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E-Coating: Electrophoretic deposition solution from NORGLIDE®

February 03rd, 2021

Electrophoretic deposition (also known as e-coating or e-painting) is a process of evenly and quickly coating structures in paint by using electric charge to bond the paint to the structure. For all parts of a given structure to be coated, they need to be electrically conductive.

 

E-Coating Pedestrian Safety Hood Hinge with NORGLIDE Bearings
Figure 1. Pedestrian safety hood hinge showing NORGLIDE® solutions in red. If all parts are to be painted then there is the requirement that electrical current can flow to all the components.
 
If a system has moving parts, it is not unlikely they will be connected by a hinge. The bearing used in the hinge, therefore, has to be electrically conductive to ensure both mating parts are coated. However, if the bearing itself is completely conductive then the paint will bridge across both mating components. The ‘paint-bridge’ will be broken as soon as the moving parts are first actuated causing paint chips to snap off and flake away. Where the paint has flaked away, the metal parts are then exposed to the effects of corrosion. An animation of this problem and a NORGLIDE® solution can be seen in the video below.
 

 

Not only are flakes of paint undesirable but they can also cause a secondary effect. The paint debris is blown around by the airbrush system and is distributed over the surface of the car body causing paint defects.
 
NORGLIDE® solutions comprise a layer of a PTFE compound which can be selected for electric conductivity by choice of filler material. For the e-paint problem, this layer is chosen to be electrically insulating, with the exception of a small number of notches that expose the conducting metal backing.
 
NORGLIDE Bearings Laminate | Saint-Gobain
NORGLIDE Corrosion Resistant Bearings | Saint-Gobain

 

Figure 2: Cross-section through the unique NORGLIDE® laminate that will perform consistently throughout the lifetime of the part due to the thick PTFE layer. In this case the insulating PTFE layer is used to eliminate undesirable paint-bridges. An example of an electrically conducting notch can be seen on the LR bearing.

This results in a bearing that allows current-flow to all parts that need to be coated, whilst offering insulation at the mating component interface, eliminating paint bridges that would otherwise cause defects in the electrophoretic painting process. Using this solution over competing products with a fully electrically conductive bearing can significantly reduce paint debris.

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