the components are rotated to drain excess sealant.

iii. Cold Wash:-

After the excess sealant has been drained, the components are rotated under a wash water
solution to remove any excess sealant from external component surfaces.

iv. Hot Cure:-

Finally, a hot cure cycle is used which polymerizes the sealant, turning it from a liquid
state to a solid polymer, sealing porosity and leak paths within the component.

10. Leakage testing:-

No leakage testing is done for this component.

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11. Powder coating:-
Powder coating is a dry finishing process that uses finely ground particles of pigment and
resin that are electrostatically charged and sprayed onto electrically grounded parts. The
charged powder particles adhere to the part and are held there until melted and fused into
a uniform coating in a curing oven.
There are two types of powder coatings: thermoplastic and thermosetting. Thermoplastic
powders melt and flow when heat is applied but they continue to have the same chemical
composition once they cool and solidify. Thermosetting powder coatings also melt when
exposed to heat, but they then chemically cross-link within themselves or with other
reactive components. The cured coating has a different chemical structure than the basic
resin. Thermosetting coatings are heat-stable and, unlike thermoplastic powders, will not
soften back to the liquid phase when re-heated. Thermoset powders can also be applied
by spray application to develop thinner films with better appearance than some
thermoplastic powder coatings.

Pre-treatment of powder coating:-

The first step in the powder coating process is to prepare or pretreat the parts. The product
to be coated is exposed to cleaning and pretreatment operations to ensure that surfaces to
be coated are clean and free of grease, dust, oils, rust and other contaminants. Chemical
pretreatment normally takes place in a series of spray chambers. Parts are first cleaned
using an alkaline, acidic or neutral cleaner. In many cases the part is surface treated with a
conversion coating of iron or zinc phosphate or a transitional metal conversion coating
such as a zirconium oxide product. Each stage is typically separated by a rinse stage to
remove residual chemistry. Spray systems enable pretreatment of a wide variety of part
sizes and configurations; dip tanks may be used instead of spray for some applications.

The specific pretreatment process selected depends on the characteristics of the coating
and substrate materials, and on the end use of the product being coated. Pretreatments
most often used in powder coating are iron phosphate for steel, zinc phosphate for
galvanized or steel substrates and chromium phosphates for aluminum substrates. In
addition to traditional phosphate processes a new group of technologies has emerged that

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 use transition metals and organo-metallic materials or other alternatives. These alternative
conversion coatings can be applied with little or no heat, and they are less prone to sludge
buildup in the pretreatment bath than conventional iron or zinc phosphate formulations.
The result is greater operating efficiencies in terms of lower energy costs, reduced floor-
space requirements and decreased waste disposal requirements. Other advances include
non-chrome seal systems, which can yield improved corrosion protection on steel,
galvanized steel and aluminum alloys.

Dry-in-place pretreatment products, such as a seal rinse over an alkali metal phosphate,
can reduce the number of stages required before powder coating application. Chrome
dried-in-place treatments are effective on multi-metal substrates, and may be the sole
pretreatment required for some applications. On-chrome technologies are commonly used
as well. Non-chrome aluminum treatments have become very popular over time with
excellent performance properties.

After the chemical pretreatment process is complete, parts are dried in a low-temperature
dry-off oven. They are then ready to be coated.

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 For many functional applications, a mechanical pretreatment such as sand or shot blasting
can be used. With this method, high-velocity air is used to drive sand, grit or steel shot
toward the substrate, developing an anchor pattern on the part that improves the adhesion
of the powder coating to the substrate. Mechanical cleaning is particularly useful for
removal of inorganic contaminants such as rust, mill scale and laser oxide.

Powder application:-
The most common way to apply powder coating materials requires a spray device with a
powder delivery system and electrostatic spray gun. A spray booth with a powder
recovery system is used to enclose the application process and collect any over-sprayed
powder.
Powder delivery systems consist of a powder storage container or feed hopper and a
pumping device that transports a mixture of powder and air into hoses or feed tubes.

Some feed hoppers vibrate to help prevent clogging or clumping of powders prior to entry
into the transport lines.

Electrostatic powder spray guns direct the flow of powder. They use nozzles that control
the pattern size, shape and density of the spray as it is released from the gun. They also
charge the powder being sprayed and control the deposition rate and location of powder
on the target. Spray guns can be either manual (hand-held) or automatic (mounted to a
fixed stand or a reciprocator or other device to provide gun movement). The charge
applied to the powder particles encourages them to wrap around the part and deposit on
surfaces of the product that are not directly in the path of the gun

Corona charging guns, the most commonly used, generate a high-voltage, low-amperage
electrostatic field between the electrode and the product being coated. Powder particles
that pass through the ionized electrostatic field at the tip of the electrode become charged
and are deposited on the electrically grounded surface of the part.

Department of Mechanical Engineering K.I.T’s COE(Autonomous), Kolhapur Page 33

 An alternative charging mechanism is a tribo charging spray gun. In such a gun the
powder particles receive their electrostatic charge from friction which occurs when the
particles rub a solid insulator or conductor inside the gun. The insulator strips electrons
from the powder, producing positively charged powder particles.

Powder can also be applied by a spray device called a bell or rotary atomizer. Powder
bells use a turbine that rotates in an enclosed powder bell head. Powder is delivered to the
bell head and spread into a circular pattern by centrifugal force. The powder passes
through an electric field between the bell head or an externally mounted electrode and
either the grounded object to be coated or a counter-electrode positioned behind the bell
head.

Use of oscillators, reciprocators and robots to control spray equipment reduces labor costs
and provides more consistent coverage in many applications. Gun triggering (turning the

gun on and off using a device that can sense when parts are properly positioned) can
reduce over-spray, which results in lower material and maintenance costs.
Other Powder Application SystemsIn addition to spray application with electrostatic
guns, powder coating materials can be applied by a dip method called fluidized bed.
Fluidized bed powder coating was developed by Edwin Gemmer for application of
thermoplastic resins and patented in 1953.

In fluidized bed coating, parts are pre-heated to 450–500°F and then dipped into a tank
filled with powder material that has been ―fluidized‖ by addition of compressed air
through a porous membrane at the bottom of the tank. In some cases the powder is
electrostatically charged.

Another option is flame-spray application. In flame-spray, which is used to apply

thermoplastic powder materials, powder is propelled through the flame in a heat gun
using compressed air. The heat of the flame melts the powder, eliminating the need for
ovens.

Department of Mechanical Engineering K.I.T’s COE(Autonomous), Kolhapur Page 34

 Yet another method of application is called hot flocking. In this process, the part to be
coated is preheated so that the sprayed powder will gel when it comes in contact with the
hot part surface. Hot flocking is often used for functional epoxy application because it
builds a thick film that will provide exceptional performance. These fusion-bond epoxy
(FBE) products are often used to coat valves and pipe used in extreme conditions such as
oilfield or offshore applications.

Department of Mechanical Engineering K.I.T’s COE(Autonomous), Kolhapur Page 35