It is reported that due to the huge environmental pressure, powder coatings have been replacing liquid paints and have become the mainstream today. With the improvement of powder coatings and coating technology, the application field of powder coatings will be larger. The improvement of powder coatings and coating technology mainly comes from the growth of demand in the automotive industry, home appliance industry and general industrial field, including the development and improvement of raw materials, powder making and coating technology. The application of powder coatings in the automotive industry is constantly expanding, and automobile chassis, interior parts, wheels and bodies are beginning to use powder coatings.
The technical improvements of powder coatings for automobiles include: transparency, adhesion, leveling and UV resistance of transparent powders, reducing the curing temperature as much as possible while ensuring the appearance and performance of powder coatings; and various coating technologies (such as robotics, airflow control technology and high powder coating rate technology).
It is reported that the application of pre-coated metal sheets (coils) coated with powder coatings in the home appliance industry is growing rapidly, requiring powder coatings to complete the entire process of melting, flow leveling and curing within 25 to 60 seconds, while maintaining a good coating appearance and various resistances. Powder coatings for home appliances must have a certain degree of post-forming properties, and their degree of forming depends on the final use. The coated sheets should be able to be stacked together. The coating line speed of ordinary metal sheet thin coatings should reach 30-80fpm, and the line speed of coil coating should reach 100fpm.
In addition, airflow control (or reduction), powder coating rate or charge transfer rate should be controlled at the best state. The improvement of the appearance of the cured coating at a high coating line speed is the main direction of the improvement of home appliance powder coating technology. It involves the matching of infrared light wavelength/light intensity with coating and substrate, fast leveling convection heating and induction heating curing methods, powder coating surface continuity curing procedures, and the cleanliness of the entire curing system.
The development of the automotive industry and the home appliance industry has promoted the development of special powder coating systems and coating technologies. The application of special powder coatings suitable for different processes in ordinary industrial coatings is growing, and gradually entering areas that were previously difficult to enter (due to too many color requirements, too fast coating speed, severe paint penetration, too many coatings, etc.). In the general industrial coatings market, powder coatings have become another highlight because they can provide various batches of products to meet the needs of many small customers.
The continuous increase in powder equipment suppliers and raw material suppliers has also prompted many regional paint suppliers to add powder coating production lines. At the same time, new powder coating raw materials and coating equipment are constantly being launched in the mature European market.
In short, the increase in the number of suppliers is most beneficial to small and medium-sized powder users, who can obtain raw materials with stable prices and more practical products. However, the development of large powder customers often benefits only a few specific suppliers, making them more closely related to powder coatings, coating processes, and end users.
