Method And System For Coating A Metallic Support Profile With A Layer Of A Corrosion-Resistant Material

Abstract

A method for coating a metallic support profile with a layer of a corrosion-resistant material, includes providing the metallic support profile with a surface to be coated, providing a layer element of the corrosion-resistant material adapted to the surface to be coated, applying an adhesive, curable substance to at least one of the surface to be coated and the layer element, applying the layer element to the surface to be coated, covering the arrangement of support profile and layer element by a compacting element, pressing the layer element onto the surface to be coated by the compacting element to achieve a predetermined joint thickness occupied by the adhesive substance, curing the adhesive substance while maintaining the joint thickness to generate a bond, and removing the compacting element.

Claims

1. A method of coating a metallic support profile with a layer of a corrosion-resistant material, comprising: providing the metal support profile with a surface to be coated, providing a layer element of the corrosion resistant material adapted to the surface to be coated, applying an adhesive, curable substance to at least one of the surface to be coated and the layer element, applying the layer element to the surface to be coated, covering the arrangement of support profile and layer element by a compacting element, pressing the layer element onto the surface to be coated by the compacting element to obtain a predetermined joint thickness occupied by the adhesive substance, curing the adhesive substance while maintaining the joint thickness to generate a bond, and removing the compacting element.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing the support profile comprises holding the support profile in a receptacle, wherein covering by a compacting element comprises covering by a gas impermeable membrane sealingly connected to the receptacle or a cover disposed thereover, and wherein the pressing on of the layer element comprises evacuating a space between the receptacle and the membrane or increasing the pressure in a space between the membrane and the cover.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the membrane is elastically stretchable.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising laying a gas-permeable, at least flexible surface element on the arrangement of support profile and layer element.

5. The method according to claim 2, further comprising laying a foil on the arrangement of support profile and layer element for increasing sliding properties of the membrane.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising locally arranging at least one pressure stamp on the arrangement of support profile and layer element, wherein, for locally reducing the joint thickness, a lower side of the at least one pressure stamp facing the arrangement has a smaller surface area than an upper side of the at least one pressure stamp facing the compacting element.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising inserting at least one bushing into a bore extending through the arrangement, wherein the at least one bushing is covered by one of the at least one pressure stamp.

8. A system for coating a metallic support profile with a layer of a corrosion-resistant material, comprising: a receptacle for holding the metal support profile with a surface to be coated, a layer element of the corrosion-resistant material, the layer element adapted to the surface to be coated, an adhesive substance for adhering the layer element to the surface to be coated, a compacting element dimensioned to cover the surface to be coated and the layer element disposed thereon, and a drive device which is couplable with the compacting element and is configured to press the compacting element onto the layer element with a predetermined force and for a predetermined time, wherein the compacting element is elastically deformable so that the compacting element adapts to the shape of the arrangement during pressing.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the receptacle is trough-shaped and has a holder for holding the support profile in a fixed position.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein the compacting element comprises a gas impermeable membrane spanning the receptacle to create a gas-tight space between the receptacle and the membrane, and wherein the drive device comprises a fluid pump which applies a negative pressure to the space so that the membrane is forced onto the layer element and the support profile.

11. The system according to claim 8, wherein the receptacle comprises a cover placeable on a side of the membrane facing away from the support profile, and wherein the drive device is configured to generate an overpressure in a space present between the membrane and the cover.

12. The system according to claim 8, further comprising a gas-permeable, at least flexurally soft surface element for laying on the arrangement of support profile and layer element.

13. The system according to claim 8, further comprising a foil for overlaying the support profile and layer element arrangement to enhance sliding properties of the membrane.

14. The system according to claim 8, further comprising at least one pressure stamp for application to the arrangement of support profile and layer element, wherein a lower side of the at least one pressure stamp facing the arrangement has a smaller area than an area on an upper side of the at least one pressure stamp facing the compacting element.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0026] In the following, the attached drawings are used to illustrate examples in more detail. The illustrations are schematic and not to scale. Identical reference signs refer to identical or similar elements. They show:

[0027] FIGS. 1 to 3 a schematic representation of a system for coating a metallic support profile according to an embodiment.

[0028] FIG. 4 a schematic representation of a system for coating a metallic support profile according to a further embodiment.

[0029] FIG. 5 a schematic representation of a process for coating a metallic support profile according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of a system 2 for coating a metallic support profile 4 with a layer of a corrosion-resistant material, shown here as a layer element 6.

