New product concept

Seeking Thin Coating Technology For Evenly Distributed Coloration Of Faceted Glass Substrates

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Type of Solution sought

  • A manufacturing process
  • A material or an ingredient
  • A product or a technology
  • A partner

Description of Desired Solution

A SpecialChem Client is seeking an ultra-thin (less than 10µm), highly transparent, colored coating technology and associated application process which ensures even distribution to the entirety of faceted glass substrates (both the planes and edges).

The solution should focus primarily upon the faceted edges of the glass substrate in order to achieve a thickness distribution with deviation from edge to edge.

Conclusively, the solution should imitate colored glass in both optical appearance (visual rendering of evenly distributed coating) and functional properties (high chemical and mechanical resistance).

Background

The production of colored glass is traditionally dependent upon parameter variations in the initial steps of the overall process, namely the glass recipe and batch processing. Resultantly, producing a high variety of colored glass can be a very cost intensive process.

Alternatively, glass surface coating technologies can also be utilized for coloration. Industry standard coating solutions however yield insufficient “edge escape flow behavior” on faceted substrates, i.e. the coating is significantly thinner on the edge of the facet in comparison to the planar faces of the substrates. As this deviation can be visually perceived, current industry standards fail to meet the Client’s requirements in terms of desired optical appearance / visual perception.

Detailed Solution Description

The SpecialChem Client is seeking a solution which meets the following requirements:

  1. Optical Appearance: thin (less than 10µm), highly transparent, colored (Pantone colors) coating which visually renders to imitate traditional colored glass as much as possible (cannot be differentiated from colored glass in terms of visual perception). 
  2. Faceted Edge Coverage: thickness distribution deviation from edge to edge of faceted substrate (see graphic below)

  1. Chemical and Mechanical Resistance: Corrosion, Perspiration, Perfume, Sulfur Dioxide, Adhesion / Scratch (Cross-cut Test, Tensile Test), Acetone, UV, Chlorine

Possible Routes To Investigate

  • New highly transparent, extremely resistant, high gloss coatings
  • New application processes aside from classic spraying, paint / lacquer systems

Solution that are not of interest

Solutions that do not have the potential to be compliant with the European Union REACH regulations, free of harmful ingredients (e.g. Pb, CD, SN organic compounds). Existing industry standard coatings and applications systems (e.g. classic spraying, paint / lacquer systems) have thus far been insufficient due to the uneven application to the faceted edges or “edge escape flow behavior.”

Anticipated Next Steps with Respondents

The SpecialChem Client is expecting to incorporate the technology – following assessment and verification - within six months.

Type of Outcome expected

  • Ideas
  • Concepts
  • Proven Concepts
  • Ready-to-use solutions
  • Partners

Company Demographics

  • Industry: Various
  • Annual Revenue: $Billion
  • Years in Business: More than 20 years
  • Headquarters Area: Europe

Business considered

  • Licensing
  • Contractual partnership (R&D, marketing…)
  • Joint-venture
  • Buying