Abrasion and Wear Resistance Benefits Abound in KECO Coatings

When determining what type of coating to utilize, one that offers abrasion and wear resistance is a benefit readily desired.

“KECO offers a wide variety of abrasion resistant coating systems,” said Megan Jones, KECO Coatings Sales & Marketing Manager. “I use the word systems because KECO continually combines different applications to optimize performance.”

For example, KECO uses plasma coatings, solvent based liquids, and water based liquids within several of its signature products – KECO 100, KECO 600, KECO 600/100P, KECO 100C, and Surlyn/Abcite – to achieve abrasion resistance, with even powder coatings having the capability of possessing this characteristic. “It all depends on what our customers want the coating to do,” Megan said. “In my experience, abrasion resistance isn’t the only issue looking to be resolved. It could be a part needs lubrication because its marring metal to metal. While some Teflon coatings can be soft, they also can work as dry film lubricants that will allow the parts to move more freely, resulting in abrasion and wear resistance.”

In another example, a KECO customer may be sealing a plastic bag over several cycles and the bars wear, thus the seal will not be complete. In this case, a coating is needed that can offer wear resistance, plus have non-stick properties. “In this situation, we would reinforce a Teflon coating with such things as tungsten carbide sealed in Teflon. This provides the best solution because we reduce the substrate to plastic contact with slight texture and seal it in a Teflon to allow the plastic not to stick,” said Megan. “We not only resolve the issue, but the parts last longer. The different coating parameters, such as temperature, corrosion resistance, substrate material, and the specific application all play a factor in what coating will work best to provide a solution.”

The KECO Coatings that address abrasion and wear resistance include…

• KECO 100: This coating is thinner than some, but can be offered in different chemistries that with the right fillers can offer abrasion resistance.
• KECO 100C: A ceramic reinforced Teflon coating, it offers wear resistance because of its make-up, as it wears nicely over time. It can also be recoated when the coating isn’t working to its highest potential.
• KECO 600: This application offers plasma technologies with metals like tungsten carbide and stainless steel, which have abrasion resistance on their own, but when combined with a sealer, an entirely different application is achieved.
• Powder: Offering protection from corrosion, this coating will allow metals to be protected from different environments, ultimately providing wear resistance.
• Surlyn/Abcite: Similar to what is applied to a golf ball, this coating has great wear resistant properties and work well for part protection. It can even be sound deadening in some applications.

KECO’s abrasion/wear resistant coatings are used in a variety of situations, including vibratory feeding, rollers in food processing, heat sealing equipment, and machinery in the printing and packaging industries.

“KECO staff offer assistance with selecting the right coating for your application, as it typically comes down to what problems customers are experiencing in their production systems and what they need to accomplish,” Megan said. “Is it life of a part in production, less cleaning on a part that can be abrasive in itself, lubricity of a part that isn’t accessible to grease, and other situations. The best way to determine a solution is to contact a KECO representative and we will work through the process of selecting the appropriate coating. We understand you know your operations best, but you’ll be surprised as to what coatings can do when industrially applied.”

For more information about abrasion and wear resistant coatings available from KECO Coatings or any of its other products as well as the industries served, visit our website, email us, or call 800-336-5326.