In this article, we discuss another application area where viscosity control is of paramount importance: coatings.
As with printing applications, if you fail to measure and monitor viscosity in your coatings application, you will inevitably encounter any preventable problems. These four common coating applications are no exception:
Food and Beverage Can Coatings
wood furniture coating
Silicone needle coating
Gelatin capsule coating
If you are using one of these coating applications and you are not tracking viscosity with a viscometer (often as part of a complete viscosity control solution), we recommend updating your process as soon as possible.
Food and Beverage Can Coatings
Metal food and beverage cans have exterior and interior coatings. While the exterior coating is important for branding purposes (and requires consistent viscosity for image quality and proper coloration), the interior of the can is perhaps even more important. Uncontrolled viscosity can result in an unsuitable interior coating—too much, and it interferes with the taste of the food or drink inside; too little, and the can itself may corrode or dangerous metal may seep into the interior of the container. Therefore, regular monitoring of viscosity with a suitable viscometer is key.
wood furniture coating
Wooden furniture - cabinets, tables, chairs, beds, paneling, floors, etc. - and furniture that includes wood in its composition usually requires some type of coating, either protective or decorative (or both) . If viscosity is not monitored, wood coatings can give way to problems such as blistering, cracking, roughness, orange peel and clouding.
Silicone needle coating
Silicone needles are used in healthcare settings for drug delivery and blood drawing. To enhance tissue penetration and reduce tissue resistance during use, the needles are given a special coating. If viscosity is not regularly measured with an appropriate viscometer, the resulting needle coating may not be as smooth as desired, creating the possibility of tissue damage during use.
Gelatin capsule coating
While branding is important to pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmaceutical-grade gelatin capsule coatings are about more than just aesthetics. Coatings on oral medications prevent capsules from dissolving or disintegrating prematurely. Without this particular type of coating, the drug could be released to the wrong part of the body - greatly reducing or even negating its effectiveness. If the viscosity in the coating solution is too low, the disintegration protection of the drug will be at risk; if the viscosity is too high, the capsules may have cosmetic problems. Therefore, the use of viscometers is critical for pharmaceutical applications.
