PolyOne offers a diverse product line of Vinyl Powders for every consumer market. These dry blends of suspension PVC resins are plasticized for flexibility and enhanced by the addition of heat or light stabilizers, color pigments, flame retardants, blowing agents, and other additives required for the intended product.
Vinyl Powders are a powder at room temperature and can be sprayed, cast or fluidized, depending on the compound. These compounds can be matched to any color, will have a volatility range from less than 1% to 5% and a Durometer range of 60 Shore A to 75 Shore D.
Powder formulations can be varied to achieve desired processing and field-performance requirements. Each application takes advantage of the ease of conversion from the powder to the fused homogenous thermoplastic solid.
Fluidized Bed Coating: The fluidized bed coating process consists of cleaning and preheating the metal object to be coated to a temperature only slightly above the fusion temperature of the coating material being used. The preheated object is then dipped into the fluidized vinyl powder for several seconds. The vinyl powder is maintained in a fluidized condition by an ascending column of dry air. The vinyl powder coming into contact with the heated surface adheres to the surface and fuses to form a smooth continuous surface after being removed from the bed.
Fusion and reflow can only occur if the heat capacity of the metal part is sufficient to maintain the temperature of the metal object above the fusion temperature of the vinyl powder (430°F to 450°F) after removal of the part from the bed.
The benefits of using a vinyl powder in a fluidized bed method include:
- Coatings of 5 to 40 mils without runs or sags
- Excellent salt spray resistance
- Good chemical resistance
- Cold temperature flexibility
- Black and darker colors adhere to metal substrates without a primer
Electrostatic Spray Coating: Vinyl powder particles are given either a positive or negative charge and sprayed toward the part to be coated. The part is grounded to attract the charged particles so that they adhere to the surface. The part is then heated to fuse a smooth, glossy finish.
The benefits of vinyl powder in an electrostatic spray method include:
- Coatings of 5 to 10 mils
- No large bed or preheat required
- Excellent salt spray resistance
- Good chemical resistance
- Cold temperature flexibility
- Black and darker colors adhere to metal substrates without a primer
Slush Molding and Rotational Casting: These processes are used when an application requires a thin, uniform wall thickness. The automotive industry is one of the largest markets for these processes, using them in applications such as interior trim parts, instrument panels, armrests and headrests, center consoles and air-bag doors. Slush molding produces hollow, flexible items by filling a mold with vinyl powder, heating it sufficiently to gel a layer next to the inner mold surface and removing the excess powder. The gelled layer is then completely fused and stripped from the mold. Rotational casting consists of a two-part mold filled with a predetermined weight of vinyl powder, inserted into a heated oven and rotated on the mold wall on two planes simultaneously.
Our vinyl powders can be formulated and certified for end-use automotive, FDA, UL, ASTM, NSF, USDA, military, medical or customer-specific applications.