New approach to plastic surface treatment.

A combination of flame treating and chemical coupling is a new way to surface treat 3D polyolefin parts. FTS Systems Inc. in Flint, Mich., says its Advanced Thermo-Molecular Adhesion Process (AtmaP) grafts a chemical coupling agent onto the part with the aid of the company's Cirqual gas burner. The coupling agent is atomized and vaporized as it is delivered to the part through the center of the burner. This process eliminates the need for solvent-based adhesion promoters and the resulting VOC emissions. The AtmaP process reportedly also significantly increases the polarity of the olefinic substrate to make it more suitable for electrostatic painting.

The Cirqual burner produces a gas flame with an unusual 3D "mushroom" shape of 3-in. diam., which spreads out to a much larger area on contact with the part. The compact, lightweight aluminum burner can be attached to a robot arm to treat parts like car bumpers. Tel: [phone]; www.lindencreekmanagement.com