PAINT & POWDER
The implementation of the plant was given to a well-known general contractor , because of their many years of experience with Nordson HDLV dense phase technology components . The layout and technical requirements of the new plant were worked out during an in-depth analysis and planning phase .
During this and other phases of the project , support was provided for operations management at OBUK and for the EAR Rittersbach planning bureau . “ Integration – that was the key aspect . Each of the stations has its own control system . Adapting all of these to the overarching plant control system needed plenty of programming work at the interface points and cooperation between multiple experts . Basically , it did take time before everything was working flawlessly and even the very last intractable error was finally laid to rest .”
We urgently needed some capacity enhancements because we need to accommodate seasonal peaks in production . Where we were previously coating about 220 door panels per week , it is now 600 , sometimes more ! Nordson Encore HD pumps are virtually maintenance-free , which means they also enhance quality , flexibility and production benefits over the long term .
That time was used well . Even while the system was being installed , the powder coating technicians - all trained by OBUK themselves - received intensive training from Nordson .
Faster , better , more efficient :
These are the benefits from 12 years of technical advancement
So , when regular operations began and the first components started moving along the conveyor belt in the production hall , each accompanied by all its relevant data in bar code form , even experienced plant operators were more than a little astonished at how far techniques had advanced in the field of powder coating over the last few years .
Qualified engineer ( Dipl . -Ing .) A . Ritterbach provided further details on the process within the plant , “ The coating plant is designed for a three-minute turnaround . Two minutes of that is given over to the powder coating , while the remaining minute is taken up by colour changes and preparation for the next traverse in the robot booth ”. “ This is really important for us , because the concept of single-item job production is no pie-in-thesky dream of the future , but something we do on an everyday basis ,” added operations manager Wendt .
Smart colour management is handled by a Nordson “ Spectrum COD ” powder feed centre , which is equipped with 24 small , and 8 large powder hoppers . The colouron-demand system can provide 8 main colours , 20 auxiliary , and 4 customisable special colours for optimal flexibility .
The coating plant is designed for a three-minute turnaround . Two minutes of that is given over to the powder coating , while the remaining minute is taken up by colour changes and preparation for the next traverse in the robot booth .
The Spectrum COD powder feed center , which is equipped with 24 small powder hoppers and 8 large ones . The colour-on-demand system can provide 8 main colours , 20 auxiliary colours and 4 customisable special colours for the optimum possible flexibility .
The quality of the coating was also noticeably improved , surpassing the already-high levels of the previous plant . When the 6-axis industrial robot from ABB sprays its powder through the Encore HD robot spray gun at close quarters to the workpiece , then the coating , configured by OBUK to an optimal thickness of 70-90 µ m , remains extremely uniform , even in recesses and areas of complex geometry . This level of quality can practically be reproduced as many times as needed . The strict internal quality controllers only refer a maximum of 3 to 4 percent of coated parts for reprocessing – a hitherto unattainably low level .
CONTINUED ON PAGE 36 twitter : @ surfaceworldmag SEPTEMBER 2021
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