Bullows Make Powder Coating Plant
Powder coating is by far the youngest of the metal finishing techniques in commonly use today. The process involves spraying an electrically charged powder( plastic resin) onto the surface to be coated. The charged powder resin adheres to the electronically grounded surface and the product is then heated in a curing oven at more than 200 degrees Celsius. The result is a smooth, uniform and durable coating.
A powder booth is an enclosure that is designed to contain the powder application process. A recovery system is attached to the powder booth shell. The recovery system uses a fan to pull air into the booth and prevent the over sprayed powder from migrating out of the enclosure.
Powder Coating for Automotive Components
Although powder coating applications are not yet widely used on auto bodies, they are finding growing applications on components for both interior and exterior applications.
In most automotive applications, powder coatings are used for auto performance characteristics as most auto producers still prefer the use of liquid coatings for those areas requiring optimum appearance.
Current applications in the automotive industry include:
Air filter housing, alloy road wheels, brake calipers & components, bright trim molding, bumper bars, door handles engine blocks – iron & alloys, mirror housings, motorcycle frames, oil filter housings, rocker covers seat frames, steel wheels assemblies, stereo system, components suspension systems, underbody primer, windscreen wipers.
5 Reasons to Powder Coat Your Products:
1. Economics – The economic benefits of powder coating are numerous but the largest benefit has to do with efficiency and overspray. The coverage of powder coating is 80-100% and any over spray is a solid and can be reclaimed and re-used netting virtually no wasted product.
2. Safety – Safely applying powder coating requires precautionary measures to avoid breathing in the powder and getting it on your skin. This is an easier task to manage since the product is a solid and inert (it doesn’t pose a health risk when not being sprayed). During application it is recommended to stay out of the application zone and to avoid getting it on your skin (because of the minimal overspray this is completely manageable). Powder coatings are applied as a dry material and they contain very little, if any, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC).
3. Environmental – There are many environmental advantages of powder coating as well. Since there are negligible solvents or VOCs there is no damage to the environment during application. The waste is also not hazardous and can be disposed in the landfill. Wet paint contains harmful chemicals that have been proven to deplete the ozone and produces hazardous waste that needs to be disposed of in an appropriate manner.
4. Mechanical – Powder coating generally produces a coating twice as thick as standard paint. The real advantage is its flexibility and ability to bend and yield with the material it is applied to. This makes it ideal in the transportation industry where the products are subject to a lot of vibration and twisting as they move down the road. We have also found that they stand up way better to rock chips and other common road damage.
5. Production Advantages – The main advantage from a production point of view is that when the powder coated product comes out of the oven it is completely cured within 20min and ready to be put to work. Standard liquid paints can take days to completely cure and depend on the atmospheric conditions. You can literally put a powder coated object to work while it is still too hot to touch and not have to worry about wrecking the paint. Also in terms of production efficiency, with less waste over spray and less risk for runs and other defects, powder coating has become less of an art and a necessary skill taught to production staff.
6. Excellence of Finish
Readily available resins can provide one or a combination of desirable characteristics including: durability, resilience, high gloss, electrical insulation, toughness, anti-graffiti; and resistance to wear, corrosion, impact, chemical action, and weather. Powder manufacturers now offer a complete range of colours plus excellent colour matching.
7. Ease of Application
Consistent finish characteristics and electrostatic “wrap-around” reduce the need for highly skilled operators. Process is easily automated and can include automatic gun movers and/or contouring.
Powder coating plants are been categorized into two main areas:
1. Batch Powder Coating Plant
2. Conveyorised Powder Coating Plant
1. Batch Powder Coating Plant
Batch Type Powder or Paint Plant is economical and is recommended for low volume production. Small batch booths are manufactured for lab work and low volume production situations. The lab booth has a comparatively small work area (typically around 4’x 4’ opening) suitable for hanging sample panels or small parts. The plant includes a Spray Booth, Manual Guns and Handling System like Trolley or Manual Conveyor. Oven is having doors for entry and exit and it is box type.
