Terronics has explored and investigated the use of electrostatics since its start in 1985. Breakthrough technologies have been developed and patented for coating machines to apply liquid and powder particles effectively and efficiently and are used in steel, paper, cosmetics, rubber, electronics, agriculture, medical and food.
Liquids
Terronics electrostatic sprayers use the ElectroHydroDynamic Atomisation technology. Small droplets of uniform size are made at only a couple of Watts energy, it operates quietly, airless and at low hydraulic pressures.
In its most basic form it’s no more than a single spray cone-jet for applications needing a flow rate from 1 µl up to 10 ml/min. The Terronics single syringe ‘Dart’ nozzle is manufactured out of engineering plastics and produces a single and fully stable and uniform spray plume. The Electrostatic Dart Spraying nozzle produces aerosols, fibers, and precisely doses coatings of uniform thickness.
The Dart nozzle however is not suited for high throughput needs. For this purpose, scaled up patented nozzles were invented to meet higher liquid flow rates and to coat larger surfaces.
A Terronics Electrostatic Sprayer incorporates a spray header, HV system and hydraulic system fully optimized for the needs of the application. The most successful application is spraying lubricant and anti-corrosion oils in steel at applied rates between 3 mg/m2 up to 2 gram/m2 in lines going at processing speeds up to 1400 m/min. Machines, equipped with spray headers as wide as 2 meters, are spraying top down and/or bottom up. All of the machines are custom build, and some of these oilers have the smallest footprint known in the industry. The Terronics Oiling technology is widely used in steel plants throughout the USA. The spraying technology is continuously adapted to meet more specific customer markets such as the automotive and food industry.
Electrostatics has proven to effectively and efficiently make and steer small liquid particles or fibers. We are continuously working on improving our nozzle technology and application process to meet more specific needs such as higher output production rates and better quality products. Please contact TDC for further information and licensing opportunities.
Powders
The work with powders started in the early 1980’s with the need for an economical viable alternative to replace solvent applied coating on can end stock. Progress was, at one hand, restricted by the limited availability of powder formulations for electrostatic charging and fast curing times. One spin-off was the development of a wire filament powder electrostatic coater. Work on continuous high speed webs resulted in an Electrostatic Powder Coater for applying Release Agents in a less than a monolayer thickness onto cold rolled steel. The electrostatic coating process evolved into an Electrostatic Powder Paint Applicator for the 2 sided application with initial success on coined, perforated and textured material. A breakthrough invention with an innovative way of metering and dispensing the powder paint more uniformly across the width of the web made it possible to also apply to flat stock for Powder Coil Coating .
Please contact us for further information and licensing opportunities of our Electrostatic Powder Technology.