Green Coating Transformation Guide for Fasteners: Material and System Upgrades Driven by Smart Devices

Coating Innovation for Fasteners: Material Upgrades, Equipment Intelligence, and System Synergy

Against the backdrop of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality becoming a global consensus, industrial manufacturing is entering a critical phase of the “green transformation.” As a key segment of foundational manufacturing, the fastener coating industry faces dual drivers of environmental regulations and market competition. In this context, energy conservation and emission reduction have shifted from being an “added value” to a “survival threshold.”

Previously, surface treatment was often regarded as the “final step” in fastener manufacturing. However, the current industry consensus is that green manufacturing must be approached retroactively, starting from surface processes. The key to achieving green transformation for fastener enterprises lies in establishing a low-carbon, low-emission coating system that encompasses the entire process—from raw materials and equipment to technology.
I. Source Reduction: Green Upgrading of Pre-treatment and Coatings

Pollutants generated during the coating process primarily stem from the pre-treatment and coating stages, accounting for 80% of the total. Achieving source reduction hinges on the simultaneous upgrading of materials and processes:

1. Raw Material Technological Transformation​
   • High-Solid and Water-Based Systems: Transition from traditional solvent-based coatings to water-based or high-solid systems, reducing diluent usage and cutting VOC emissions by over 30%.
   • Low-Temperature Curing Technology: Optimize formulations to enable low-temperature curing without compromising coating performance, significantly lowering energy consumption in the drying stage.
   • Heavy Metal-Free Systems: Phase out coatings containing heavy metals such as hexavalent chromium and lead, reducing environmental risks and ensuring compliance with international regulations like the EU’s RoHS.
2. Environmentally Friendly Pre-Treatment​
   • Low-Dust Processes: Replace traditional mechanical shot blasting with abrasive blasting to minimize dust and solid waste generation.
   • Phosphating-Free Processes: Substitute phosphating treatments with eco-friendly degreasing and derusting agents, reducing the burden and cost of phosphorus wastewater treatment.
   • Integrated Cleaning Systems: Implement multifunctional cleaning systems to streamline processes, cutting energy consumption and wastewater volume.

By targeting the source, enterprises can achieve pollutant reduction of over 30%, realizing a dual win of cost reduction and environmental protection.

II. Process Emission Reduction: Reshaping the Ecosystem Through Equipment Intelligence and Energy Management

If raw material reform is about “reduction in quantity,” then the equipment side focuses on “emission control.” From energy optimization to emission management, equipment upgrades are an indispensable lever for green manufacturing.

1. Intelligent Energy Management​
   • Green Electricity Application:​ Introduce green power sources such as photovoltaic and wind energy to build a closed-loop energy system for the factory.
   • Peak-Valley Electricity Storage and Dispatch:​ Deploy energy storage systems to regulate power load, shaving peaks and filling valleys to reduce unit energy consumption.
   • Energy-Efficient Equipment Design:​ Adopt high-efficiency heat exchangers, intelligent heating systems, and waste heat recovery technologies to optimize the energy consumption structure.
2. Holistic Process Emission Management​
   • Process Emission Control:​ Integrate VOC waste gas recovery and purification systems in coating and curing processes to ensure exhaust emissions meet standards.
   • Energy and Carbon Emission Monitoring:​ Utilize MES systems to collect real-time equipment energy consumption and carbon emission data, forming a closed loop for monitoring and optimization, and achieving “carbon visibility” for the factory.

Taking Junhe Technology’s coating equipment as an example, its modular energy-saving design and MES-based energy management system have helped some clients achieve a 15%-25% reduction in overall line energy consumption.

III. System-Level Emission Reduction: Coordinated Optimization of Materials, Processes, and Equipment

To truly achieve green coating, reliance on isolated technological breakthroughs is insufficient. Instead, a systematic approach integrating materials, processes, and equipment as a unified whole must be adopted. This involves selecting environmentally friendly coatings and pre-treatment agents at the material end; optimizing coating methods and drying processes at the process end, such as adopting shortened or low-temperature processes; and applying intelligent energy and emission management systems at the equipment end to enable comprehensive monitoring of emission reduction throughout the entire process.

While this “system-level emission reduction” approach implies increased initial investment for enterprises, in the long run, it can reduce environmental compliance costs and carbon tax risks while simultaneously building a green brand image. This enables companies to achieve differentiated competitiveness within the industrial chain.

The global manufacturing industry is undergoing a transformation from “competing on quantity” to “competing on green credentials,” and the fastener coating industry is no exception. Energy conservation and emission reduction are no longer merely choices of singular processes or equipment but a systematic endeavor that requires enterprises to restructure their production logic, technological layout, and management models.

In this green race, laggards are bound to be eliminated. Companies that take the lead in completing green upgrades will gain sustainable competitiveness across multiple dimensions, including policy compliance, market appeal, and cost efficiency. As a developer and manufacturer of intelligent coating equipment and environmentally friendly coating materials, Junhe Technology is leveraging its professional expertise and systematic solutions to help more fastener companies advance into a new stage of green manufacturing. Energy efficiency, environmental protection, and intelligent innovation are not only Junhe’s technological direction but also our commitment to the future of the industry.