By CRM staff
Toronto, Ontario — December 12, 2018 — While best known within the collision repair community for its paints, PPG is taking its talents to the big leagues. The chemical firm has created new thermochromatic coating to be used by the NHL to monitor in-game puck temperatures.
Because rubber that is seven-to-ten degrees colder is more likely to bounce than slide across the icy surfaces, the league has long kept pucks in deep freezers prior to games. Traditionally, determining how long pucks remain within the optimal temperature range has been more of an art than a science, with referees swapping them out after they notice it begin to bounce in play.
Designed to ensure that the puck remains at the optimum temperature throughout play, PPG’s experimental pucks feature an NHL logo which changes colour as the puck warms.
PPG’s new technology will make its debut early next year at the Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium in Indiana. Based on feedback from that game and a number of other pre-season events, the league will determine if it will adopt the technology in all future games.
