Tractor, harvester IT comes of age
Over the last halfdecade, digital technology has appeared to be the “must-have” for tractor and machinery companies, who believe that bringing IT to tractors and farming will offer its customers huge benefits.
Of course, a high-quality paint finish helps prevent rust perforation, but German manufacturer Amazone has now taken the painting process a stage further. The characteristic of this multi-layer painting process is effectively the best of both worlds, via the combination of cathodic dip painting and powder coating.
A new premium painting process for the ZA-V and ZA-TS mounted fertiliser spreaders, alongside the ZG-TS bulk fertiliser spreader, was implemented for the 2022 model year. The process involves a cathodic dip painting process (known as KTL) for priming to give the best possible protection, particularly on the internal surfaces of tubes.
Subsequently, a powder coating provides an extra-thick coat of paint for increased protection against mechanical knocks and bangs as well as giving the fertiliser spreader a high-quality visual appearance, with the added assurance of a seven-year anti-rust perforation guarantee.
The premium painting is carried out in four main steps, initially with the carrier material being prepared for painting in 14 processing stages, including multiple etching and degreasing operations.
The second stage sees components subjected to zinc phosphating in order to prevent the formation of rust as effectively as possible.
The third step includes the thick-layer KTL cathodic dip-paint process, before the spreaders receive their powder coating. The application of a particularly thick powder coating layer gives the spreader even better protection against bumps and knocks, alongside the double corrosion protection provided by the stove-baking process.
The 7-year rust perforation guarantee can be easily applied for free of charge in the myAMAZONE digital customer portal at www.amazone.net/myAMAZONE, which also lists the terms and conditions.
