Surface Engineering

These formulations, which are more sustainable than those currently available, will protect surfaces against corrosion, reduce CO₂ emissions by 40% and save up to 20% in costs.

Sol-gel coatings are an effective alternative to paint systems against corrosion, but conventional application methods, such as spraying or dipping, have limitations and do not penetrate across the entire part surface when its geometry is complex. As a result, the parts deteriorate over time, reducing their lifetime, or less complex designs (and then, less light and efficient) are considered to overcome this difficulty.

The Eurostars ELECTROGEL project, funded by Enterprise Ireland (for the Irish partners) and CDTI (for the Spanish partners), aims to adapt a sol-gel formulation developed by TU DUBLIN and Kastus. This technology will provide the necessary conductivity to be electrochemically deposited and to achieve a coating efficiency of almost 100%. To this end, TU-DUBLIN will work on the incorporation of conductive additives of various kinds, while the Irish company KASTUS will be responsible for scaling the preparation process of the newly developed formulation. MAIER and MUGAPE will validate the new formulation on chrome-plated polymer and aluminium parts, respectively, for the transport and construction sectors. This innovative formulation and application method is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 40%, energy consumption by up to 15% and costs by up to 20%.

CIDETEC Surface Engineering, as a collaborator of MAIER and MUGAPE, will place its experience in sol-gel and electrochemical deposition at the service of the project. The centre has pilot lines for electrochemical and chemical treatments, as well as testing and validation capabilities for coatings.

CIDETEC Surface Engineering has added a new multi-parametric analysis system for galvanic electrolytes (Metrohm Process Analytics) to its technological offer. By integrating different analytical techniques, this system enables automatic and on-line characterisation of various critical chemical parameters (pH, additives, salts) of the same sample using a single tool, improving the robustness, efficiency, productivity and quality of the processes. Specifically, CIDETEC Surface Engineering uses this analyser in the control of acid copper and electroless nickel electrolytes.

 

In this way, CIDETEC Surface Engineering brings digitalisation to a traditional sector such as wet surface treatment, in which the time required to control and analyse electrolytes slows down process optimisation. The possibility of automatically determining several parameters from a single sample revolutionises process performance, allowing greater process control and monitoring, and reducing the time laboratory staff spend on these tasks. Industry 4.0 is here to stay and is expanding to all sectors.

On April 27, CIDETEC and CDTI organize a seminar in which, in addition to the CDTI Aid Instruments, the results will be presented in the Basque Country in 2021 and the news for this 2022

The event, which will take place at the Scientific and Technological Park of Gipuzkoa, can be followed online

 

Faced with a changing reality and in which it is essential to innovate to remain competitive, it is essential to know first-hand the tools we have to face the challenges that the market presents us. 

In this context, CIDETEC and CDTI organize a seminar in which the Department of Institutional Promotion and Territorial Cooperation of the CDTI will present the Instruments of Aid of the CDTI, as well as the results in the Basque Country in 2021 and the innovations for this 2022. The day will begin with the presentation of the “Instruments of Aid of the CDTI”, by María del Pilar Román Fernández, member of the Department, and will continue with the presentation of the “Results Basque Country 2021 and News 2022” with Pilar González Gotor, Head of the same department.

The event will take place on Wednesday 27 April between 11:00 and 12:00 at the central building of the Scientific and Technological Park of Gipuzkoa, but you can also follow online by registering through the following link: www.eventocdti.cidetec.es/

AGENDA:

11:00	Bienvenida	Javier Goñi Business Development Manager – Cidetec Surface Engineering
11:10	Instrumentos de Ayuda del CDTI	Maria del Pilar Roman Fernande Departamento de Promoción Institucional y Cooperación Territorial – CDTI
11:35	Resultados País Vasco 2021 y Novedades 2022	Pilar González Gotor Jefa del Departamento de Promoción Institucional y Cooperación Territorial – CDTI
12:00	Turno de Preguntas	Moderado por Javier Goñi Business Development Manager – Cidetec Surface Engineering
12:10	Cierre y conclusiones	Javier Goñi Business Development Manager – Cidetec Surface Engineering