On 13th April, the branch heard a presentation from US based APS (of Malvern, PA), at Metec in South Shields.
During this informative presentation, the non-thermal plasma technology was presented by Andy Kintz, focusing on the key benefits of low temperatures maintained during the application and the minimal waste produced. When applied to a coating on a metal substrate, the reaction with the organic matter in the coating removes the coating creating by-products of water vapour, CO2 along with any inorganic particles, and does not change the metal substrate underneath, so revealing the roughened substrate from when the coating was applied.
If applied to an uncoated metal substrate the plasma can produce a temporary low level of surface energy which can improve the adhesion of linings.
Currently the system has a small application nozzle and is designed for small applications such as bolt and weld cleaning, rather than large areas of surface preparation. Peter Yancey of APS then carried out practical demonstrations of the cold plasma technology, removing both aged coatings and rust from steel panels, and reinforcing the claims made in the preceding presentation.
