Following 18 months of research and development into production methods for its aluminium bronze neck rings, Johnson Radley has introduced an innovative technique involving the application of nickel alloy as an alternative to welded coating. Nickel alloy is applied to the edges and top seam of neck rings in order to increase resistance to wear caused by contact with hot glass. Traditionally, a coating of the alloy is progressively built up on the areas prone to wear by welding. However, this process can be difficult to control, even when robotic methods are used and it is susceptible to contamination from the atmosphere. This inconsistency results in large numbers of rejected rings at the machining stage because the nickel coating is not sifficiently uniform and additional machining time and costs are incurred.
