Metal finishing solutions

Metal substrates come in all shapes and sizes. Commonly found in the building industry, they may be mild steel, alloy steel, stainless steel or even aluminium, and range from profiles to coils produced by a steel mill, or even structural pipes. Each of these requires a different finishing process to obtain specific functional or aesthetic characteristics.

Products By - Materials

What is meant by the industrial surface finishing of metal substrates?

Metal substrates undergo a finishing process in most cases, yet only a few of these can be considered as a coating process, either using paint or powder. Other finishing processes for metal include a wide range of techniques which may even alter the molecular structure of the substrate. Applied to enhance the surface of a product made of metal - for example: plating, anodizing, electropolishing – coatings are also used to embellish the surface and protect it from weathering.

Processes

Why is metal coating important for certain industrial sectors?

The construction industry is one sector in which metal substrates are quite common, usually in applications for use externally, such as windows, doors, sidings or even decorative panels. Metal piping is another product requiring a finishing process, found in general industrial applications. Each substrate, either due to its shape or due to its final destination, will need to undergo a different finishing process. These processes include:

  • Coating: mostly performed using spray coating technologies and equipment, roller coating and vacuum coating techniques are also used for specific products.
  • Wrapping: aluminium profiles that may be a part of a window frame can be wrapped on high-tech, automatic machinery to improve their look and feel.
  • Industrial digital printing: enables attractive personalisation of the surface, and both large volumes as well as batch one assignments.
  • Drying: following most coating processes, a drying stage is required to maintain constant line output.
metallo

In which industries are metal finishing solutions used?

Integrated finishing lines for metal elements can be found in diverse sectors and for several different products:

APPLICATION FIELDS

Here is a selection of metal finished specific products

APPLICATIONS

Metal finishing technologies and processes

Different finishing technologies are used for metal substrates according to the production volumes as well as the geometries of the end product. The following are a selection of the most common processes found in different industries:

A flexible solution which ensures coating consistency applying lacquer to all sides of a 3D product. Spray coating is accomplished on flatbed lines or overhead lines with special spraying robots.

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For excellent transfer efficiency, this coating technique can be used on flat panels and panels with shallow grooves, performed on specially equipped roller coaters. For ultra-high-gloss surface finishing, a Laser roller is the perfect solution.

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High-quality coating with almost 100% transfer efficiency using 100% UV acrylic lacquers for flat surfaces and edges, especially if the edge needs to match perfectly with the surface finish applied to the panel.

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The ideal solution for customisation or batch one requirements, this technology transforms a unique digital image into a printed decoration and can be integrated into lines using other coating technologies.

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Part of automatic equipment providing solutions for a complete process including an adhesive coater unit, wrapping is performed on profiles and window frames in aluminium.

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Different ovens implementing IR or UV technologies are available to dry the lacquers used to coat the metal substrate. 

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Thin sheets

Which finishing technologies are used for thin metal or graphite substrates?

Our roller coating equipment can be tailored to coat thin metal sheets, and according to where the final product is used, will be handled in an appropriate environment if this needs to be dust-free.

While coating thin metal sheets, the machine works with two counter-facing rollers, one above to apply the lacquer and one below acting as a support and featuring a cleaning device to keep the lower surface lacquer-free.

Metal engine head gaskets can be coated this way or on specially designed spray coating equipment to ensure a perfect, closely controlled surface finish.

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SHEETS METAL

Our technologies have been developed to optimise the industrial finishing of metal substrates

Machines

Case studies

Case study

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MAGAZINE

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Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

01 What are the advantages of spray coating?
Firstly, spray coating ensures all sides of the piece are covered. Secondly, the product shape is unimportant and, since it is not a contact-type coating, different tolerances between products are compensated for automatically.
02 Which materials are suitable for roller coating?
All materials are. The only requirement is to have a flat surface.

Examples of products suitable for roller coating:
  • cabinet doors
  • parquet
  • doors
Examples of materials suitable for roller coating:
  • wood and wood-based materials
  • glass
  • cork
  • plastic
  • fibre cement
  • metal
  • roll-to-roll for edges etc.
03 What are the advantages of roller coating?

High flexibility in terms of output rate and choice of cycles/processes according to the line make-up.

Zero solvent emissions thanks to 95% use of products with high dry residue (UV) content.

Possibility of using the roller technique for any application on all flat surfaces.

04 What are the advantages of drying?
Let's talk about the advantages of the whole finishing process, which includes lacquer application and drying. The "finished" item ends up with improved resistance and protection from external agents, as well as a better aesthetic presentation.
05 What are the advantages of vacuum coating?
This technology has many benefits. To start with, transfer efficiency reaches an astonishing 99%. Vacuum coaters have a limited footprint, so they occupy little factory space. Production efficiency is optimised because by using a vacuum coater, 360° sanding, coating and curing of a profile is dealt with in a single pass. Overspray is absent and the process is environmentally friendly. Coating thicknesses are high and, for example, can reach 700 µm on glass wool panels.