Anti-corrosion coating for foundry products Isselguss relies on immersion primers from Brillux Industrial Coatings
No other country in Europe produces as many cast products as Germany, and the technological expertise of German foundries is recognized worldwide. The foundries industry is one of the most important supplier sectors for the vehicle, machinery and plant construction sectors. Gearbox housings, brake disks, shafts, flywheels, steering axles, oil pans, exhaust pipes – no car, no train and hardly any commercial vehicles run without castings.
One of the oldest foundries in Germany is Isselguss GmbH in Isselburg, which was founded in 1794 as Minerva-Eisenhütte. The company, which specializes in gray, vermicular and spheroidal cast iron, manufactures high-tech products. For corrosion protection, Isselguss now relies on the particularly fast-drying, single-component Hydrapid-1K-AC Immersion Primer 5406 from Brillux Industrial Coatings.
Our editorial team interviewed Markus Vißer, Head of Foundry at Isselguss GmbH, Dr. Rolf Roesmann, Head of Research and Development for Single-Component Paint Systems at Brillux Industrial Coatings and Robert Kuhnt, Sales Consultant at Brillux Industrial Coatings on the conversion of the immersion tank.
Mr. Vißer, your company was founded in 1794. Does iron casting have a tradition here in the region?
Yes, there is evidence in our local history that bog ore was found and used here in early times. The Issel and Aa rivers had built up extensive banks of iron ore in the once marshy terrain of the North German Plain. The Minerva Hütte was perfectly positioned with its location directly on the Issel.
From cooking pots to letterboxes for the Reichspost and lighthouses, Isselguss has redeveloped itself again and again over the years. In order to remain competitive, we have increasingly switched to producing high-quality special cast components.
What range of services does Isselguss GmbH offer today?
Today, Isselguss specializes in the development, engineering and production of ready-to-install components made of gray, vermicular and spheroidal cast iron. We manufacture on modern, flexible processing lines.
We use the traditional casting process to manufacture highly specialized high-tech products. In the railroad sector, for example, we cast brake disks that are used for trains worldwide.
Which other sectors do you manufacture for?
Our cast components are used for diesel engines, construction machinery, pumps, compressors, tractors, commercial vehicles, forklifts and generally in industry. For example, we manufacture steering axles for forklifts, exhaust pipes for buses, distributors for gearbox housings, oil pans for engines, or arms for the crawler machines used in forestry.
For shipbuilding, we produce drive shafts and engine shafts. Another area is pump construction. In addition, cast iron foundry products can be found in all water pumps.
What services and offerings do you provide in the field of casting technology?
In addition to the actual casting, engineering and mechanical processing play a central role. Construction consulting, simultaneous engineering, model and tool development, as well as prototype production up to series production – all of this is, of course, part of our strategic collaboration with our clients. To meet this demand, our engineering is appropriately equipped and our foundry has an independent prototype department.
In mechanical manufacturing, the cast products are processed or completed with the highest precision. The close collaboration between our customers, our foundry professionals, and the mechanical processing team is the foundation on which we can offer optimal solutions for quality and cost for each component to our customers.
In the foundry, you operate an immersion primer system. What role does corrosion protection coating play for foundry products?
It plays a very important role in casting. For the majority of our customers, corrosion protection coating is part of the requirements that need to be met. Many customers specify the exact coating build-up. Because of this, we process about 45 to 50 different coating materials.
There are numerous shades and everything from single to four-layer coating systems. We order the largest amount, however, from Brillux Industrial Coatings. Whenever we have the choice of coating materials, we use Brillux Hydrapid-1K-AC Immersion Primer 5406.
How did the collaboration come about and since when have you been using the Brillux immersion primer?
We first made contact with Brillux Industrial Coatings in 2015. The quality of the primer that we had been using up to that point no longer met the changing and increased demands of the market, and this could not be resolved in the short term. In addition to Brillux Industrial Coatings, we approached three other manufacturers.
Corrosion protection tests were then conducted with the various products that were recommended to us. The cast components coated with Hydrapid-1K-AC Immersion Primer 5406 performed the best. And that is how we came to collaborate.
Dr. Roesmann, what specific requirements and characteristics does a coating material need to meet to be used on foundry products?
In the field of industrial coatings, and particularly for the coating of engine and transmission housings made of cast iron, steel and aluminum using the immersion coating method, high demands are placed on edge and spray tip coverage in conjunction with optimal flow behavior to achieve good corrosion protection. Furthermore, quick drying and curing are essential for subsequent processing and transport.
For the company Isselguss, machinability was an important requirement, as a large portion of the cast components are mechanically processed after coating. Our Hydrapid-1K-AC Immersion Primer 5406 is an aqueous, single-component primer that meets the desired requirements and offers very good corrosion protection. Like all hydro lacquers, Hydrapid-1K-AC Immersion Primer 5406 requires sufficient substrate preparation for good adhesion.
This can occur chemically as well as mechanically, for example, through sandblasting as a fully or partially automated process. In die casting, all casting components are blasted before immersion coating, categorized according to the corresponding DIN standard in surface roughness depths as specified by the customer. When oil resistance is primarily required instead of corrosion protection, our 1K-Hydro Immersion Primer 5401 with its excellent (hot) oil resistance can also be considered as a coating material.
Mr. Kuhnt, Brillux Industrial Coatings has closely accompanied the switch to Hydrapid-1K-AC Immersion Primer 5406. Were there any special challenges to overcome?
Any change of a immersion tank to another coating product is a special challenge, as the often good results achieved previously on a laboratory scale must also be achieved in the often significantly larger immersion tank under production conditions.
The transition was carefully planned with all parties involved and went smoothly. Isselguss thoroughly cleaned the immersion tank and it was then filled with our coating material. The conversion process only took a few months from the initial request for the test coating and verification to the filling.
The tank has been in operation since 2016, and the coating process as well as the subsequent forced drying in the oven at 80°C are running smoothly. We not only closely accompanied the entire conversion process, but we also naturally provide the corresponding support for monitoring and maintaining the immersion tank today.
Brillux conducts and documents relevant coating quality evaluations of the immersion tank materials, which is a significant part of ensuring process safety and quality control for Isselguss.
Mr. Vißer, what experiences do you have with this immersion primer? Are you satisfied with the coating results?
Yes, we are very satisfied. It is important to us that we have stable layer thicknesses, and this is the case with Hydrapid-1K-AC Immersion Primer 5406. The product has excellent early water stability, which is also an important aspect for us. Due to the quick drying, the coated cast components can be packaged quickly. The tank has been successfully in operation since the transition in October 2015.
We found that the Hydrapid-1K-AC Immersion Primer 5406 has a much higher yield. Previously, we used 30 to 40 tons, now it’s only 18 to 20 tons. Brillux Industrial Coatings is the right partner for us. The overall concept simply works here: starting from the consultation, the support with the transition to the coating material itself, to the regular dipping tank inspections, which are carried out not only by us but also in parallel by Brillux Industrial Coatings.
