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In the modern logistics industry, forklifts, as indispensable handling equipment, undertake heavy cargo loading and unloading and transportation tasks. Forklift parts are in a high-intensity, high-load working environment for a long time, facing multiple tests such as mechanical collision, chemical corrosion, and severe weather. Forklift powder coatings are an important barrier to protect forklift parts, and their performance and selection are directly related to the service life and work efficiency of the forklift.
During the daily operation of forklifts, the parts will inevitably be impacted by various external forces. For example, when the fork picks up the goods, it may collide with the goods or the ground; when the vehicle body is driving in a narrow passage, it is also easy to scratch against obstacles such as shelves. This requires that the forklift powder coating must have excellent impact resistance. Generally speaking, high-quality forklift powder coatings need to pass the drop hammer impact test. Under the drop hammer impact of a certain height and weight, the coating surface should not peel off, crack, etc.
The wear resistance of forklift parts is also crucial. The forks frequently rub against the goods and pallets during the frequent lifting and forking process; the tires will also produce continuous wear and tear on the ground during driving. According to statistics, a forklift can travel thousands of kilometers per year under normal use, and the degree of wear on the surface of the parts cannot be underestimated. Therefore, forklift powder coatings need to have good wear resistance. Usually, a resin material with higher hardness is used as the base material, and wear-resistant fillers such as silicon carbide and aluminum oxide are added. After testing, the forklift powder coating with a special formula, in the wear resistance test simulating actual working conditions, after 10,000 friction cycles, the coating thickness loss does not exceed 10%, which can significantly extend the service life of forklift parts.
The working environment of forklifts is complex and diverse. They are not only exposed to common liquids such as rain and sweat, but also may be corroded by chemical substances such as engine oil, diesel, and various detergents. These chemicals have different pH values and corrosiveness, which puts strict requirements on the chemical corrosion resistance of forklift powder coatings.
In terms of water resistance, forklift powder coatings need to have good waterproof properties to prevent moisture from penetrating into the coating and causing rust on the metal substrate. The samples coated with powder coatings were tested by immersing them in water. After 72 hours of immersion, the surface of the high-quality forklift powder coatings did not blister or fall off, and they still maintained good integrity. As for oil resistance, it is difficult to avoid the dripping of engine oil and diesel during the daily maintenance and use of forklifts. Experiments show that forklift powder coatings with special formulas have no obvious swelling or discoloration after 48 hours of contact with engine oil and diesel, and can effectively resist the erosion of oil stains.
In addition, corrosive cleaning agents may be used during the cleaning process of forklifts. This requires forklift powder coatings to have certain acid and alkali resistance. After testing by professional testing agencies, some high-performance forklift powder coatings have no obvious changes on the coating surface after being immersed in acid and alkali solutions with a pH value of 2-12 for 24 hours, showing excellent chemical corrosion resistance.
For forklifts that are often used outdoors, they are exposed to sunlight, rain, wind and sand for a long time, so powder coatings need to have good weather resistance. Ultraviolet rays are one of the main factors that cause coating aging, discoloration, and powdering. In order to simulate the impact of outdoor environment on forklift powder coatings, artificial accelerated aging tests, such as xenon lamp aging tests, are usually used.
In the xenon lamp aging test, the samples coated with forklift powder coating were placed in an environmental chamber simulating natural light and climate conditions. After 1000 hours of irradiation, the color difference of the high-quality forklift powder coating samples was △E≤3, and there was no obvious powdering or peeling on the coating surface. Under the same test conditions, the color difference of ordinary coatings increased significantly, and the coating showed problems such as powdering and cracking. In addition, the erosion of rain and wind and sand can also cause damage to the coating. Actual use data shows that forklifts using forklift powder coatings with excellent weather resistance can still maintain good appearance and protective performance after 3-5 years of outdoor use, effectively protecting forklift parts from environmental factors.
Epoxy-polyester hybrid system powder coating is a coating system that is widely used in the field of forklift coating. It combines the advantages of epoxy resin and polyester resin and has good comprehensive performance.
In terms of adhesion, epoxy resin has excellent bonding properties and can be tightly bonded to the metal substrate, ensuring that the coating is not easy to fall off on the surface of forklift parts. Polyester resin gives the coating good flexibility and weather resistance. After the two are mixed, the epoxy-polyester hybrid system powder coating maintains good adhesion while also having a certain degree of flexibility, which can adapt to the slight deformation of forklift parts during operation and avoid cracking of the coating.
