The Concept
Flat glass coating produces an organic type of coating for wall tiles and splashbacks. Although this is not a new idea and not been the first thought on a designers mind when drawing up a new 'high end' bespoke kitchen or indeed a bathroom. There is an increasing amount of flat and shaped glass with clean sharp lines and hygienic surfaces being used. The colour and photographic quality images and materials at the disposal of the designers are changing. These are in demand for kitchens, bathrooms and other hard-wearing surface requirements in the home and industry.
The Flat Glass Coating Machine Solution
The process design is based on a high-performance microprocessor-controlled system employing spray liquid coating with In-line curing capability. This flexible and efficient coating machine has proved to be a process that is flexible, efficient, and effective in producing glass coating of giftware glass products e.g. chopping boards, placemats, floor/ wall tiles, splash backs and art panels. The design philosophy of the flat substrate coating machine was based around the application of dual-layer resin materials, based in the metallic, pearlescent and sublimation resins where an initial coat is applied, followed by a secondary layer of coated glass. Previous application methods (i.e. hand spraying liquid resin), the materials are applied and cured individually, increasing costs and energy consumption. With the growing market, more energy-efficient production methods were required, Glasscoat developed a spray system that could apply the resins sequentially.
By constructing the machine to meet these requirements, the application of the two different materials is possible. The position, velocity and stroke length of the spray guns can be carefully controlled and calibrated to suit a particular substrate's geometry or coating effect / specification. The reciprocation unit is fully controlled via a programmable logic controller (PLC), relating the through-put of the machine to the movement of the spray guns, to gain optimum coating properties including uniform film thickness and accurate resin placement.
Potential Finish Effects
- Polished granite, marble and limestone, in fact any material that can be photographed/printed including semi-precious stone like malachite, lapis lazuli, obsidian, snowflake or indeed a treasured photograph.
- The scale could be altered to suit the proportions of the room, or building and is limited only by the imagination.
- Use of reverse coating technology allows full glass protection of the colour film while retaining a hard, hygienic and aesthetically pleasing surface.
Additional special processes such as:
a) Colour Sublimation – Printing techniques in which an image can be transferred to a substrate permanently.
b) Thermochromic materials – Which change colour at a specific temperature.
c) Ultra Violet (UV) Light Blocking – Coating blocks UV rays.
d) Colour effects usually not available directly in ceramics, including metallics and spangles, fluorescent/pearlescent finishes.
Glasscoat International Limited