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  • Nanotech Silver Fights Microbes in Medical Devices
    Posted: 5/8/2008
    The number of infections linked to medical devices has fueled an explosion of research in surface science. The goal is to find a way to prevent the conditions that trigger life-threatening bloodstream infections.
    Nosocomial, or hospital-related bacterial infections, are estimated to be the fifth-leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease, cancer, stroke, and pneumonia or flu.

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  • ZincGlide® Bonded Film
    Posted: 5/8/2008
    The near-net shape and complex configurations of die cast zinc parts make them cost effective for thousands of industrial, appliance, tool, and housewares applications. Their limitation, however, lies in dynamic conditions where mating surfaces rub together repeatedly, such as on cams, plungers and pushrods, slides and carriage guides, bearing surfaces, thrust surfaces, gears, valve and switch parts, wear or end plates, latches and pivots.
    When zinc parts rub against other parts ? particularly other zinc parts ? galling (adhesive wear) occurs. The more rubbing that takes place and the greater the load, the worse galling becomes, and the surfaces tend to cling to each other. In the early symptoms, galling causes moving parts to hesitate, plungers to stick, levers to bind.

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  • Using Risk Analysis to Devleop Coated Medical Devices
    Posted: 5/1/2008
    The popularity of coated devices is at an all-time high. However, there are challenging technical and regulatory obstacles when adding a coating to a device...
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  • Machine Design Magazine Article - THE BONDED ON BEARING
    Posted: 4/21/2008
    They are good enough for NASCAR engines. Bonded bearing surfaces are coatings made from high-performance polymers reinforced with hard nanosized particles.

    Most engineers would jump at the chance to replace bearing inserts with dry lubricants. In many cases, of course, this just hasn't been practical. PTFE and moly-filled coatings might work on light loads that move slowly with PV (pressure X velocity) levels of 5,000 to 10,000 lb/in.-sec. But this PV just isn't high enough to replace traditional bearings. Abrasion is another problem and erosion can literally wash the coatings away.
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  • Orion Industries Gainsharing Program
    Posted: 4/8/2008
    What is Gainsharing?
    Gainsharing is a group, pay-for-performance plan in which improvement in employee performance productivity (i.e., higher throughput, less downtime on the batch mixers), quality (i.e., proper color consistency or coating thickness) and safety (fewer accidents) over a set threshold is quantified and given a dollar value. The value, or gain, is split (hence the name) between the company and its employees....
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  • RELEASE ME
    Posted: 3/14/2008
    Get ready for the new day in non-stick pan coatings. They need a different level of care yet yield high use-cycle benefits.
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  • Environmentally Friendly Coating at Orion
    Posted: 3/14/2008
    Strict environmental regulations are a reality in today's business world. Consumers are well educated and demand "environmentally friendly" products.
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  • Orion's Wally Slowik - Lunar Eclipse photo
    Posted: 3/10/2008
    Wally Slowik's lunar eclipse photo made the March 10th, 2008 print/web edition of the Chicago Tribune.
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  • Medical Device Link Magazine Article
    Posted: 2/28/2008
    Initiation into the medical device industry for Orion Industries (Chicago) came in the form of a VHS tape. In the late 1970s, the company was contracted by medical manufacturer Baxter to develop a coating for early endoscopic instruments that provided permanent electrical insulation. New to the medical device industry, the supplier required a better understanding of the finished product's end use in order to optimize the needed coating.

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