Abstract: A process and apparatus, including a separate coating head, for coating a strip article with a coating material. The process involves coating a strip article with a film of coating material by passing the strip article through a coating apparatus having at least one floating coating head provided with a coating face facing and extending laterally across a surface of the strip article to be coated. The coating head exudes a coating material and floats on the coating material as it meters the coating to a film of the desired thickness. The coating face of the coating head has a preferred coating profile between its opposite ends, and wherein distortions of the preferred coating profile during coating of said strip article are substantially prevented by modifying heat flux to or from selected parts of the coating head to compensate for distortions caused by differences of temperature within the coating head. The apparatus provides means of modifying heat flux to prevent such distortions of the coating profile.

Abstract: A process of producing an elongated coated strip article having a layer of coating material on each opposite surface of the strip article, in which the ratio of layer thicknesses on opposite sides of the strip article may be set or varied. The process comprises simultaneously applying layers of solidifiable liquid coating materials on the opposite sides of the strip article by advancing the strip article in a direction along a path between opposed coating heads, at least one of which is a floating coating head, having material delivery slots and metering lands for delivery and metering of the liquid coating materials to the opposite surface to form the layers. The ratio of the layer thicknesses may be adjusted when required by varying the path of strip article advance between the floating coating heads to cause changes in angles formed between the strip surfaces and adjacent metering lands on opposite sides of the strip article. The invention also provides apparatus for carrying out the process.

Abstract: A method of applying a multi-layer coating to a surface of an elongated strip article (10) of variable thickness or surface height. The method involves applying at least two layers (12a, 12b,) of different coating materials in the form of solidifiable fluids directly onto the surface (10a, 47, 48) of the elongated metal strip article and reducing the layers to a desired thickness by causing the applied coating materials to encounter at least one coating surface (27) that is movable substantially perpendicularly relative to the strip article and is urged towards the strip article in opposition to hydrodynamic force generated by the coating materials on the at least one coating surface. Differences of thickness or surface height of the strip article are therefore accommodated unduly varying the coating thickness.

Abstract: A process of coating a heat-conductive strip article, e.g. aluminum or aluminum alloy strip used in the automotive industry, with a solid wax-like coating material, preferably a wax-type lubricant. The process involves heating a solid wax-like coating material that melts in a temperature range of about 30 to 100.degree. C. to form a melt having a viscosity in a range of about 50 centipoise or less and flowing the melt onto a moving surface of the strip article through an elongated slot in a movable coating head having an extended surface adjacent to the slot to form a coating layer on the article. The coating head is pushed towards the surface of the strip article as the melt is flowed as a coating onto the surface from the slot to reduce a coating thickness by pressing the extended surface of the coating head onto the coating as the coating is formed.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for coating a surface of an elongated strip article, e.g. aluminum sheet, with a layer of solid polymer material. The process involves heating the polymer to produce a melt having a viscosity of at least 1000 centipoise when measured according to ASTM D4440 at 1 radian per second, extruding the melt onto a moving surface of the strip article through an elongated slot in a coating head having an extended surface adjacent to the slot arranged at an angle to the moving surface to form a coating gap converging in the direction of movement, thereby forming a coating on the strip article, and pushing the coating head towards the surface of the strip article as the melt is extruded as the coating onto the surface from the slot to reduce the coating thickness to a desired range by pressing the extended surface of the coating head onto the coating as the coating is formed.

Abstract: A coating material such as a high viscosity, low solvent content paint is applied to metal strip by means of a coater which comprises a soft-covered take-up roll which draws coating material from a reservoir and coacts with a hard metering roll (from which excess coating material is continuously removed by a doctor blade), to form a metered film on the surface of the take-up roll. The metered film is transferred to a small diameter hard transfer roll from which it is in turn transferred to a soft covered applicator roll, by which it is applied to the strip. At each line of contact between two rolls or between the applicator roll and the strip the mutually contacting surfaces travel in opposite directions (i.e., the rolls all rotate in the same sense). Preferably the peripheral speed of the applicator roll is greater than that of the transfer roll, which is greater than that of the take-up roll, but the strip speed is preferably lower than that of the applicator roll.