Morton International, Inc.

Robert M Didrick

Jeno Muthiah

Paul R Horinka

Joseph J Kozlowski

Wayne Earl Nacker

Jeffrey B Farro

In substrates, such as wood substrates, having sharp edges, corners and other surface discontinuities, in a front appearance surface, non-functional machining, such as formation of grooves, is performed on the rear non-appearance surface adjacent the surface discontinuities. Coating powder is applied, e.g., electrostatically, to the appearance surface of the substrate and the coating powder fused or fused and cured to form a continuous coating on the appearance surface of the substrate. The rear surface machining reduces cracking of the coating at the front surface discontinuities. In some cases, non-functional machining is distributed over the entire non-appearance surface of the work-piece to promote out-gassing of volatiles to the non-appearance surface, thereby eliminating out-gassing-caused defects in the coating formed on the appearance surface.

Method of powder coating a substrate

As a means of providing a patterned coating on a substrate, either decorative or functional, coating powder is applied to a substrate. Then the coating powder is fused or fused and cured in selected portions by computer-guided laser. One application of the invention is to fuse coating powder into a resist pattern for the production of printed circuitry.

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Elmhurst, IL, United States of America

Robert M Didrick