solutions to produce an overall reduction in metal thickness. The chemical used to create the static state, which is necessary when applying the powder, is called Chromate. As part  of the chemical preparation of the aluminium before powder coating it is submerged into this Chromate solution and rinsed.

Applying powder

To apply powder it is necessary to hang each extrusion onto a jig which is rolled on an overhead conveyor.  A small hole is drilled on both ends of each length and then tied  to the jig. The jigs are moved to the spray booth where a powder spray gun is set to produce a cloud of powder particles with a strong electrostatic charge. The charged particles are attracted through the electrostatic field to the face of the aluminium  and to the sides and back along the lines of force in the electrostatic field.  After the powder has been applied, the extrusions are placed in the oven to cure.  

The powder we use is supplied by Akzo Nobel. This polyester powder is available in a vast range of different colours with either a gloss, matt or satin finish. The most common colours requested, however, are White, Bronze, Black and Charcoal Grey.

The beams are rolled into a pre-heated oven where it is left for curing at 160 – 210 deg C for the period of time specified by the powder manufacturer. The beams are then rolled out of the oven and left in a ventilated waiting area to cool.  Random lengths are selected to be checked for colour consistency.  The powder coated aluminium extrusions are then transferred  to the sorting and wrapping area where it is carefully bundled and wrapped with paper interleave and transferred to the various stock warehouses.