The recovery system is located at the back of the booth and the powder is sprayed to waste. Powder Booth is provided with multicyclone recovery system which is known as best recovery system all over the world. Paint booth can be dry type or wet type, and there is no recovery.
The recovery system is located at the back of the booth and the powder is sprayed to waste. Powder Booth is provided with multicyclone recovery system which is known as best recovery system all over the world. Paint booth can be dry type or wet type, and there is no recovery.
Walk-in manual booths are larger and can be used in production situations with or without a conveyor system. They are also typically used for non-reclaim situations. Walk-in booths are useful for large product that is not practical for hanging on a conveyorized system or for small volume operations. Walk in booths can be used with or without a conveyor system and sized for virtually any product.
Powder Booths normally job coaters opt for it as investment is low and the size of the product that is tobe coated is uncertain.
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Batch Powder Coating Plant
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The Conveyorised Plants are recommended where production volume is high. Conveyorized systems may be designed for manual application only, automatic application or a combination of the two. They are designed for continuous application with parts traveling through on a conveyor system. A simple Overhead Chain Conveyor passes through Booth and Oven and coating is done with manual Spray Guns. Conveyor speed is worked out based on production rate required and oven can be straight tunnel type or with loops inside it. For large size components as openings are large camel back oven is recommended wherein heat losses are minimized normally upto 1mt speed this plant is workable.
Conveyorized booths provide an opportunity for higher volume production without the handling issues associated with batch operations. The booth will have a shell with a part opening on each end and openings for the application equipment on the side. The recovery system will be designed to capture the powder for reuse or disposal.
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Conveyorised Powder Coating Plant
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Automatic Conveyorised Powder Plants
The same basic booth configuration can be designed for automatic application only. Instead of manual openings on the sides it will have slots for the automatic guns. Here Conveyor speed is high and it is impossible to coat the entire component manually. The guns are mounted on reciprocators and it is synchronized with conveyor speed. Auto applicators are beneficial due to automation and saving in powder/ paint. Further coating quality is superb as uniform coating is possible. Automatic application can be 100% effective but most booths that are designed for automatic application will also have manual stations for reinforcement.
In all cases oven can be electrical / gas fired or diesel fired depending upon availability of fuel.
Powder coating is ideal for applications such as:
l Garden furniture, metal furniture, steel furniture
l Motorcycle frames, wheels and parts
l Automotive frames, wheels and parts
l Push bike and motorcycle frames and forks
l Off-road/4WD vehicle parts
l Cast iron beds, chairs and verandah lacework
l Wrought iron fencing, railings and gates
l Home office furniture including tables and filing cabinets
l Data cabinets
l House hold appliances
l A full range of metals such as aluminium, steel, cast iron, stainless steel, copper, brass can be powder coated
Bullows is known for its system excellence in terms of quality, innovation and customization. We have extended our wings & specialized ourselves into Spray Painting Solutions & pre-treatment systems & solutions with help & support from our associate concern M/s Triologics Surface Coating Private Limited. Bullows had pioneered spray painting technology in India, from conceptualization to application, for achieving best surface finish, fast productivity and in compliance with environmental protection norms, keeping operator safety at prime focus.
Our Product Basket includes,
1. Bullows Spray Gun – Model 230 & 630
2. Spray painting equipments-Conventional, HVLP, Compliant, Electrostatic, Airless, Air Assisted Airless
3. Bullows Pressure Feed Paint Containers
4. Paint Agitation Air Motor
5. Paint Filters and Regulators
6. Air Filters and Regulators
7. Paint and Air Hoses
8. Paint Circulation System with Paint Kitchen.
In recent years Bullows have also established name in providing total turnkey solutions (manual / automatic) to various industrial applications which starts from last activity of manufacturing to first activity of packing (pre-treatement process + painting process + loading / unloading).
For any enquiry related to Spray Painting System, email us at sales@bullows.com or call us at +91 84549 99932
