Reduce Waste, Guarantee Consistent Quality and Make Your Industrial Paint Process More Efficient
Industrial Paint Processes Are Increasingly Turning to Automation and Lean Manufacturing to Reduce Waste, Improve Quality, and Increase Efficiency.
The goal for every paint process is to be optimized so that the right amount of material is applied efficiently, reducing waste and the need for rework. For industrial painters, the question continues to be: How can my process get lean and become more productive?
Companies are constantly striving to curb rework, paint defects, and other production waste that can cost money, resources, and time. Utilizing automation is helping them minimize labor errors and maximize efficiency – but how do they tackle temperature fluctuations occurring in and around their painting process?
Variations in viscosity (which can be created by even the slightest change in temperature) can lead to discrepancies and defects.
A Lot is Happening in Your Painting Process.
As the paint leaves your drum and is pumped through a system of pipes and hoses to the spray gun, it is exposed to temperature change. Maybe temperature is changing inside the plant or creating friction as the paint moves along its path. Fluctuating temperature changes the viscosity of the paint and causes product inconsistencies.
Control temperature where paint starts to spray – the pivotal point in the paint’s process. By controlling temperature tightly at +/- 1 degree °F, you will maintain consistent viscosity. Maintaining viscosity with that level of consistency shift after shift, day after day, is game-changing.
In this presentation, we demonstrate the impact of temperature-based viscosity variations on spray patterns and how you can conquer those variations using temperature and viscosity control.
Here Are Several Ways Temperature Control at the Point of Application
Will Transform Your Industrial Painting
Maintaining consistency improves product quality, reduces waste, increases efficiency, and saves money in the long run.
Dramatically reduce – even eliminate – material waste. This reduces environmentally harmful, as well as health hazardous materials, from your process. The cost savings increase profitability.
By ensuring that the paint material flows smoothly and evenly, you reduce the need for rework or touch-ups. This helps minimize downtime and production delays, allowing for a quicker and more efficient painting process.
When less solvent is used in the paint, less evaporates into the oven during the curing process. Reduced solvent levels means less make-up air drawn into the oven and less energy required to heat it. (Note: in situations where the RTO cannot be rebalanced to account for lower solvent levels, it may be necessary to use some saved natural gas to keep it operating efficiently. This still results in energy net savings. And since natural gas is significantly less expensive to burn than solvent, there are still major cost savings.)
Reduces the need for equipment cleaning and/or maintenance, saving time and increasing productivity. In painting operations, temperature and viscosity control assures that the coating will atomize properly – producing a cloud of droplets of the proper size and even distribution. This assures that they will be directed toward the part at the proper velocity by the shaping air, and subsequently drawn to the part by the electrostatics. This increases transfer efficiency and prevents the coating from going where it should not (drawn into filters, falling onto fixturing, etc.) which makes for a cleaner operation that requires less maintenance.
Standardizes your process by reducing the chance of idiosyncratic error. With a “set-and-forget” temperature control method, there is less chance of oversight and mistakes across numerous shifts. This ensures a consistent finished product.
How is changing temperature impacting your painting process as you automate, improve efficiency, reduce waste, and increase productivity? We have over 30 years of experience and expertise with thousands of different fluid dispense applications. Give us a call and tell us about your process.
How is changing temperature impacting your painting process as you automate, improve efficiency, reduce waste, and increase productivity? Evaluate your process utilizing our FREE tools. We have over 30 years of experience and expertise across thousands of different fluid dispense applications. Give us a call and tell us about your process!
Free 10-Point Diagnostic Calculator
For Painting Operations
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