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  • Transparent quality

New Jetskin® window frame offers improved aesthetics, thermal performance, and strength

ArcelorMittal’s breakthrough Jetskin® coating has an extremely homogeneous surface which offers excellent corrosion protection. Metal Union, a long-term ArcelorMittal customer based in Poland, has started testing Jetskin® in a window frame application. The resulting frames are very rigid and have better thermal performance than aluminium solutions. And they are proving popular in trials with customers due to the aesthetic finish of Jetskin® and its excellent environmental credentials.


 

Metal Union developed their first Jetskin® window frame designs during 2018. “We used Jetskin® for the ‘inter-pane’ frame which separates the panes of glass in a typical double- or triple-glazed window,” explains Grzegorz Rudniak, product manager for Metal Union. “Jetskin® gives the inter-pane a homogeneous appearance which matches the colour of the overall window frame. Before Jetskin® we used galvanised steel, but this can reflect light and disrupts the visual appearance of the window. With Jetskin®, this does not occur.


Samples of the Jetskin® inter-panel frames created by Metal Union

High aesthetics, simpler production

The manufacturing process is also simpler, as Adam Satława, purchasing manager for Metal Union, explains: “The profile production process is much more efficient with Jetskin® compared to hot-dip galvanised steel. For example, we use less energy and lubricants during the production process. Because we don’t need as much lubrication, we minimise the use of cleaning agents and preservatives for our profiling tools.”

Jetskin® improves the performance of the window as the steel has a similar linear expansion coefficient to the glass. “That eliminates stress on the edges of the insulating glass panels,” says Grzegorz Rudniak. “It also dramatically reduces the amount of water vapour that collects on the edge of the window, eliminating the formation of fungi and mould which can be harmful to people.”


Cross-section of a triple-glazed window showing the two inter-panel frames

Award-winning solution

Metal Union worked closely with ArcelorMittal to develop the new frame, as Adam Satława explains: “Both ArcelorMittal and Metal Union put great trust in the development of new technical solutions. For example, ArcelorMittal’s R&D team in Ghent developed a special passivation technique which provides good adhesion between the glass and the steel frame. We trialled Jetskin® in production and with customers to prove that it worked.”

The innovative nature of the new window frame design has already been recognised by industry bodies. In February 2019, Metal Union received the prestigious ‘VIP Stolarka’ award for innovation at the 24th VIP Window and Door Producers Meeting in Gniew (Poland).


Grzegorz Rudniak, product manager for Metal Union (left) receiving the IRBS award for innovation


As well as being functional, double-glazed windows can be an attractive architectural feature

About Metal Union

Metal Union is a modern profiling company with extensive production facilities. As well as window frames, Metal Union also produces thin-walled profiles made of steel strips. It offers services such as spatial bending of wire and cutting and taping of steel strips and profiles. The company employs over 170 people and exports around 65 percent of its products to European countries.

More info: www.metalunion.pl


Metal Union’s Jetskin® window frame received the ‘VIP Stolarka’ award for innovation at the 24th VIP Window and Door Producers Meeting


Metal Union’s Jetskin® window frame on display at an ArcelorMittal customer event


Double-glazed windows and doors provide good heat and noise insulation for buildings

About Jetskin®

ArcelorMittal steels coated with Jetskin® are produced in a process known as Jet Vapour Deposition (JVD). The unique production line uses a vacuum chamber to coat one or both sides of a steel substrate with a fine layer of zinc. The coating is extremely homogeneous, providing excellent protection against corrosion. The JVD process minimises the amount of zinc that is required and fully complies with the European Union RoHS directive which limits the use of hazardous substances.

More info: industry.arcelormittal.com/jetskin

Related links

Metal Union
Jetskin®
Contact ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products
Steel at home at europe.arcelormittal.com

 

Copyright images: Metal Union, ArcelorMittal and Ambiento, zhu difeng, Chonlawut / Shutterstock.com