Courses & Workshops

Southern Metal Finishing provides quality educational opportunities every year at the annual Conference. Timely issues are covered within a variety of sectors, such as electroplating, powder coating, anodizing, industrial cleaning technology, and other up to the minute industry topics. See below for a summary of the courses and workshops that we'll be offering at the annual conference in Charleston this year. All of these seats typically sell out each year so please make your reservations early.

Introduction to Anodizing Workshop

The Introduction to Anodizing Workshop is designed to increase the knowledge and ability of anyone involved in operating an anodizing line. With an emphasis on quality, the program takes the anodizer though the entire process-beginning with the metallurgical properties of aluminum alloys commonly anodized, and going right through to the final rinse and sealing processes.

During the two day workshop, students will be taught the anodizing process from pretreatment to post treatment. The course will cover bath analysis, handling, quality control and various waste treatment options, along with other hot topics for today's professional anodizers. Following this Anodizing Workshop students will have a well rounded understanding of practical anodizing, supported up by an expanded knowledge about the fundamentals of anodizing in sulfuric acid.

Who Should attend this Workshop?
The program is designed to benefit production personnel-from the line operator to the production manager particularly if they are relatively new to the business. Those who would find value in the program include:

• Anodizers
• Quality Control Technicians
• Racking and Masking Specialists
• Floor Managers
• Operators
• Plant Mangers
• Process Coordinators.

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Advanced Powder Coating Workshop

Powder Coating 102 - Advanced Powder Coating Technology is a 2-day, intensive seminar consisting of the more intricate issues facing the powder coating user.

Topics covered in the 2-day workshop include a thorough explanation of the powder coating chemistries available today and the respective performance features of each technology. We will also delve into the complex mechanisms of gloss control and how to achieve consistent product appearance. A comprehensive discussion of special effect powder technology will give you an understanding of how metallics and pearlescent finishes are created and what to you need to know when applying these specialties. A similarly inclusive presentation will cover the fine details of textures, hammertones, wrinkle and vein effect powder coatings.

Insight will be provided for troubleshooting common and more complicated performance issues such as incompatibility, contamination, incomplete cure, corrosion resistance, hardness and solvent resistance. And finally a wide-ranging and interactive discussion of the latest technology trends will round out the program.

Click here to see our Advanced Powder Coating course details.

This course is taught by Kevin Biller, of The Powder Coating Research Group.

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Electroplating Know How Basics

A Two-Day Training Program in the Basic Principles and Practices of Electroplating

The Kushner Electroplating School is a two day program, based on the world famous correspondence course, Electroplating Know How II. It has been designed for executives, engineers, line managers, line operators and technical/sales representatives who interested in a better understanding of plating operations and the operations they perform.

The Kushner School has been training individuals in the science of electroplating for more than 60 years. The training materials and methods used by Kushner Electroplating School including Electroplating Know How Basics are recognized as the best available in the electroplating industry. All materials are taken from Electroplating Know How II training programs as well as Dr. Kushner's many years of consulting and training experience.

Some of the Many Topics Covered:

• The mathematics of electroplating
• Electrochemistry of electroplating
• Environmental issues in plating
• Plating cycles
• Testing procedures
• Corrosion fundamentals
• Chemistry of electroplating
• Safety in plating operations
• The equipment of electroplating
• Cleaning and rinsing techniques
• Overview of selected metal finishing processes
• Troubleshooting principles

Click here to register