as used herein “ coating binder ” is the polymeric portion of a coating film after baking and after crosslinking . “ polymeric vehicle ” means all polymeric and resinous components in the formulated coating ; i . e . before film formation . pigments and additives may be mixed with the polymeric vehicle to provide a formulated powder coating composition . “ diol ” is a compound with two hydroxyl groups . “ polyol ” is a compound with two or more hydroxyl groups . “ diacid ” is a compound with two carboxyl groups . “ polyacid ” is a compound with two or more carboxyl groups and may be an acid or acid anhydride . a “ film ” is formed by application of the powder coating composition to a base or substrate , and subsequent crosslinking . “ sintering ” means the loss of particulate characteristics of the powder during storage resulting in lumps and agglomeration or , in extreme cases , a solid mass . amounts of material are used in the composition of the present invention which are effective for providing a powdered coating that is substantially nonsintered . “ substantially non sintered ” means that after exposure of a powder to a given set of conditions , after cooling , to room temperature , it retains its particulate characteristics with only a few lumps which can be readily broken up with moderate pressure . a “ catalyst ” is defined as an additive to a resin / curative or powder coating composition at a desired concentration level which accelerates the chemical reaction at a prescribed temperature and pressure . the type of catalyst used may be described as a gas , liquid , and / or solid . a solid catalyst may be mounted on a support / carrier to provide a defined concentration level per weight of catalyst for a prescribed level of activity . the catalysts described are not limited only to esterification , transesterification , and urethane cure chemistries . linkages in the main chain of the polymer . “ oligomer ” means a compound that generally has repeating monomeric units and is similar to a polymer , but has a number average weight not greater than about 7500 daltons with or without repeating monomeric units . a “ polymer ” will have a number average molecular weight of over about 7500 daltons . acid number or acid value means the number of milligrams of potassium hydroxide required for neutralization of free acids present in 1 g of resin . “ hydroxyl number ” or “ hydroxyl value ” which is also called “ acetyl value ” is a number which indicates the extent to which a substance may be acetylated ; it is the number of milligrams of potassium hydroxide required for neutralization of the acetic acid liberated on saponifying 1 g of acetylated sample . both the tg and melt viscosity of the resin are greatly influenced by the choice of monomers . in an important aspect of the invention , the branched hydroxyl terminated oligoester resin is made by a two stage process . in stage one , a hydroxyl terminated oligoester diol is prepared , and in stage two a branched hydroxyl terminated oligoester polyol is formed . stage one : in stage one , a hydroxyl terminated oligoester diol is formed through the esterification or condensation reaction of a stoichiometric molar excess of a diol ( relative to the carboxyls on the acid ) with a dicarboxylic acid , dicarboxylic acid anhydride or dicarboxylic acid halide such as an acid chloride . ( 1 ) diols which may be used in the reaction may be selected from the group consisting of neopentyl glycol , 1 , 6 hexane diol , 2 - butyl - 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - propane diol , 1 , 4 cyclohexanedimethanol , diethylene glycol , 1 , 3 propanediol , hydrogenated bisphenol a , 2 , 3 , 4 , 4 - tetramethyl - 1 , 3 - cyclobutanediol , ethylene glycol , propylene glycol , 2 , 4 - dimethyl - 2 - ethylhexane - 1 , 3 - diol , 2 - ethyl - 2 - isobutyl - 1 , 3 - propanediol , 1 , 3 - butanediol , 1 , 4 - butanediol , 1 , 5 - pentanediol , thiodiethanol , 1 , 2 - cyclohexanedimethanol , 1 , 3 - cyclohexanedimethanol , 1 , 4 - xylylenediol , ethoxylated bisphenol a , ester diol 204 ( union carbide ), 3 - hydroxy - 2 , 2 - dimethylproprionate , unoxol 6 diol , methyl propanediol , 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - propane diol , hydroxypivalyl hydroxypivalate ( hphp ), vinyl cyclohexanediol , dipropylene glycol , ester diols , dimethylol proprionic acid ( dmpa ), and mixtures thereof . aromatic diols such as hydroquinone , catechol , resorcinol , p , p ′- dihydroxy diphenyl methane , bisphenol a , p , p ′- dihydroxy diphenyl ketone , p , p ′- dihydroxydiphenyl , and mixtures thereof , also may be reacted with straight chain or cycloaliphatic diacids . ( 2 ) aromatic diacids , aliphatic diacids and / or cycloaliphatic diacids or anhydrides or acid halides may be used to make the hydroxyl terminated diols . in an important aspect , the aromatic acid / anhydride / acid halide is selected from the group consisting of terephthalic acid , phthalic acid , phthalic anhydride , dimethyl terephthalic acid , naphthalene dicarboxylate , tetrachlorophthalic acid , terephthalic acid bisglycol ester , isophthalic acid , t - butyl isophthalic acid , and mixtures thereof , or acid halides thereof . aliphatic acid / anhydrides / acid halides which may be used in the invention include fumaric acid , adipic acid , azelaic acid , sebacic acid , dodecanoic acid , glutaric acid , succinic acid , oxalic acid , itaconic acid , dimer fatty acids , maleic anhydride , succinic anhydride , chlorendic acid , diglycolic