In addition, the chemical corrosion resistance of this system powder coating is also outstanding. It can effectively resist the erosion of common chemicals and has good tolerance to oil, diesel and other oil stains. In terms of cost, compared with other high-performance coating systems, the price of epoxy-polyester hybrid system powder coating is relatively low, with a high cost-effectiveness, and is suitable for large-scale application in the field of forklift coating.
Pure epoxy system powder coating uses epoxy resin as the main film-forming substance, has unique performance characteristics, and is suitable for specific forklift parts and working environments.
Its biggest advantage is its excellent anti-corrosion performance. Epoxy resin itself has good chemical stability and can form a dense protective film on the metal surface, effectively preventing the penetration of moisture, oxygen and chemicals, thereby providing long-term anti-corrosion protection for forklift parts. Therefore, pure epoxy system powder coatings are often used for forklift chassis, frames and other parts that are in contact with the ground for a long time and are susceptible to moisture and corrosion.
In addition, pure epoxy powder coatings have strong adhesion and can form a strong chemical bond with the metal substrate. Even under harsh working conditions, the coating is not easy to fall off. However, the weather resistance of pure epoxy powder coatings is relatively poor. During long-term outdoor use, it is easy to yellow and powder. Therefore, for forklift parts that are mainly used indoors or have low requirements for weather resistance, pure epoxy powder coatings are an ideal choice.
With the continuous development of forklift technology, higher requirements are placed on the high temperature resistance of forklift powder coatings. New high temperature resistant powder coatings have emerged to ensure the normal operation of forklifts in high temperature environments.
These new high-temperature resistant powder coatings usually use special resins and additives to maintain stable chemical and physical properties in high-temperature environments. For example, some high-temperature resistant powder coatings use silicone-modified resins, which have excellent high-temperature resistance and can be used for a long time in high-temperature environments of 200℃ - 300℃ without decomposition and deterioration. At the same time, by adding high-temperature resistant fillers and additives, the high-temperature resistance, oxidation resistance and thermal shock resistance of the coating are further improved.
In practical applications, the new high-temperature resistant powder coating can be used for coating high-temperature parts such as forklift engine peripheral parts and exhaust pipes. After testing, the parts coated with the new high-temperature resistant powder coating had no blistering, peeling, discoloration, etc. after working continuously for 1,000 hours in a high-temperature environment of 250°C, and still maintained good protective performance, effectively solving the problem of performance degradation of traditional powder coatings in high-temperature environments.
The pretreatment process is a key link in the forklift coating process, which directly affects the adhesion between the powder coating and the metal substrate. Good pretreatment can remove impurities such as oil, rust, oxide scale, etc. on the metal surface, so that the surface has a suitable roughness, providing a good foundation for the adhesion of powder coating.
Common pre-treatment processes include degreasing, water washing, pickling, phosphating, etc. Degreasing is to remove oil stains on the metal surface. Commonly used degreasing agents are alkaline degreasing agents and solvent-based degreasing agents. The water washing step is used to clean the residual degreasing agent and impurities after degreasing to ensure that the metal surface is clean. Pickling can remove rust and scale on the metal surface, but neutralization treatment is required after pickling to prevent residual acid from corroding the metal. Phosphating treatment forms a phosphate film on the metal surface to increase the surface roughness and improve the adhesion of the coating.
Experiments show that the adhesion of powder coatings on forklift parts that have undergone a complete pre-treatment process is significantly better than that of parts that have not been fully pre-treated. When the parts that have been pre-treated with a standard process are tested, the adhesion of the coating reaches the 0 level standard, while the adhesion of parts that have not been pre-treated thoroughly can only reach 2-3 levels, and the coating is prone to fall off.
Curing temperature and film thickness are two important control parameters in the forklift powder coating process, which directly affect the performance and quality of the coating.
Curing temperature plays a key role in the curing reaction of powder coatings. Different types of forklift powder coatings have different curing temperature ranges. Generally speaking, the curing temperature of epoxy-polyester hybrid system powder coatings is between 180℃-200℃, and the curing time is 10-20 minutes; the curing temperature of pure epoxy system powder coatings is relatively high, usually between 200℃-220℃, and the curing time is also longer. If the curing temperature is too low or the curing time is insufficient, the powder coating cannot be fully cured, and the hardness, wear resistance, and chemical corrosion resistance of the coating will be affected; if the curing temperature is too high or the curing time is too long, the coating may become yellow, brittle, or even burnt.
Film thickness is also a parameter that needs to be strictly controlled. Appropriate film thickness can ensure that the coating has good protective performance and appearance quality. For forklift powder coatings, it is generally recommended that the film thickness be controlled between 60-100μm. If the film thickness is too thin, the protective performance of the coating is insufficient and it cannot effectively resist external erosion; if the film thickness is too thick, it is easy to have defects such as sagging and orange peel, which affects the appearance and performance of the coating. In the actual coating process, the film thickness can be accurately controlled by adjusting the parameters of the spraying equipment, such as the voltage, current, and spraying distance of the spray gun.
