European Coatings Conference
"Modern Coatings for Plastics Substrates III"
March 15th - 16th 2007 / Berlin, Germany

They are still notoriously difficult - when it comes to coatings and coating processes, plastic parts, with their low surface energy and their often complicated shape, pose some of the hardest challenges. Achieving good adhesion therefore has always been the major issue in the coating of plastics. Usually, sophisticated physical or chemical pre-treatment methods are required to make the surfaces coatable. Established methods exist - such as flame, corona or plasma treatment on the one hand, and good primers on the other - but there is a considerable demand to improve these processes, making them more durable, better compatible with 3D substrates, more VOC compliant, easier to handle or - cheaper.

While these techniques are rapidly developed further, the fundamental mechanisms of coatings adhesion on plastics are far from being understood. Typical testing methods are very empirical and do not provide any insight into adhesion mechanisms on a molecular level. Meanwhile, however, some new testing methods are proposed that may remedy the situation. At the same time, nanomaterials have begun to enter the coatings for plastics sector, providing new ways to prime plastics substrates, but also allowing new functionality to be built into the coatings, e.g. easy-to-clean or self-cleaning properties.

These are examples of the topics which set the scene for the third European Coatings Conference "Modern Coatings for Plastics Substrates III". After the successful instalments in November 2003 and 2005, the conference again provides an overview on the most recent developments in this field, ranging from new coatings raw materials, to new coatings systems to new surface modifications that are more than a pre-treatment. 13 technical presentations held by invited international experts, who represent leading companies and institutions, will report their recent research results on coatings for plastics - and will face your questions regarding their use in practice. As always during the European Coatings Conferences, highly interactive group discussions on special focus topics as well as one-on-one meetings with the renowned speakers will round off the event.

The main conference is divided into the following three sessions::

Extra
As a premiere, the conference will additionally host the pre-conference tutorial "Fundamentals of Coatings for Plastics", providing a concise review of the basic chemistry and physics that is required to understand coatings and coatings processes in plastics.

Do not miss this opportunity - see you in Berlin!