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Spanish ceramic tile manufacturers are, once again, the largest presence at the trade fair

February 7-10 are the dates for the 30th edition of the International Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Equipment Fair, CEVISAMA at the Feria Valencia centre. The fair is already an international point of reference for the industry involved in coverings for interiors. Spain’s ceramic tile sector is once again the largest presence at the event, with a large number of ASCER member companies showcasing their products and latest developments.

North American tile industry establishes product sustainability certification program

The Tile Council of North America is pleased to announce the establishment of “Green Squared,” the world’s first consensus-based sustainability standard and certification program developed exclusively for tiles and tile installation materials. ”With the recent approval of ANSI A138.1, the standard upon which the Green Squared certification program is based, our industry now has a means by which to define and certify the environmental and social sustainability attributes of tiles and related installation materials,” remarked Bill Griese, TCNA standards development and Green Initiative manager.

Streaming continuous data at up to 96 MSamples per second

More and more applications require high sampling rates, but due to computer processing and bus limitations, in the past, special AD cards with large on board memories had to be used. And, with these ‘scope-like’ cards, only triggered blocks of data could be captured, so if the trigger was not set correctly the event could be lost forever. All Dewetron instruments are able to acquire 5GB per minute continuously, and dedicated Dewetron transient systems can capture up to 11GB per minute, where only the hard disk drive size is the limitation of your recording length.

Kyocera introduces new Megacoat cermet cutting tools in grade PV7025 for general machining of steel

Kyocera Industrial Ceramics Corporation’s Cutting Tool Division has introduced its new PV7025 PVD-coated cermet grade of indexable cutting tool inserts for general machining of steel. Featuring Kyocera’s new proprietary Megacoat PVD* coating technology, PV7025 offers extraordinary wear resistance and heat resistance, providing superior durability in high-speed machining. When combined with a super micrograin cermet substrate, the result is an exceptional cutting tool material for steel machining.

ECN grants Ceramiques Techniques Industrielles license on HybSi membrane technology

Ceramiques Techniques Industrielles, as one of the market leaders in inorganic membranes, has obtained a license for the commercialization of the HybSi membrane technology from ECN. The HybSi nanosieve allows the purification of various industrial solvents at a reduced cost and at an enhanced efficiency. It further combines an outstanding performance with unprecedented long term stability. Important fields of application can be found in the production of bio-fuels and in the separation of azeotropic mixtures. The HybSi membrane technology was originally developed by ECN, in collaboration with the Universities of Twente and Amsterdam.

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Schematic of MecoCoat’s high energy density fusion cladding process for a pipe. Credit: MesoCoat.

If Andrew Sherman, CEO of MesoCoat Inc. were channeling Mark Twain, he might offer his own interpretation of the humorist’s famous quip with “Reports of the death of U.S. manufacturing are greatly exaggerated.” However, Sherman hasn’t got time to riff on Twain. On Thursday, April 7, 2011, he and MesoCoat officials will be hosting a groundbreaking ceremony for a new manufacturing plant in Euclid, Ohio.

In a press release, the company announces that the new plant will feature a single production line with the capacity to clad steel tube, pipe and plate with corrosion and wear resistant coatings using the company’s patented CermaClad cermet technology. It will be outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment for surface preparation, cladding application and quality testing.

According to the company’s website, the high energy density fusion cladding process fuses metallic or polymer composite coatings to steel substrates. Claddings are applied in wider swaths than laser or weld clad processes allow, which means quicker application rates and less post-clad surface finishing.

Another benefit is that the ceramic fillers MesoCoat uses are inexpensive relative to the matrix alloys. The company estimates a cost savings up to 20% over weld laser cladding processes. Initial applications are targeted for the aerospace, defense, oil and gas, infrastructure and marine industries for OEMs and maintenance and repair operations.

The facility also will include a turn-key thermal spray system for applying the company’s PComP line of powders. A company brochure (pdf) describes the powders as cermets based on nanocomposite particles in a titanium or cobalt matrix. While the website is not specific about ceramic formulations, it does say that the coatings are based on MesoCoat’s “ability to synthesize and assemble non-oxide ceramic matrix component nanoparticles into coating solutions.” The coatings can replace chrome, tungsten carbide-cobalt or aluminum coatings, and are targeted for energy, aerospace and marine markets.

PComP system. Credit: MesoCoat.

MesoCoat is a spin-off from PowderMet Inc., also located in Euclid (and also established by Sherman) and much of its research and development work was funded through several SBIR and STTR contracts sponsored by DOD, DOE and NIST. MesoCoat also received seed monies through JumpStart, a nonprofit organization that aids start-up tech companies in Northeast Ohio.

In 2010, Abakan Inc. acquired a majority interest in MesoCoat. Abakan is a privately-held investment company led by Robert Miller, who, according to a BusinessWeek profile, has been associated with a number of materials and technology investment projects.

Construction of the 11,000 sq. ft. facility is expected to be complete by September 2011 with full-scale production beginning in early 2012. Plans to double the new plant’s size are already in the works for 2012.

It may only be a single production line right now, but as far as MesoCoat is concerned, manufacturing lives!

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Is it really true that everything “new” in engines is old? Some days it seems that way. Today we received word of a nanoceramic oil additive for combustion engines (and other mechanical-friction applications) from CerMetLab that offers itself as a way to reduce metal-on-metal friction and improve fuel economy and efficiency by 15 percent. Does it work? Heck if I know. Here is what CerMet says about their technology:

(more…)

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