Sandvik has developed two new pre-coated metal strip steels that are intended to boost productivity and reduce environmental constraints associated with plating and coating. By combining an advanced vacuum process with nanotechnology, Sandvik says it can produce strip steel with consistent coating layers as thin as 20 nanometers. Another product line, called Sandvik Decorex, features a range of colored stainless steels that were developed for decorative parts for appliances, consumer electronics, packaging and automotive. Sandvik said that Decorex strip can be cold formed and bent to close radii without affecting the color quality due to excellent adhesion between the base material and the coating. Decorex is generally supplied on 304 stainless steel substrate for formability purposes. First the customer selects a thickness, texture and width. Then Sandvik produces the customer color choice using its technology coating process, which is similar to but more advanced then commonly used PVD (powder vapor deposition) processes. Santronic is generally supplied on 301 SS substrate for tensile strength and fatigue resistance purposes. The buying process also starts with a customer selecting a thickness and width. Then Sandvik produces the coatings on one or two sides of the base material using its technology coating process.
