Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

From the team at Intech

Don't Lose Sight

Industrial Protective Eyewear

Have you ever had an employee get injured while on the job?  Statistics state that each year there are approximately 8 million fatal and non-fatal work related injuries, costing employers billions of dollars.  Specifically in the United States we spend between $300-$500 million each year resulting from eye injuries in the workplace.  The good news is that Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, has estimated that 90% of work related eye injuries can be prevented with the proper use of protective eyewear.  Providing and requiring the use of protective eyewear saves money by decreasing employee medical expenses, workers compensation and lost production time.  

OSHA requires employers to the ensure the safety of all employees in the work environment.  Employers must provide proper eye and face protection to shield against environmental, chemical, radiological, or mechanical irritants and hazards.  

When looking to purchase protective eyewear consider the hazards of your work environment.  For eye protection to be effective proper fit is a must.  Eye protection should be comfortable, provide optimal vision, and should be fit and adjusted to individual employees.  

For more information or to shop for protective eyewear options, visit Intech Service's website.

Visit OSHA for more information on assuring safe and healthful working conditions as well as industry standards.   

CoaterONE Year End Specials

Free Freight now through December 24th, 2013
Roller BFC05a	MP0R Thickness Tester 1604-555	All Transtech Spray Guns
Are these products on your wish list?  Start off 2014 right with a new piece of equipment for your shop! * Free freight applies only to the products shown

Shades of Eye Protection

Infra-dura 2.0 IR

Infra-dura 3.0 IR

Infra-dura 5.0 IR

Industrial eye protectionwith filter shades to protect against ultra-violet and infrared radiation

In the industrial shop not all eye protection is created equally.  Providing the proper protective eyewear that protects against specific job hazards is essential in safeguarding employees. 

For example, eye protection against ultra-violet and infrared radiation requires specific filter shades when working with molten metal, and in welding, cutting, soldering and brazing.  Eye protection against these hazards must have filter lenses with a shade number that provides the appropriate level of protection.  The shade number specifies the intensity of light radiation that is allowed to pass through the filter lens to the eyes.  The higher the shade number, the darker the filter and, therefore, the less light radiation that can pass through the lens. 

The following is a guide to help in the selection of proper eye protection with shade numbers. 

Operation                                            Recommended Filter Shade

Torch Soldering                                      2

Torch Brazing                                        3-4

Light Cutting up to 1”                              3-4

Medium Cutting 1”- 6”                             4-5

Heavy Cutting more than 6”                     5-6

Gas Welding, light up to 1/8”                    5

Gas Welding, medium, 1/8”- 1/2”              5

To properly protect your employees shop for your protective eyewear needs at www.intechservices.com.

Visit OSHA for more information on eye protection including more on eyewear with filter shades.

From the Fabtech show...

We're at Fabtech 2013 right now!

Fabtech is North America's largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event and is being held at the North and South Halls of McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois. The trade show and conference sets the stage for new ideas, products and technology through interactive exhibits, educational programming, and networking opportunities. The event is expected to cover more than 550,000 net square feet and anticipates over 35,000 attendees and 1,500 exhibiting companies.

We are displaying DuPont™ Teflon® industrial coating products (specifically anti-corrosion coatings and the new ETFE), CoaterONE products and equipment, I3 training, and Precision Quincy Ovens.

Some other of Intech's vendor partners are also at the show, including Precision Quincy Ovens, Fischer Technology, Custom Fabricating and Supplies, Binks and Devilbiss, Nordson, and more.

If you are at the show, please stop by our booth in the finishing section, #S5438.

The Perfect Fit

Adjustable protective eyewear – get a perfect fit.

Providing proper protective eyewear is essential in the industrial shop environment.  OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires employers to ensure the safety of all employees.  Proper eye and face protection must be provided when hazards exist. 

Just wearing eye protection isn’t enough.  Proper fit is vital when providing safety eyewear to employees.  Eye protection should be fit and adjusted to individual employees to provide comfort, optimal vision, and proper protection.  Protective eyewear also must fit over corrective eyeglasses without disturbing the glasses alignment.     

Serious risks for eye injury are possible if there are gaps in coverage or if the safety glasses don’t fit securely.  To ensure proper fit for individual employees, manufactures make several different styles and sizes of protective eyewear.  Some styles have adjustable nose pads, adjustable temple length, and ratcheting temples that help provide a secure fit and personal comfort.  Adjustable safety glasses allow employers to purchase one type of eye protection that can accommodate a variety of employees with different facial shapes.  Eyewear with adjustable features should be fit on an individual basis.

Keep your employees safe with these protective eyewear options at intechservices.com. 

Visit OSHA for more information on eye and face protection.  

What kind of protective eyewear do you use in your shop?  Do you have a type that your employees prefer?

Quality Shop Series: Chemical Resistance Guide for Plastics

On a daily basis, Intech fields questions regarding DuPont™ Teflon® industrial coating recommendations for use in chemical environments.  Generally speaking, DuPont™ Teflon® coatings perform very well in environments that require excellent chemical resistance; however, some of our coating families like Ethylene/Tetrafluoro Ethylene (ETFE) and Perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) perform better than others.  If you still have questions, there’s a great reference manual used at Intech that can assist specifiers with additional supporting information. 

