Sublimated Aluminum
So what is sublimated aluminum you ask? It is a new process that allows the transfer of any imagine to be transfered onto aluminum panels through a special process. The process is NOT limited only to aluminum product, currently testing is being conducted with coating application processes to enable imagines to be sublimated/fused onto any medium, with the only down side being the piece being sublimented being able to withstand the 400*F transfer process. In laymen's term, a picture or image is printed onto a special paper, these aluminum sheets have a special clear coat finish on them which opens up to accept the imagine that is printed onto the paper. The aluminum panels are then laid in an oven, the paper with the imagine is then laid face down onto the aluminum sheet and the oven is closed and a timer is set. Inside the oven it heats upto 400*F which allows two things to happen.
1. It softens the clear coat finish on the aluminum sheets so the pours open and are ready to accept the printed image
2. It turns the special ink into a gas which then flows freely into the heated and open pours in the clear coat finish allowing the picture to bind/meld it's way into the clear coat.
Once the oven is turned off, the material cools and the pours of the clear coat finish constrict and lock in the image, so you now have a highly durable piece with the imagine infused into the surface of the material.
The main reason of these "tests" were to see how well these panels will hold up to a typical automitve, namely race car for now since that is what i see these panels being able to be used for, right now. The product itself has many uses that are already being sold nationwide, but like i said, i was concerned with using these panels as "cheaper alternatives" to more expensive products...such as carbon fiber, i cant afford a REAL carbon fiber interior, but i love "the look" of it, so if i could manipulate this material and build a custom race car interior from it, i would be on cloud 9.
1. It softens the clear coat finish on the aluminum sheets so the pours open and are ready to accept the printed image
2. It turns the special ink into a gas which then flows freely into the heated and open pours in the clear coat finish allowing the picture to bind/meld it's way into the clear coat.
Once the oven is turned off, the material cools and the pours of the clear coat finish constrict and lock in the image, so you now have a highly durable piece with the imagine infused into the surface of the material.
The main reason of these "tests" were to see how well these panels will hold up to a typical automitve, namely race car for now since that is what i see these panels being able to be used for, right now. The product itself has many uses that are already being sold nationwide, but like i said, i was concerned with using these panels as "cheaper alternatives" to more expensive products...such as carbon fiber, i cant afford a REAL carbon fiber interior, but i love "the look" of it, so if i could manipulate this material and build a custom race car interior from it, i would be on cloud 9.
