Elisha Technologies LLC - EMC - Electrolytic Mineral Coating

When engineers at Elisha Technologies wanted to develop a new way to protect metals from corrosion, they looked to the ground beneath their feet for help. Elisha^® EMC^®, the method the company developed, mimics how nature forms minerals. Like in nature, EMC^® creates a lattice, or a framework, on which a silicate layer is built, atom by atom.

Elisha engineers force the silicates to metal surfaces where the silicates form layers. The metal, acting as a cathode, is placed in a bath similar to that used for plating. The EMC^® creates a highly basic environment that spurs the layering of silicates on the metal surface. Faster than passive delivery systems, like gels or sprays, EMC^® produces a protective surface of silicate on top of the original metal.

The results are better performance in a variety of areas, from corrosion protection to heat tolerance. EMC^® does it all using only silicates, common sand-like minerals found in the earth's crust. No chromium. No phosphate. Just better performance without environmental or regulatory concerns.

In addition to reducing environmental risks caused by chromate, Elisha EMC^® offers:

Better Corrosion Resistance: EMC^® doubles or triples topcoats performance.
Better Working Conditions: Since EMC^® doesn't use dangerous chemicals, workers who process and handle EMC^®-treated parts enjoy a healthier work environment.
Better Adhesion: Metals treated with EMC^® attach to a wide range of topcoats, including solvent and water borne varieties.
Better Heat Tolerance: EMC^® treated components can weather temperatures up to 350 °F with no loss in corrosion performance unlike chromate treatments.
Better Deformation Tolerance: Elisha's new technology creates a pliable surface that can withstand secondary operations like rivet bucking.
Better Stress Performance: EMC^® reduces steel stress crack corrosion by 50 percent.
Better Processing: No chromate, barium, lead, cobalt, nickel or tin are used in Elisha's new process.
Better Disposal: The waste leftover from EMC^® is environmentally safe and subject to minimal environmental regulations. It contains neither hexavalent nor trivalent chromium.

Elisha's mineral coating technology uses a set-up similar to traditional electro-plating, but it is not plating. It's different in three important ways: the EMC^® process produces better corrosion performance, reduces concerns about worker exposure and lessens environmental worries.

To form Elisha's innovative surface, metallic or conductive parts are placed in a tank containing an electrolyte, water and silicates. When electrical current is run through the solution, the part acts as a cathode. At the same time, the surface of the metal part reacts with the solution to form a mineral layer that offers outstanding corrosion performance and heat tolerance without the regulatory hassles of chromium treatments. Fasteners, rivets, bolts and nuts can all be processed in the conventional barrel plating system shown above. Other systems, for larger parts, can use the EMC^® process too.

Elisha Patents

Patent # 5,714,093
Date: 02/03/98
Patent # WO 98/33960
Date: 08/06/98
Patent # 5,871,668
Date: 02/16/99
Patent # 5,928,796
Date: 07/27/99
Patent # 5,938,976
Date: 08/17/99
Patent # 5,974,779
Date: 11/02/99

Patent # 6,010,984
Date: 01/04/2000
Patent # 6,010,985
Date: 01/04/2000
Patent # 6,015,855
Date: 01/18/2000
Patent # 6,017,857
Date: 01/25/2000
Patent # 6,033,495
Date: 03/07/2000
Patent # 6,077,605
Date: 06/20/2000
Patent # 6,080,334
Date: 06/27/2000

Patent # 6,106,741
Date: 08/22/2000

Patent # 6,143,420
Date: 11/07/2000

Patent # 6,149,794
Date: 11/21/2000

Patent # 6,153,080
Date: 11/28/2000

Patent # 6,165,257
Date: 12/26/2000

Patent # 6,190,779 B1
Date: 02/20/2001