[0031] The support profile 4 is exemplarily shown as a double T-beam, which extends perpendicular to the drawing plane. The support profile 4 has a lower chord 4a and an upper chord 4b arranged at a distance therefrom. A web 4c may be arranged between the two chords 4a and 4b, by way of example. Alternatively, two laterally arranged webs 4c could be provided, which are spaced apart from each other and define the width of the support profile 4. The lower web 4a may be narrower than the upper web 4b and vice versa. On an upper side 8, i.e. on the upper chord 4b on a side facing away from the lower chord 4a, lies a surface to be coated 10. It is understood that completely different support profiles are usable, which have different shapes. It is preferred that the surface 10 to be coated is directable upwards in the drawing plane.

[0032] The support profile 4 is located in a gas-impermeable receptacle 12, which here is of trough-shaped design by way of example and has a bottom surface 14 which is surrounded by side surfaces 16.

[0033] A holder 18 is located in the receptacle 12 for holding the support profile 4 in a fixed position. The holder 18 is designed here, by way of example, in the form of a plurality of profile pieces which are in flush contact with the support profile 4 and undercuts arranged therein and with the receptacle 12, so that the support profile 4 cannot slip in the receptacle 12. Alternatively, it would also be conceivable to have clamping holders or other devices that have to be mechanically clamped to the support profile 4 and are arranged, for example, on the bottom surface 14. The aim is to keep the upper side 8 or the surface to be coated 10 in a defined orientation so that a certain force can temporarily act on the surface 10 to be coated without the support profile 4 slipping.

[0034] For placing on an upper circumferential edge 20 of the side surfaces 16, a circumferential, closed clamping frame 22 is provided, which spans an elastic and gas-impermeable membrane 24. By placing the clamping frame 22 or the membrane 24 on the edge 20, a 1 losed intermediate space 26 is formed with the receptacle 12. A vacuum pump 28 is arranged on the bottom surface 14 as an air conveying unit and is in fluid communication with the intermediate space 26 via an air connection 30. When the clamping frame 22 or the membrane 24 rests on the edge 20 of the receptacle 12, the intermediate space 26 can be evacuated by operating the vacuum pump 28, so that the membrane 24 presses uniformly onto the support profile 4 under the effect of the ambient pressure.

[0035] On the surface to be coated 10, there is a layer 32 of an adhesive, curable substance on the surface 10. The layer element 6 lies on top. The layer element 6 and the layer 32 can already be combined with each other before the layer element 6 is applied, by brushing on, spraying on or another application process. On the other hand, it is conceivable that the layer 32 is already arranged on the surface to be coated 10 before the layer element 6 is applied. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the layer 32 is formed by two partial layers before the layer element is applied, which are each located on the layer element 6 or on the surface 10 to be coated and are combined with one another to form a common layer 32 when the layer element 6 is applied.

[0036] In this embodiment, a gas permeable fabric 34 is located on the layer element 6 and is covered there by a foil 36 which is preferably slidable. The membrane 24 rests thereon and can slide on the foil 36 to assume an orientation following the development of force during evacuation, thereby tightening. When the vacuum pump 28 is operated, it evacuates the intermediate space 26 so that the membrane 24 is pressed onto the foil 36. Air that is between the film and the layer element 6 is forced out through the gas-permeable fabric 34. This may be appropriate for particularly long lengths or sloping shapes. In the case of support profiles 4 with a simpler structure, the fabric 34 may also be omitted. The layer element 6 is pressed onto the layer of adhesive fabric 32 and the surface 10 to be coated. The vacuum in the intermediate space 26 is maintained until the adhesive substance 32 has cured and the layer element 6 adheres to the surface 10, forming a defined joint thickness.

[0037] This process is shown in FIG. 2. There, the intermediate space 26 is evacuated so that the membrane 24, the foil 36 and the gas-permeable fabric 34 are pressed onto the holder 18 and the arrangement of foil 36, gas-permeable fabric 34, layer element 6 and layer 32. The holder 18 is embodied herein as aforesaid and fills a majority of the intermediate space 26, including the support profile 4, so as to extend to a region of the intermediate space 26 adjacent the top side 8 thereof. Consequently, the membrane 24 can rest thereon during evacuation and is thereby protected from damage by shearing action on edges of the support profile 4.

