METHOD & APPARATUS FOR FORMING AND DISPENSING SINGLE AND MULTIPLE PHASE COATING MATERIAL CONTAINING FLUID DILUENT

摘要

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING AND DISPENSING SINGLE AND MULTIPLE PHASE COATING MATERIAL CONTAINING FLUID DILUENT A method and apparatus for forming and dispensing a coating material formulation or solution containing a liquid coating composition and a fluid diluent such as a supercritical fluid comprises a supply for the liquid coating composition, a supply for the fluid diluent, a mixer for combining the two components to form the coating material solution or formulation, and a control system for monitoring a parameter of the formulation which can be correlated to the fluid diluent content and/or liquid coating composition content of the formulation, and for monitoring the pressure of the formulation at selected locations within the system. The control system is effective to open or close the supply of fluid diluent and/or liquid coating composition in accordance with variations in the formulation parameter which is being sensed, and in response to pressure changes within the system, to maintain single or multiple phase coating material formulations, to account for changes in a parameter of the liquid coating composition and to ensure that the desired ratio of fluid diluent to liquid coating composition is maintained in the formulation which is supplied to coating dispensers for deposition onto a substrate.