Session Details

Session 11: Corrosion & Wear Deposit Coatings

Abstract Number:

100

XRF Technology has improved in recent years, allowing for ‎thickness measurement of ultra-thin coatings such as conversion ‎and pre-treatment coatings. These improvements and equipment ‎options will be discussed.‎

Topics:

Automotive Industry
General Surface Finishing

XRF is a widely accepted non-destructive tool for measuring the ‎thickness and composition of basically any type of metal ‎coating. Typical measurable thickness ranges are on the order of 1-‎‎1000 microinches, or .03-25 microns. Recent improvements in ‎detector technology have improved detection limits and ‎consequently lowered the thickness range measurable for very thin ‎coatings. Many metal finishers work with chromate and phosphate ‎type conversion coatings, with alternatives based on zirconium (Zr) ‎and titanium (Ti) becoming more popular over the last decade. All of ‎these coatings are very thin and very difficult to measure with older ‎XRF technology. ‎

Bowman has optimized their XRF systems for maximum sensitivity for ‎measuring conversion coatings with great accuracy and ‎precision. This is possible with the latest in silicon drift detector ‎‎(SDD) technology which comes standard with every Bowman ‎model. With the ability to focus the x-ray tube with micro-spot ‎precision, small or complex sample geometries can be easily ‎measured. Alternatively, larger samples or Q-panels can be scanned ‎in multi-point programs using the automated sample stage to test for ‎coating uniformity. Different equipment options and performance ‎data from conversion coating application studies will be presented ‎and discussed.‎