Aichi (Aichi Prefecture)
Technology Case Study
AICHI METAL has been working on the establishment of in-house technology for rustproofing of steel and conducting various research and development activities. For products with delicate designs such as gates, sashes, and lattices that are used externally and are made of steel as the base material, we apply a zinc coating using thermal spraying technology. The greatest benefit is that the product is not subjected to thermal stress, preventing accidents such as distortion and breakage, and also greatly increasing the adhesiveness of the coating. In addition, the unique surface texture that is created by this technology opens the door to an infinite number of decorative treatments. However, there was an accident that led us to this technology.
Experienced accident due to hot dip galvanizing
Originally, we used hot dip galvanizing. This was done by placing the product in a plating tank and immersing it in high-temperature molten zinc (approx. 440-460℃), which caused distortion accidents due to the heat. As with any material, distortion is difficult to correct. This is especially true for delicate products. The cause is that some parts shrink and some parts stretch, each of which is irreversible because of the material transformation that occurs. Rust prevention by hot-dip galvanizing has proven to be an excellent technique for preventing steel from rusting. After exhaustive research, we arrived at thermal spraying technology.
Overcome distortion caused by hot dip galvanizing.
Zinc coating has a long history. Therefore, the solution was already out there. However, the reality is that fields such as ours have rarely used that method. As a result, the introduction of zinc coating technology by thermal spraying has drastically reduced the number of accidents such as distortion. These efforts have made us aware of something. In a society that is overwhelmingly larger than our own, there is a vast amount of human wisdom, if we include history. Whenever we get stuck, there is almost always a solution, which we have not yet encountered because it is considered "specific to a particular field. This is what we mean. This fact is what keeps us doing R&D.
