nance and repair of engineering
parts, such as pump components,
for example. This includes cleaning and pre-treatment of all parts,
application of metal-filled compounds to
rebuild damaged surfaces, and application
of wear-resistant and corrosion protection
coatings. Selection of the right products
and the appropriate application methods
are treated in both the theory and practice
modules of the workshop. Additional
training sessions also focus on repairing
damaged piping or on marine chocking.
General Motors continues
plant changeover to BASF’s
environmentally friendly
CathoGuard 800
The automotive coatings group of BASF
announced that General Motors has transitioned to BASF’s CathoGuard 800 cathodic
e-coat at several of its automotive plants
throughout the world including Russia,
China, Brazil, and North America.
CathoGuard 800 is BASF´s latest e-coat
technology for automotive OEM companies. During the e-coat process, a car body
moves through an e-coat bath, where paint
particles are deposited on the steel panels
with the aid of an electric current. This coating layer protects the car from corrosion.
BASF says the CathoGuard 800 technology not only guarantees ideal protection for the metal, but is also especially
sustainable, which is a key factor to automakers. The technology contains less
than one percent solvents and is tin-free.
Additionally, the product’s throw power
provides a high level of e-coat coverage
and corrosion protection for the hard-to-reach cavities in the vehicle.
GM initiated the changeover to
CathoGuard 800 in 2009. SGM Yantai III
in China is the most recent GM plant to
implement the changeover in 2012. This
makes a total of 11 plants at which GM
car bodies will be taking an environmentally friendlier bath.
BASF and General Motors are connected by a long-standing partnership.
BASF recently received the 2011 GM
Global Supplier of the Year Award, the
eighth time it had been awarded the distinction in the past 10 years. BASF was recognized for its outstanding performance as
Harvard’s SLIPS technology enabled
repellent coating receives the 2012 R&D
100 Award
SLIPS technology, developed by the lab
of Joanna Aizenberg, has transformative
potential for everyday life. A novel coating
that repels almost every type of liquid and
solid, from blood and crude oil to ice and
bacteria, has received a 2012 R&D 100
Award from R&D Magazine.
The annual awards honor the 100
most technologically significant products
of the previous year. The winning technology, called SLIPS (Slippery Liquid-In-fused Porous Surfaces), was developed by
a team of scientists led by Joanna Aizenberg, Amy Smith Berylson Professor of
Materials Science at the Harvard School
of Engineering and Applied Sciences
(SEAS) and a Core Faculty Member at the
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired
Engineering at Harvard University.
“Some of the most extreme examples in
biology can provide the most amazing and
unexpected ideas, and what’s so significant
about the pitcher plant is that it gives us a
blueprint for a single surface that is capable
of repelling any type of accumulated unwanted material,” said Aizenberg, who is
also the Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach
Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and
Co-Director of the Kavli Institute for Bio-nano Science and Technology.
“In following its example, we should
be able to develop a platform that works
for almost any sticky problem, no matter
how seemingly unrelated, whether it’s ice
accumulation, bacterial attachment, envi-
ronmental contamination, clogging of
pipes, marine biofouling, or graffiti, rather
than having to come up with a host of in-
dividual solutions.”
The R&D 100 Awards have long been
a benchmark of excellence for diverse in-
dustry sectors. Since their inception in
1963, the awards have identified many
promising technologies that have gone on
to become household names. These game-
changers include the flashcube (1965), the
automated teller machine (1973), the fax
machine (1975), the Nicoderm anti-smok-
ing patch (1992), the lab on a chip (1996),
and HDTV (1998).
“We are thrilled to see SLIPS recognized as a revolutionary discovery that
can transform people’s daily lives,” said
Wyss Founding Director Donald Ingber,
M.D., Ph.D.
SLIPS was inspired by the slippery surface of the carnivorous pitcher plant,
which enables the plant to capture insects.
The technology was first described in the
September 22, 2011, issue of the journal
Nature. Aizenberg is leading the research
effort with support from Wyss Postdoctoral Fellow Tak-Sing Wong.
The novel, super-slippery surfaces can
quickly repel liquids and solids and their
complex mixtures. The surfaces show a
unique ability to self-repair if damaged
and to self-clean. The technology is effective in a range of harsh conditions, such
as high pressure, extreme UV exposure,
high acidity, and freezing temperatures,
and SLIPS can be created on almost any
surface, including glass, plastics, and metals. The coating itself is non-toxic and
anti-corrosive.
SLIPS technology has the potential for
high-impact applications in numerous
areas, including biomedical fluid handling,
fuel transport, and anti-fouling and anti-icing approaches. For example, SLIPS
could prevent biofilm from forming on
medical devices and keep ice from forming on railings, roofs, wires, signs, and airplane wings.
Winners of the R&D 100 Awards are
selected by an independent judging panel
and by the editors of R&D Magazine,
which covers cutting-edge technologies
and innovations for research scientists, engineers, and technical experts around the
world. The winners will be recognized at
the R&D 100 Awards Banquet in November 2012.
AkzoNobel breaks ground on
£100m Ashington facility
Work on a new £100m manufacturing plant
in the North East is underway following a
groundbreaking ceremony held today.
The world-class high-tech manufacturing facility will become the heart of AkzoNobel’s UK Decorative Paints
operations, and will treble the North-East
manufacturing capability of the UK’s decorative paints business.