The Chemical Resistance Guide for Plastics provides the most comprehensive, third party chemical resistance data that is available in the marketplace.  There are thousands of chemicals, as simple as beer to something highly aggressive, like hydrofluoric acid that have been evaluated against a wide variety of fluoroplastics, fibers and thermoset resins.  So regardless of the coating or lining that you are applying, there’s a good chance you’ll find some performance data to support your recommendation in the Chemical Resistance Guide for Plastics.

The next time your customer asks for a coating with superior chemical resistance, identify the specific chemical, concentration, and operating temperature.  Then for additional information refer to the Chemical Resistance Guide for Plastics to answer your questions.  In most instances, the data will be there, and you’ll feel better about your recommendation.  If you can’t find the information you need in the guide, please contact Intech for further detail.

To see more information or to purchase the Chemical Resistance Guide for Plastics, please visit Intech's website.

Article written by Chris Lord, Technical Sales at Intech Services. 

What is NRR and why you need to derate it

NRR (Noise Reduction Rating) indicates the level of sound that hearing protection devices block out. The single number rating system is represented in decibels a user will be protected from.   The EPA requires all hearing protection products carry an NRR label.  Now that we know what NRR is, why is it not valid?  Here's the problem:  the number is based on a testing process done in a laboratory with test subjects fitted by a lab technician.  This scenario is not reflective of the real shop environment.  Who is responsible for fitting your employees?  Is the protection they use appropriate for your shop?  

Before you answer those questions OSHA has put together a formula for making the NRR more realistic.  The process, known as "derating", reduces the NRR by 50%.  To figure out the appropriate hearing protection needs for your employees, visit the OSHA website where they give a formula for estimating attenuation in your environment.

Check to see what Intech can provide for your employees' hearing protection.  

New 3-Coat Reinforced Marketing Piece

The 3-coat reinforced is the premium DuPont™ Teflon® coating line for end-uses that require non-stick, abrasion or scratch resistance,thermal stability to 500°F, and durability in a thin film coating. This water-based, multi-coat system is a unique blend of PTFE, PFA, and FEP combined with ceramic fillers. For additional durability, ceramic fillers have been added to the primer and mid coat layers. The primer utilizes On-Smooth technology.  Decades of innovation and technology by DuPont have led to significant performance improvement in this coating.  When your application requires the best coating system, DuPont’s 3-coat reinforced should be your choice.

We have created a marketing piece for you to utilize in your sales efforts with customers. You can download the pdf of this marketing piece here.  Also, please visit our website to see the landing page for the 3-coat reinforced coating. 

3-Coat Reinforced and Proper Coating

A picking roller with 3-coat reinforced coating that was over baked.

DuPont’s premier coating system combines excellent durability and lubricity in a thin film (1.5mils). This 3-coat, reinforced, water based system, 857G-040, 857G-140 and 857G-240, differs from many of our other water based Teflon*coating options because it contains a primer, a mid-coat and a topcoat. However, it requires a high temperature, short duration bake cycle and due to the sensitivity of this cure cycle, the coating is susceptible to curing errors leading to re-work and lost money.

In order to control the sensitive cure of this DuPont™ Teflon® industrial coating system, it is highly recommended that the use of direct wired thermocouples attached to the substrate  to prevent the three most common curing errors for this system:  under-cure, over-cure, and improper part temperature ramp up.   The use of IR thermometers is discouraged because they create inaccuracies and oven heat loss.

 

From an application perspective, this coating is relatively easy to apply.  The primer is applied over an ambient part that has either been grit blasted or is smooth (aluminum) and force-dried at 250F to drive off the water. The mid-coat and topcoat are applied wet over wet, so there isn’t a cure or drying required between mid-coat and topcoat.

    

The last step in this process is a five minute cure at 800F, which is the highest cure of any DuPont Industrial Teflon*products.   This coating system does allow for a higher cure, 815F for three minutes, but peak temperature should never reach more than 825F and the amount of time at that high temperature should not extend past three minutes.

With an undesired film finish, it is imperative to understand the end result and how to rectify.   An under cured film will lack gloss and produce a soft film, which can be fixed by recurring at the proper oven temp.  An over cured film will display a haze and a yellowish color, but in extreme over bake situations the film will discolor to a blue/gray state.   Unfortunately, the only way to correct an over bake situation is to grit blast the part and start the coating application process again. 

The least common problem is an improper part temperature ramp up which can result in the coating experiencing too high of a temperature in an expedited timeframe.  This can cause a situation called “skinning” where there is a vast difference in the substrate temperature and the coating’s temperature or the substrate temperature elevates too quickly.   It is not recommended that a freshly coated, ambient part be placed in an oven that is at 815F.

How often do curing errors occur in your shop?  Is re-work a common issue for your coaters?

Register for an account on Intech Services to create your own private customer center portal and order a 3-coat reinforced coating for your needs.