acid , nadic acid , and mixtures thereof . cycloaliphatic acid / anhydrides / acid halides which may be used in the invention include acids / anhydrides such as 1 , 4 - cyclohexane diacid , 1 , 3 - cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid , hexahydrophthalic anhydride , dimethyl cyclohexane dicarboxylate , and mixtures thereof . mixtures of these compounds may also be used for the preparation of the ester diols as mixed functional intermediates . ester diols are those prepared in a known manner from lactones and dihydric alcohols as starter molecules through a ring opening reaction . the preparation of ester diols may include lactones such as β - propiolactone , γ - butyrolactone , γ - and delta - valerolactone , ε - caprolactone , 3 , 5 , 5 , - and 3 , 3 , 5 - trimethylcaprolactone or mixtures thereof . suitable starter molecules include the described dihydric alcohols listed . in a very important aspect of the invention , the aromatic acid is one or more aromatic acids selected from the group consisting of terephthalic acid ( tpa ), isophthalic acid ( ipa ), and t - butyl isophthalic acid . these are reacted with an aliphatic or cycloaliphatic diol such as neopentyl glycol , 1 , 6 hexane diol , 2 - butyl - 2 - ethyl , 1 , 3 - propanediol , and 1 , 4 - cyclohexane dimethanol . the diol component and diacid component are each present in amounts effective for providing the coating composition and subsequent coating with the properties described . in an important aspect of the invention , the combination of neopentyl glycol and 1 , 6 hexane diol in a molar ratio of about 4 . 0 : 1 to about 7 . 0 : 1 , preferably about 5 . 6 : 1 , is reacted with tpa , ipa or t - butyl isophthalic acid provides a coating composition with an acceptable tg . the reaction to obtain hydroxyl terminated oligoester diol may be conducted at about 240 ° c . for about 4 to about 15 hours and then is cooled to obtain the generally linear product having the mn of from about 400 to about 1500 daltons . if an aliphatic acid is reacted with an aromatic dihydroxyl compound such as hydroquinone , catechol , resorcinol , p , p ′- dihydroxy diphenyl methane , bisphenol a , p , p ′- dihydroxy diphenyl ketone , p , p ′- dihydroxydiphenyl , and mixtures thereof , the use of base catalysts typically are required . stage two : in stage two , the hydroxyl terminated oligoester diol prepared in stage one is reacted to form a branched hydroxyl terminated oligoester polyol . in an important aspect of the invention , the hydroxyl terminated oligoester prepared in stage one is reacted with a polyacid / anhydrides or blend of polyacids / anhydrides which are at least a triacid . the triacid , or triacid blend is selected from the group consisting of trimellitic anhydride ( tma ) and citric acid . in a very important aspect , the triacid is an aromatic acid such as trimellitic anhydride . in an important aspect of the invention , the resulting branched hydroxyl terminated oligoester has a hydroxyl functionality of about 1 . 5 to about 5 . 0 , a hydroxyl number of from about 15 to about 250 , an acid value of about 1 to about 25 , and a number average molecular weight in the range of from about 1000 to about 7500 daltons . the branched hydroxyl terminated oligoester has a tg of at least about 40 ° c ., and in an important aspect from about 40 ° c . to about 80 ° c . in a very important aspect , the ratio of hydroxyl terminated oligoester to polyacid is about 9 . 0 : 1 to about 30 : 1 . uretdione crosslinkers : in an important aspect of the invention , the uretdione crosslinker is an internally blocked isocyanate or a dimer of an isocyanate . examples of uretdione crosslinkers acceptable for use in the present invention include crelan ls2147 ( bayer ), and alcure 4147 ( mcwhorter technologies ). the preparation of uretdione crosslinking agent provides an average nco functionality , based on the free nco groups , of about 1 . 9 . the free nco content is typically less than about 1 %. in a very important aspect , the powder coating composition will include about 3 to about 60 weight percent uretdione crosslinking agent , based on the weight of the branched hydroxyl terminated oligoester polyol and crosslinking agent . for the preparation of the thermosetting powder compositions , the branched hydroxyl terminated oligoester resin , the crosslinking agent and various auxiliary substances conventionally used for the manufacture of powder coatings and paints are mixed homogeneously . this homogenization is carried out for example by melting the oligoester , the crosslinking agent and the various auxiliary substances at a temperature within the range of from about 70 ° to about 130 ° c ., preferably in an extruder , for example a buss - ko - kneader extruder or a twin - screw extruder of the werner - pfleiderer or baker perkins type . the extrudate is then allowed to cool , is ground and sieved to obtain a powder suitable for electrostatic or fluidized bed application . another factor affecting viscosity and flow is the level of pigmentation and fillers in the system . high levels of pigmentation and / or fillers detract from the flow of the system by increasing the melt viscosity . fine particle size organic pigments such as carbon black , phthalocyanine blue and quinacridones cause a significant increase in melt viscosity even at low levels . the auxiliary substances which can be added to the thermosetting powder compositions according to the invention include ultraviolet light absorbing