Saint-Gobain, Worcester, Mass., offers the Master Jet Auto IV thermal flame spray gun, flame spray technology with a proprietary cooling system that can achieve low heat input, crucial to avoid heat build-up and distortions in metalized film coatings.
Modern flame spray technology is a thermal spray technique used to produce high-performance, uniform coatings on substrates. Flame spray technology involves supplying feedstock to an oxy-fuel flame. The flame melts the feedstock that is atomized by compressed air and is targeted onto the substrate, thus forming a coating. The two most commonly used fuels in flame spray technology are acetylene and propane.
Capacitors are a key component for electronic systems that find application in telecommunications, electric vehicle systems, military aircraft, and power trains. Polymeric film capacitors have been fabricated by depositing conductive, thin metallic layers (such as aluminium or zinc), onto thin dielectric substrates (e.g., polyester, polypropylene). The deposited layers act as electrodes of the resulting film capacitors (aka polymer film capacitors). These film capacitors produced via flame spray technology can withstand high voltages, have low ESR, and are non-polarized, making them ideal candidates for microelectronics.
The film is wound to a roll and the edges of the thousands of aluminum layers (connect electrode layers) need to be terminated, or shorted together. This is done by schoopage of a molten metal (zinc, tin or aluminium) on the ends of the roll to form the capacitor element.in polymer film capacitors to form the capacitor element.
The deposition efficiencies delivered by flame spray technology are higher than arc spraying, e.g., reduced material losses and higher deposition rates. Reduced feedstock loss in flame spray technology eventually reduces coating costs. Compared to arc spraying, flame spray technology offers lower fine particle emissions, thereby reducing the risk of metal fume fever and contamination of the capacitor by particle insertion between the layers.
Less oxidation of the particles combined with smaller and fully adjustable particle size leads a homogeneous, dense coating with superior electrical and thermal conductivities and, thus, improving the efficiency of the capacitor.
St Gobain’s Master Jet Auto IV uses state-of-the-art flame spray technology to deliver superior deposit efficiency with low gas consumption. It is a cost-effective spray equipment for the production of premium quality schoopage of capacitors, among other applications.
The spray gun has a fully automated system containing a programmable logic controller, touch screen display and mass flowmeter. An electronic motor ensures precise material feed to obtain a uniform coating thickness. Being mountable on a robotic arm enables the convenient coating of complex capacitor geometries. Complete process control including closed-loop wire feed monitoring promises a superior and predictable coating quality comparable to that obtained using arc spraying.
The ergonomic design of the mobile touchscreen enables the user to monitor the coating process effectively. The accurate thermal mass flowmeter controllers ensure the consistency of flame characteristics and particle morphology, which is critical to delivering a reproducible coating quality. In case of abnormal operating conditions (too low-pressure supplies and empty gas tanks), the Master Jet Auto gun stops automatically, thereby preventing deposition of a poor coating.
For more information:
Saint-Gobain
https://www.coatingsolutions.saint-gobain.com
