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.
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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
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