The original development of powder coatings started around 1950 when fluidized bed coatings were developed in Germany.  Since the early 60's, powder coating has been a subject of considerable interest and commercial viability.  These all solids systems eliminate the cost of shipping, storage, handling, and the energy required for evaporation of solvents in conventional coatings.  Air pollution and fire hazards are minimized.  In powder coatings, the products used are essentially similar to conventional liquid coatings except that no solvent is used.  Instead, the coating composition is ground to a fine powder and used in that manner.  The film is formed by fusing the powder particles at temperatures above the melting point of the powder coating composition, often referred to as the paint binder.  The paint binder can be a thermoplastic or a thermosetting material.