Functional surfaces

Improves surface cleanliness, preventing stains from depositing. The bonds that form between the possible stain and the surface are very weak.

Water produces a drag effect of dirt, keeping the surface clean. It can be useful in both aesthetic and functional applications.

Prevents icing by avoiding contact with water. The ice does not crystallize and improves the efficiency of the devices.

Avoid contact and adhesion of lime with the surface, keeping it clean.

Improve equipment efficiency and achieve different aesthetic effects.

Avoid the imprint of skin oil, sweat or cosmetics when touching surfaces.

Prevent corrosive agents from touching the substrate and the appearance of rust.

Coatings allow you to add extra properties to those of the bulk material. They can be applied through different technologies such as spraying or dip-coating.

These coatings can improve the properties of the final product: surfaces that are better cleaned, materials with anti-condensation properties or others to prevent the formation of ice.

An alternative to coatings, if the material is a polymer, are additives. They allow incorporating additional properties with very low amounts of the additives that we select, develop and optimize.

Additivation consists in adding compounds that improve the basic characteristics of the polymer when injected.

For the selection of the best percentages of additivation of the compound, small-scale prototypes are carried out to which they are subjected to different tests depending on the characteristic to be tested.

Additives can improve from condensation, sliding between parts, static electricity, adhesion …

Laser technology allows to modify the physical and chemical properties of materials, being able to change the color of a polymer, cut, clean or weld metals such as the steel.

When using a beam of light as means to mechanize and modify the materials, there is no direct contact with the pieces, so unlike with the milling cutters, and other traditional mechanization technologies, the laser does not suffer wear and does not require consumables.

Another point to keep in mind is that, by using special optics, a laser beam of very small diameter can be achieved, being able to be smaller than 10 micrometers. This makes it very effective for applications where a unique quality and precision is required, or sizes so low that it is impossible to do it by another method.

The versatility of this technology, together with its processing speed and its unique characteristics of sizes and qualities that it can produce, make laser technology key to many industries.

Roll-to-roll technology transfers the microstructuring present in its rollers to the polymeric film or metal coil that passes through it. The functionality is applied permanently, without adhesion problems.

It is used in sectors such as packaging and also in applications such as anti-counterfeit bills or items for pharmacy.

Microstructuring is a technique that allows you to modify the roughness of a surface in a controlled way, creating a pattern of elements such as pillars, channels, holes …
Unlike with coatings, we do not add material, but selectively remove parts of the material to have a microstructure.

This pattern can provide the surface with new properties such as superhydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, condensation, anti-ice or water slipping. The functionality will depend on the geometry and size of the microstructures.
The microstructures have greater durability than the coatings and environmentally it is more efficient since the use of solvents is avoided.

To industrialize this technology in polymers, the mold is textured where the piece is injected with the appropriate microstructure. Thus, during the injection we get a transfer of the structure from the mold to the polymer.

The main advantage of this technology is that it is not necessary to additive the polymer, nor add an additional process in the manufacture of the component to apply a coating. It is a process that is carried out continuously without altering the manufacturing process.

The applications are both aesthetic modifications, such as sliding, self-cleaning or condensation.