Read the latest issue of the magazine dedicated to surface treatments and organic and inorganic finishes – Special edition dedicated to agricultural, construction and earth-moving equipment!
Few other natural phenomena are as universal and democratic as corrosion. When we think about it, the only ones that come to my mind are those related to decay, from illness to death. In fact, corrosion is itself a phenomenon of decay, of material degradation. An unstoppable process that tends to return metals to their original state.
As a natural event, corrosion cannot be completely eliminated but only controlled, limited, or prevented. Its impact on industry and civilisation is so significant that estimates from different sources put it at between 2 and 6% of the GDP of the world’s largest nations. Corrosion contributes to environmental pollution, is dangerous to human health, and conflicts with sustainability because it destroys rather than preserves.
Product durability has become so crucial that corrosion resistance is the main performance element required of a coating system in general industry today, also in light of climate change and the increasing rate of pollution, which subject paints to ever-increasing stress, thus limiting their service life.
Such a widespread demand for greater durability of coatings characterises all industrial segments indiscriminately, and the articles in this year's last issue, primarily devoted to technology trends for surface treatments in the ACE sector (agricultural, construction, and earthmoving machinery, and more generally all off-road vehicles) bear ample witness to this.
Corrosion needs three elements to occur: an electrolyte (water), an electron acceptor (air), and a metal exposed to them. To prevent or slow it down, one of these three conditions must be eliminated, and this is precisely the role of any coating or lining system: to act as a barrier between the substrate (metal) and water and air. Be they cataphoresis, liquid, or powder paint products applied in one or more layers, organic coatings protect metals against degradation to different degrees and with varying durability rates.
The trend towards ever-higher corrosion resistance, together with the demand for sustainability, is the main driver of development in the industrial coating sector. A coating system that includes a cataphoresis primer and a powder or liquid top coat is one solution – the most effective one – for ensuring maximum component durability. That is why cataphoresis is gaining ground in new fields, breaking out of the ivory tower of the automotive and component industry.
To meet the demands for durability and resistance, it is imperative for any company in the coating sector to have application lines and processes that are up-to-date with the latest technology, hyper-controlled, and tracked to also ensure consistency among batches. Preventing corrosion saves money, preserves human and environmental health, and is one of the highest forms of sustainability.
With the hope that market and industry trends in the new year will enable companies to keep innovating to this end, I would also like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers Happy Holidays!
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