Surface World November 2019 Surface World November 2019 | Page 65

application efficiency were perfected over the first few weeks of operation. “We have a new local sales and service team in UK which is focused on delivering 2nd to none support to our customers”, says Paul Drysdale, Sales and Service Manager, Nordson (U.K.). “Our task is much easier and more rewarding when working with a customer like Link 51, who understand their production needs deeply, and embrace technology to reach their goals.” Peter Charles, the Engineering and Maintenance Manager testifies: “Prior to the conversion to powder, we identified several areas of improvements. For example, the liquid paint pots had to be stirred 24/7 requiring us to run our air compressor non-stop. Now, the compressor is running only during the 8-hour production shift. This alone saves us £ 2,000-3,000 per month. Additionally, about 2,500 liters of water had to be treated and discharged to waste every 6 months. None of that any more.” Significant gains are also evident in finish quality and rework rates. “We worked diligently to minimise rework on our liquid system,” recalls Lyndon Woodfield, “yet, paint runs, solvent boils, resprays were part of our daily life. All of these issues are eliminated with the conversion to powder.” Additionally, the liquid system required 3-4 hours of service and maintenance each week. In the 9 months of production on the new powder coating system – zero maintenance or service downtime. “Our maintenance team hasn’t been called to the new system once,” confirms Peter Charles. Lyndon Woodfield, who has many years of experience managing the Link 51 old powder coating line recalls: “We are used to changing venturis inside the pumps every 3-4 weeks while tweaking our pump settings weekly to keep the desired coating thickness. None of this on the new system. No adjustment as there is no wear parts inside the Nordson dense-phase pumps, which affect the powder output.” The combination of the high line density, excellent powder application efficiency, and the use of thin-film powders allowed Link 51 Shelving to half their applied coating cost. “We used to coat about 15 m2 of metal per liter of liquid paint, yielding an applied cost of £0.47 / m2. Today, we achieve the same 15 m2 of coverage but with only one kilogram of powder. This brings our applied coating cost to £023 / m2. That’s a 50 % cost reduction!” – confirms Peter Charles. twitter: @surfaceworldmag Soft spray from the Encore HD spray guns ensures full coverage in corners and recesses. After the first 9 months of operation, the positive results achieved by Link 51 include: 50 % reduction in the applied material cost Operating, disposal, and environmental compliance cost reduction 70 % reduction in rework and quality costs Increased production capacity due to zero downtime for maintenance High colour change flexibility with less than 15 min colour change time on a 6.5m tall booth Zero consumption of replacement parts Clean, environmentally-friendly operating conditions Expected 14-month return on investment From its inception back in 2015, the overall project took several years to implement. “The good news is that we got the latest equipment and technology. Plus, the new local Nordson team is supporting us every step of the way with their powder application expertise. Everybody worked hard and smart on this project and the results are fully reflective of this”, summarises Walker. “We can definitely say that moving from liquid to powder coating was an excellent investment for Link 51. Our high expectations for a quick payback and numerous operating benefits have been fully met or exceeded.” coating cost per square meter of the coated surface, Link 51 had to work with specially formulated thin-film powder, capable of achieving the correct coating opacity at films as low as 18 microns. Thin-film powder coatings have been available for some time, and appeal to many powder coaters. Although they are often more expensive than traditional powders, they can result in significant applied coating savings allowing powder coaters to achieve product coverage at applied thicknesses significantly lower than those with traditional powder coating materials. However, to fully benefit from using thin-film powder coatings, the application system must have a high degree of process control. Unfortunately, with traditional venturi-pump powder coating systems, maintaining the coating thickness at a stable 25 microns requires frequent adjustment of the settings due to progressive wear of the venturi inserts inside each pump. Rarely can a powder coating system operator fine-tune a traditional system with such precision and consistency. Due to this, many coaters who trial thin-film powders with a venturi-based powder coating system, observe that they pay more per Kilogram for their powder without being able to realise the savings of a thinner film, actually increasing their applied coating cost. Information for a box element Thin-fi lm powders demand process control In order to achieve the targets on the applied Email: [email protected] Visit: www.nordson.com/ics NOVEMBER 2019 63