Moen Incorporated

Moec Incorporated

Klaus Fink

Inho Song

A plumbing product is made by a dual phase casting process with a zinc-aluminum alloy having between 0.5%-4% or 6%-22% aluminum by weight. The alloy is shredded into chips and heated to liquid state, processed to a dual phase state and then injection molded to form the part. The part can be plated using conventional plating techniques.

Fabrication of zinc objects by dual phase casting

A procedure for making zinc particles of a size, shape and composition such that the particles can be subsequently used in a process for manufacturing zinc parts from such particles in either molten or powder form includes the initial step of heating zinc to a temperature at least as high as 720.degree. C. The molten zinc is passed through a screen having small openings, on the order of about 1/4'.times.1/4' into a cooling region formed by a movable surface which is at a temperature of on the order of about -200.degree. C. The zinc forms small particles as it passes through the openings in the screen and essentially instantaneously solidifies as it contacts the movable surface. Thereafter, the solidified zinc particles are subjected to a grinding process to reduce their size to a powder having a surface area in the range of 2 mm.sup.2 to 20 mm.sup.2.

Procedure for manufacturing zinc particles

An article of manufacture having at least in part the surface appearance of brass includes a ceramic barrier coating applied to a base layer of Cu/Ni/Cr. The ceramic barrier coating includes an initial layer of ZrCn and an additional layer which is a nitrite, carbide or oxide of Zr, Ti, Si, Al or Hf.

Article of manufacture having at least in part the surface appearance of

A process to distinguish plumbing parts, either individually or as combined into a plumbing product, in which one of two types of coatings have been applied to the parts, with the parts being visually indistinguishable by the type of coating. The parts are illuminated with a non-visible light operating at a frequency which will be absorbed by only one type of coating. The parts may be coated with an essentially organic coating or an essentially inorganic coating. Only one of these coatings will absorb the non-visible light and such absorption will be displayed so as to distinguish between parts having the different types of coatings.

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Northfield, OH, United States of America

Klaus Fink