ZINC

Problem Solving

Zinc

The following examples illustrate some of our contributions to this business sector:

• Two, zinc die castings were examined to determine the reason for failures which had occurred during machining. Evaluation found that one fracture was the result of a cold shut during the casting operation. The other crack developed in an area that contained a significant amount of shrinkage and gas porosity. Both problems are related to mold and metal temperature as well as feed rate and timing during the casting process.
• A coil-coater developing a new, coated, roll-formed steel product requested that Touchstone determine whether the higher-than-normal operating temperature of the curing oven had any affect on the brittle zinc/iron layer always present in galvanized steel. The results of a study at Touchstone where the manufacturing conditions were reproduced in the laboratory found that there was no increase in the size of the zinc/iron layer.
• Traditionally the galvanized coating on steel has contained approximately 1-% lead by weight. When a major steel company changed its process to eliminate the lead, Touchstone performed qualification testing on the material to be utilized by a major automotive company. Tests were made of the ductility and the corrosion protection of the zinc layer.
• A modern truck plant was experiencing peeling of the paint on the exterior of their roof panels. An investigation at Touchstone found that the zinc substrate lacked an effective pre-treatment coating.

The above examples are only a sample of our work in this area. We would be pleased to provide any additional information you may require. We also invite you to review examples on our website of work that we have performed in support of other business sectors.