As a key component of a forklift, the coating scheme of the fork needs to be specially designed according to the working characteristics and performance requirements of the fork.
The fork is subjected to tremendous pressure and friction during operation, and may also come into contact with various goods and chemicals, so the coating has extremely high requirements for wear resistance, impact resistance and chemical corrosion resistance. Before painting, the fork needs to undergo strict pre-treatment, including sandblasting, to remove rust and oxide scale on the surface, increase surface roughness, and improve the adhesion of the coating.
In terms of coating selection, high-performance epoxy-polyester hybrid system powder coating or new wear-resistant powder coating is usually used. These coatings have excellent wear resistance, impact resistance and chemical corrosion resistance, which can meet the working requirements of forks. In the coating process, a multi-layer spraying method is adopted. First, a layer of primer is sprayed to enhance the adhesion between the coating and the substrate; then an intermediate paint is sprayed to improve the wear resistance and impact resistance of the coating; finally, a topcoat is sprayed to provide good appearance and protective performance. At the same time, in order to ensure the quality of the coating, it is necessary to spray all parts of the fork evenly to avoid leakage, sagging and other phenomena. The service life of the fork treated with a special coating scheme can be extended by 30% - 50%, effectively reducing the maintenance cost of the forklift.
With the increasingly stringent environmental regulations and the continuous improvement of people's environmental awareness, environmentally friendly powder coatings have become the development trend of forklift coatings in the future. Low-temperature curing powder coatings and low-VOC (volatile organic compound) powder coatings will be more widely used.
Low temperature curing powder coatings can cure at lower temperatures, which can significantly reduce energy consumption compared to traditional powder coatings. This not only meets the requirements of energy conservation and emission reduction, but also reduces the requirements for coating equipment and reduces production costs. At the same time, low temperature curing powder coatings produce less waste gas during the curing process, which has less pollution to the environment.
Low VOC powder coatings reduce the emission of volatile organic compounds from the source and meet environmental protection standards. During production and use, low VOC powder coatings will not harm the health of operators or pollute the atmospheric environment. At present, major coatings companies are increasing their investment in the research and development of environmentally friendly powder coatings. It is expected that the market share of environmentally friendly powder coatings in the forklift coating field will continue to expand in the future.
Intelligent coating technology will become an important development direction for forklift powder coating applications. Automated spraying equipment can achieve precise spraying operations, improve spraying efficiency and coating quality stability. By adopting a robotic spraying system, spraying parameters can be automatically adjusted according to the shape and size of forklift parts to ensure uniform coating thickness and reduce errors and waste caused by manual spraying.
The application of online detection technology will also further improve the quality control level of forklift coating. With advanced sensors and detection equipment, it is possible to monitor the coating thickness, hardness, adhesion and other performance indicators in real time, and timely find problems in the coating process and make adjustments. For example, the coating thickness can be measured online by an infrared thickness gauge. Once the thickness does not meet the requirements, the system will automatically adjust the parameters of the spraying equipment to ensure the coating quality. The development of intelligent coating technology will make forklift coating more efficient, accurate and reliable.
With the rapid development of new energy forklifts, the demand for high-performance powder coatings will continue to grow. Key components such as batteries and motors of new energy forklifts have higher requirements for protection performance, requiring powder coatings to have better insulation performance, electrochemical corrosion resistance and high temperature resistance.
For example, in order to protect the battery pack of new energy forklifts, powder coatings need to have good insulation properties to prevent battery leakage; at the same time, they must be able to resist corrosion from chemical substances such as electrolytes. For heating components such as motors, powder coatings need to have high temperature resistance to ensure normal operation in high temperature environments. In addition, new energy forklifts have increasingly higher requirements for appearance quality, and high-performance powder coatings also need to have good decorative properties to meet users' aesthetic needs for the appearance of forklifts. Therefore, the development of high-performance powder coatings suitable for new energy forklifts will become an important research direction in the future.
The special performance requirements, mainstream technology comparison, coating process key points and future development trends of forklift powder coatings all have a crucial impact on the performance and service life of forklifts. When choosing forklift powder coatings, it is necessary to comprehensively consider various factors and select the appropriate coating system and coating process to ensure that the forklift parts are effectively protected and improve the working efficiency and reliability of the forklift. With the continuous advancement of technology, forklift powder coatings will develop in a more environmentally friendly, intelligent and high-performance direction, providing strong support for the development of the forklift industry.
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