Joseph Subda, Axalta Coating Systems Senior Product Specialist, received the Electrocoat Association’s prestigious George E.F. Brewer Award at the ECOAT16 Conference held in Orlando, Florida, on February 16, 2016 in recognition of his achievements and long-time commitment to the E-Coat industry.

The George E.F. Brewer Award was established in 1990 by the Electrocoat Association to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of electrocoating in the categories of paint and process technology application or technology promotion.

Electrocoating is a coating process that deposits organic coating materials onto a substrate using an electrical charge, while submerged in a tank. Electrocoating is used in a variety of industries due to its ability to coat substrates with complex shapes including automobile vehicle bodies, parts and assembled components and those used in many industrial applications as well. Electrocoat is designed to provide lasting protection against corrosion.

Subda also presented a paper on the “submersible data acquisition unit” (sub). The sub is a device that measures and records alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) voltage at various locations on parts traveling through an electrocoat tank. Data from the sub can be used to determine system conditions, optimize quality and reduce production costs.

“Traditionally, E-coat tank monitoring devices only measure total output of voltage and current at the rectifier/anode and the average temperature of the E-coat tank,” said Subda. “These measurements tell very little about what is happening at specific areas of a vehicle frame that is being coated. Axalta’s sub is designed to measure and record DC current, DC voltage and AC voltage at specific areas on a vehicle or part during the coating process. The data obtained by the sub can help to optimize many aspects of the E-coat process including operations, electrode design and E-coat tank design. This should benefit the E-coat industry and customers,” Subda added.

Axalta chemists Michelle Dyke and Dr. Chen Ling also presented their methods for real-time coating defect detection and analysis on-line during the coating application process in order to help improve electrocoating quality and reduce production costs. Their methods employ modern technologies such as smart phones with mountable microscopes.

Axalta’s conference participation also included a special guest appearance by four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and Axalta Global Business Advisor, Jeff Gordon. Gordon helped to reveal the global launch of AquaEC 6100, Axalta’s newest cathodic epoxy electrocoat product.