[0038] In FIG. 3, it is shown by way of example that the support profile 4 has a bore 38 into which a bushing 40 is inserted. It can be useful to press the bushing 40 through the membrane 24 in the direction of the support profile 4 with a higher force than the directly adjacent layer element 6. For this purpose, a pressure stamp 42 is used as an example, which has a larger area on an upper side 44 facing the membrane 24 than on a lower side 46 facing away from it. Since a surface on the upper side 44 of the bushing 40 is larger than an upper boundary surface of the bushing 40, a stronger force is exerted on the bushing 40 than would be possible directly through the membrane 24 on the bushing 40.

[0039] As shown in the left half of FIG. 3, another pressure stamp 43 can also be used to reduce only local adhesive layer thicknesses. For this purpose, the pressure stamp 43 presses directly onto the layer element 6 with a shoulder surface 41 on the lower side 46, which has a smaller surface area than an upper side 44 facing the membrane 24.

[0040] FIG. 4 shows a slight variation of the system 2 in the form of a system 48, in which a fixed cover 50 is provided, which on a side facing away from the receptacle 12 forms an intermediate space 52, which is filled with pressurized fluid, for example air, by a fluid conveying unit 54 via a fluid supply port 56. This creates an overpressure which acts on the membrane 24 arranged underneath and presses it in the direction of the support profile 4. At the same time, air can flow outwardly from the space 26 below the membrane 24 through an air outlet 58 disposed in the bottom surface 14 to equalize pressure to assist movement of the membrane 24.

[0041] FIG. 5 schematically shows the method for coating a metallic support profile. The method comprises the steps of providing 60 the metallic support profile 4 with the surface 10 to be coated, providing 62 the layer element 6 of the corrosion-resistant material adapted to the surface 10 to be coated, applying 64 the adhesive, curable substance to at least one of the surface 10 to be coated and the layer element 6, applying 66 the layer element 6 to the surface 10 to be coated, covering 68 the arrangement of support profile 4 and layer element 6 by a compacting element, which can be implemented, for example, in the form of the membrane 24, pressing 70 the layer element 6 onto the surface 10 to be coated by means of the compacting element 24 in order to achieve a predetermined joint thickness occupied by the adhesive substance, curing 72 the adhesive substance while maintaining the joint thickness in order to generate a bond, and removing 74 the compacting element 24.

[0042] Providing 60 the support profile 4 exemplarily comprises retaining the support profile 4 in the receptacle 12. As mentioned, covering 68 may comprise covering by the gas impermeable membrane 24 sealingly connected to the receptacle 12 or a cover 50 disposed thereover. By way of example, pressing 70 on the layer element 6 comprises evacuating 76 the space 26 between the receptacle 12 and the membrane 24, or comprises increasing 78 the pressure in the space 52 between the membrane 24 and the cover 50. The method may further comprise placing 80 a gas-permeable, at least flexurally flexible surface element 34 on the arrangement of the support profile 4 and the layer element 6. Further, the method may comprise placing 82 foil 36 on the arrangement of support profile 4 and layer element 6 to increase sliding properties of the membrane 24. Exemplarily, for locally reducing joint thickness, the method comprises locally disposing 84 at least one pressure stamp 42, 43 on the arrangement of support profile 4 and layer element 6, wherein a lower side facing the arrangement has a smaller area than an area on an upper side of the at least one pressure stamp 42, 43 facing the compacting element 24. Exemplarily, a bushing 40 is further disposed 86 in a bore 38 extending through the arrangement, wherein the at least one bushing 40 is covered by one of the at least one pressure stamp 42, 43.

[0043] In addition, it should be noted that “comprising” or “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and “one” or “a” does not exclude a plurality. It should further be noted that features or steps that have been described with reference to any of the above embodiments may also be used in combination with other features or steps of other embodiments described above. Reference signs in the claims are not to be regarded as a limitation.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0044] 2 system [0045] 4 support profile [0046] 4a lower chord [0047] 4b upper chord [0048] 4c web [0049] 6 layer element [0050] 8 upper side [0051] 10 surface to be coated [0052] 12 receptacle [0053] 14 bottom surface [0054] 16 Side surface [0055] 18 holder [0056] 20 edge [0057] 22 clamping frame [0058] 24 membrane [0059] 26 intermediate space [0060] 28 vacuum pump [0061] 30 air connection [0062] 32 Layer [0063] 34 gas permeable fabric [0064] 36 foil [0065] 38 bore [0066] 40 bushing [0067] 41 shoulder surface [0068] 42 pressure stamp [0069] 43 pressure stamp [0070] 44 upper side [0071] 46 lower side [0072] 48 system [0073] 50 cover [0074] 52 intermediate space [0075] 54 Air conveying unit [0076] 56 air supply port [0077] 58 air outlet