I was recently asked a question - do the high temperatures in the powder coating process adversely affect the characteristics of the alloys used in aluminum frames?
I seem to remember seeing powder coated Al frames on the market, though I can't recall any specific examples. It seems to me that you would need much higher temperatures than typical powder coating (400degF) to cause any damage to the tubes, but there are MFRs of engine parts that recommend against powder coating the alloys used in their products.
I was recently asked a question - do the high temperatures in the powder coating process adversely affect the characteristics of the alloys used in aluminum frames?
Possibly. Some aluminum extrusions I worked with showed unacceptable degradation of alignment after going through powder coating. We checked with a CMM before and after, a batch of 50 parts.
Quoted message said:
I seem to remember seeing powder coated Al frames on the market, though I can't recall any specific examples. It seems to me that you would need much higher temperatures than typical powder coating (400degF) to cause any damage to the tubes, but there are MFRs of engine parts that recommend against powder coating the alloys used in their products.
Any ideas?
We turned down the temperature and tolerated the distortion. I always worried about the structural properties, but the parts passed fatigue testing. That's not the same as saying they were "as good as" the anodized version, though...
I thought that heat treating of a typical aluminum alloy used in a bike frame was done at something like 1600 F.
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Quoted message said:
zencycle said:
I was recently asked a question - do the high temperatures in the powder coating process adversely affect the characteristics of the alloys used in aluminum frames?
Possibly. Some aluminum extrusions I worked with showed unacceptable degradation of alignment after going through powder coating. We checked with a CMM before and after, a batch of 50 parts.
Quoted message said:
I seem to remember seeing powder coated Al frames on the market, though I can't recall any specific examples. It seems to me that you would need much higher temperatures than typical powder coating (400degF) to cause any damage to the tubes, but there are MFRs of engine parts that recommend against powder coating the alloys used in their products.
Any ideas?
We turned down the temperature and tolerated the distortion. I always worried about the structural properties, but the parts passed fatigue testing. That's not the same as saying they were "as good as" the anodized version, though...
I was recently asked a question - do the high temperatures in the powder coating process adversely affect the characteristics of the alloys used in aluminum frames?
I seem to remember seeing powder coated Al frames on the market, though I can't recall any specific examples. It seems to me that you would need much higher temperatures than typical powder coating (400degF) to cause any damage to the tubes, but there are MFRs of engine parts that recommend against powder coating the alloys used in their products.
Any ideas?
Velocity sells a lot of powder coated Aluminum alloy rims.