The Problems with Manual Coating Process Control

Too often, coating operations still rely on manual adjustments to control critical factors like viscosity and solvent evaporation rates. Operators use stopwatches and flow cups to monitor viscosity, then make ad hoc adjustments as they go. This reactive, “crisis management” approach leads to unacceptable levels of process variability.

A real-world example of this comes from a multinational food packaging manufacturer. They were experiencing unacceptable film variations during their overvarnish process, causing excessive material usage and reduced throughput. Analysis showed that their manual viscosity control methods, which involved taking cup measurements every two hours and making adjustments, resulted in significant viscosity fluctuations even within that timeframe.

Changing ambient conditions, material formulations, and other factors mean operators are constantly playing catch-up, adding excess solvents to maintain the right viscosity. This not only drives up material costs, but results in quality defects, rework, and excessive emissions.

The Benefits of Automated Coating Process Control

Automated process control solutions eliminate many of the shortcomings of manual methods. By continuously monitoring and precisely adjusting parameters like viscosity and solvent levels, these systems provide predictability and consistency, even as conditions fluctuate.

When the food packaging manufacturer we mentioned before implemented an automated viscosity control system, the results were dramatic. The automated system generated a 97% reduction in viscosity variation compared to the manual process. This decreased material usage by 3.5% and increased throughput, with the cost savings paying for the system in less than six months.

Read more: Viscosity Variations: Why It Matters in Your Industrial Coating Process

Some of the other key benefits of automating your coating process include:

• Reduced Waste and Rework: Stable, repeatable viscosity and solvent levels mean less material waste, scrap, and rework. We’ve seen customers achieve up to 80% reductions in solvent usage.
• Improved Quality and Consistency: Automated control ensures the perfect coating characteristics are maintained, leading to a high-quality, consistent finish every time.
• Increased Productivity: No more frequent stops to adjust the process or troubleshoot quality issues. Automated systems keep your lines running smoothly.
• Enhanced Operator Safety: Removing the need for manual viscosity checks and solvent additions improves workplace safety.
• Environmental Benefits: Lower solvent consumption translates to reduced VOC emissions and a greener, more sustainable operation.

Getting Started

A great way to start, or to demonstrate the issue to those who must sign off on capital expenditures, is to use sensors to automate your measurement and data collection. Access to your real time data, and historical trends that can be correlated with your results to demonstrate the shortcomings of manual adjustment and paint a picture of the way things could be with a tightly controlled process.

With this data, you can effectively assess your current coating process and identify the areas where automated control can deliver the biggest impact. Factors like material type, application method, line speed, and environmental conditions will all play a role.

When you’re ready start the journey towards automation of your coating process, we can help to guide you whether it be in a retrofit or a new build, to find tried and tested, cost effective solutions, customized to your needs.

Get in Touch With Us!