compounds such as tinuvin 900 ( from ciba - geigy corp . ), light stabilizers based on sterically hindered amines ( for example tinuvin 144 from ciba - geigy corp . ), phenolic antioxidants ( for example irganox 1010 and irgafos from ciba - geigy corp .) and stabilizers of the phosphonite or phosphite type . a variety of pigments may also be added to the thermosetting powder compositions according to the invention . examples of pigments that may be employed in the invention are metal oxides such as titanium dioxide , iron oxide , zinc oxide and the like , metal hydroxides , metal powders , sulfides , sulfates , carbonates , carbon black , iron blues , organic reds , organic yellows , organic maroons and the like . auxiliary substances may also include flow control agents such as resiflow pv5 ( from worlee ), modaflow 3 and 2000 ( from monsanto ), acronal 4f ( from basf ), resiflow p - 67 ( from estron ), plasticizers such as dicyclohexyl phthalate , triphenyl phosphate , grinding aids and degassing agents such as benzoin . examples of fillers are calcium carbonate , magnesium carbonate , blanc fixe , barytes , silicates , talc , china clay and the like . these auxiliary substances are added in conventional amounts , it being understood that if the thermosetting powder compositions of the inventions are used as clear coatings , opacifying auxiliary substances should be omitted . in addition , urethane catalysts can also be mixed with the thermosetting powder composition of the invention . catalysts useful in the present invention include 1 , 5 - diazabicyclo ( 4 . 3 . 0 ) non - 5 - ene , 1 , 8 - diazabicyclo ( 5 . 4 . 0 ) undec - 7 - ene , dibutyltin dilaurate , butane stannoic acid , dibutyltin oxide , stannous oxide , and others known in the art . the powder coating compositions which are the subject matter of the present invention are suitable to be applied on articles to be coated by , but not limited to conventional techniques , e . g . by application by means of an electrostatic or tribostatic spray gun ; powder cloud technology ( material sciences corporation ) or by the well - known fluidized bed coating technique . in an important aspect , the composition of the present invention can be used to supply very thick coatings . after having been applied on the article in question , the deposited coatings are cured by heating in an oven . in an important aspect , curing without catalyst is effected at a temperature of as low as about 160 ° c . for about less that 35 minutes in order to obtain sufficient crosslinking to provide the described coating properties . alternatively , desirable coating properties can be obtained by curing at a temperature of about 200 ° c . for about 5 minutes , heating at about 180 ° c . for about 15 minutes , and coil coating by heating at about 350 ° c . for about 40 seconds . curing by infrared ( ir ) or induction heating is also applicable . in the aspect of the invention where urethane catalyst is used , desirable coating properties can be obtained by curing at a temperature as low as about 130 ° c . for about 10 to about 30 minutes . the following examples illustrate methods for carrying out the invention and should be understood to be illustrative of , but not limiting upon , the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims . the mixture was heated gradually to 205 ° c . and then processed at 240 ° c . to an acid value of 4 to 7 mg koh / gram resin with an ici cone and plate viscosity of 10 - 14 poise at 125 ° c . the hydroxyl number of this oligomer was found to be about 130 - 140 mg koh / gram resin . the above oligomer was cooled to 180 ° c . and 153 . 5 gms of trimellitic anhydride were added . the temperature was raised to 210 - 215 ° c . and vacuum was slowly applied over a 50 minute period until a vacuum of 23 - 24 inches of mercury was obtained . the reaction was monitored by regularly taking a sample and determining the acid number and ici cone and plate viscosity @ 200 ° c . when an ici cone and plate viscosity of 50 - 60 poise and an acid value of 4 - 10 mg koh / gram resin were obtained , the melt was cooled down to 195 ° c . and discharged from the flask . the color of the resin was nearly colorless / transparent to light yellow in color . further examples of the hydroxyl terminated branched oligoester are shown in table 1 . all oligoesters were made into a high gloss , white powder coating prepared as follows : all the above ingredients are initially mixed in a high speed mill such as a welex mixer , where a homogeneous mix is obtained . the resulting mix was processed through a twin screw extruder ( zsk 30 werner - phleider ) with zone 1 at 80 ° c . and zone 2 at 122 ° c . the resulting melt was discharged onto a pair of water cooled squeeze rolls , from which the emerging cooled sheet was roughly crushed prior to pulverizing in a brinkman grinding mill . the resulting powder was sieved through a 100 mesh screen . this powder coating was electrostatically sprayed onto ground steel panels . the physical properties of the formulated powder coating are determined after a 5 minute cure at 200 ° c . for 1 . 5 - 2 . 2 mils film thickness . the composition and the test results of these powder coatings are given in table 2 . numerous modifications and variations in practice of the invention are expected to occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the foregoing detailed description of the invention . consequently , such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims .