Coatings World - January 2009

New Products

The fuel saving effects of Hempasil X3 have been documented through extensive towing tank studies and confirmed by real-life applications on more than 20 vessels. As part of the package, customers also receive a third-party fuel monitoring system—SeaTrend from Force Technology—that measures and documents fuel savings.

NEW HARD COAT INSULATION Firwin Corp, a Toronto-based manufacturer of removable insulation blankets, recently launched a new insulation product—Firwin HC Hard Coat insulation. As opposed to insulation blankets, which are designed to be removable and reusable, Firwin HC is an insulation coating that is affixed to the product. Featuring a lightweight and durable exterior that clings to the part, Firwin HC prevents fluids from igniting on hot

Consisting of an insulation coating that is affixed to products, Firwin HC prevents fluids from igniting on hot engine and exhaust components.

engine and exhaust components.

The product can be applied to exhaust manifolds, turbochargers, elbows and exhaust tubing, and is aimed at industries such as mining, marine and defense. It conforms tightly to parts, making it ideal for limited space applications.

NIPPON PAINT MARINE’S NEW
HULL PAINT REDUCES SHIP DRAG
Nippon Paint Marine Coatings Co., the

subsidiary of Nippon Paint Co. that specializes in ship hulls, has begun to market a newly developed paint that helps reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency by roughly four percent, according to the company.

Some existing ship hull paints can reduce surface irregularities to around 150 microns, enhancing fuel efficiency by lowering the vessel’s resistance in the water.

But the new paint works even better, according to the firm, reducing surface irregularities to just 100 microns. The result is an added eight percent reduction in drag resistance.

Nippon Paint Marine said it got the inspiration for the paint from dolphins and tuna, which swim with low drag thanks to the mucous layer coating their bodies.

The new paint contains a proprietary polymer compound that turns into a gel when it comes in contact with water. A hull covered with this paint has less drag because the surface develops a gel coat that tends to accumulate in any indentations, creating a smoother surface.

The new paint is three times more expensive, but Nippon Paint Marine calculates that in the case of a 95-kilo- ton container ship, the initial expense of using the five-year formulation of the new product can be recovered in terms of fuel savings in just one year.

NEW LUMICLAD PROCESS FROM BIRCHWOOD CASEY Birchwood Casey’s new Lumiclad black oxide process is an in-house method for blackening aluminum forming a durable satin black finish on all aluminum alloys. The Lumiclad process utilizes a dip-tank procedure, without requiring the use of electrolytic chemicals to form the coating, as does black anodizing. The non-dimensional (1.5 micron) Lumiclad finish is tightly adherent to the aluminum substrate with no ruboff, serving as a suitable alternative to black anodizing for many

The Lumiclad black oxide process takes 30 minutes for most alloys.

types of industrial tooling and machine components, large and small.

INTEGRAN INTRODUCES NANOVATE

Integran Technologies Inc. has launched its Nanovate EM coating, which is designed to provide low frequency magnetic shielding to polymer, composite and metal parts. The Nanovate process achieves high magnetic permeability by reducing the crystalline grain structure of the metal to the nanometer scale, as opposed to other processes that rely on extremely large grain sizes to achieve shielding, according to the company.

Nanovate EM can be selectively applied by Integran, allowing shielding performance to be focused where it is needed on a part. This process flexibility enables a reduction in steps in the assembly process and production cost savings. There may also be secondary benefits to customers, as the Nanovate process also results in a high strength, and high hardness material that can be used to stiffen and strengthen shielded polymer, composite and metal substrates.