Single Kettle Galfan Steel Wire Equipment

The traditional process for Galfan coating steel wire requires that the wire be first galvanized and only then passed through a kettle containing Galfan alloy. This process has the following definite shortcomings.

COSTS: The two bath Galfan coating process is a capital intensive and expensive manufacturing process as there are large costs associated with the galvanizing or first kettle.

WICA Galvanizing has carried out extensive research into the problems of Galfan coating steel wire and has developed a system which allows steel wire to be Galfan coated directly – no preliminary galvanizing.

WICA Galvanizing runs its own small commercial Galfan coating line and has fully documented commercial costings

CONTROL: The need to first galvanize the wire means that this zinc is carried forward into the Galfan alloy kettle to be melted off and by so doing to alter the composition of the Galfan bath by diluting the aluminium with zinc. This presents a problem of control and consistency which is not handled well by many producers of Galfan coated steel wire. The WICA process with its one Galfan alloy kettle presents no such control problems.

THE EQUIPMENT REQUIRED FOR THE WICA PROCESS IS:

1. “Flash” pre-flux tank as the first part of a pre-flux process
2. Coating protection tank as the second part of a pre-flux process
3. Immersion heated ceramic kettle set up for Galfan coating
4. Wiping system or systems suited to producing smooth and concentric coatings of uniform coating thickness.