In our blog, "3 Reasons Coil Coating System Cleaning Costs are Increasing" we revealed that, as the title implies, the three primary reasons that cleaning costs are increasing are:

• Short runs / small lot sizes
• Frequent deliveries
• Custom colors

But these are market-driven conditions, and as such, are difficult to eliminate, so, in order to stay competitive, it is up to you, the coil coater, to find ways of dealing with these increasing costs while still maintaining the ability to satisfy the needs of your customers.

Innovation Required

Clearly, these new market mandates require a change in the way that coaters approach their craft. The old ways won’t work in this new environment. They are just too costly.

But fortunately, you are not alone in this endeavor.

Saint Clair Systems has applied the lessons learned through more than 10 years of experience in the coil coating industry to develop a new approach to the coil coating process and accompanying coating systems that will help to advance fluid process control. It’s a device we call the Profile Correction Module (PCM).

In his blog, "3 Ways PCM Reduces Cleaning Costs in Metal Coating Operations," our Mark Portelli demonstrates that the PCM reduces cleaning costs by:

• Reducing system fill volume
• Shortening cleaning times
• Reducing cleaning solvent use

Immediate Relief

These benefits have an immediate and significant impact on a coil coater’s bottom line because they manifest themselves in:

• Less wasted paint
• Less labor
• Less downtime
• More available production time

While the first three are cost reductions, this last one actually allows you to get more production through your existing coating line, giving you the ability to generate more revenue with no increase in overhead, which holds the potential to more significantly impact your bottom line than the other three combined!

Fluid Dynamics is Key

We accomplish these remarkable results by addressing the problem where it begins, with the paint delivery system. After all, it is the paint delivery system that must be cleaned at color change. As such, we have completely reformulated the flow dynamic of the paint delivery system.

The PCM is positioned along the face of the pickup roll to create a metering gap through which a controlled flow of paint is passed to the pickup roll to be transferred to the applicator roll and then onto the strip.

This eliminates the pan from the coating equation and converts it to a simple catch basin routing any paint not applied to the strip back to the pit drum. With this new function, the volume in the pan can be reduced to as close to zero as possible.

In addition to eliminating the flow issues in the pan that contribute to viscosity variations that cause problems with coating consistency, this change improves the cleaning function by:

• Reducing delivery system drain and fill times
• Reducing the surface areas that need to be cleaned

And these result in shorter cleaning cycles and lower cleaning costs.

An Overall Process Improvement

By closely examining the whole coil coating application process across literally dozens of different installations, this new approach to coil coating combines all of the lessons learned into a single solution that improves quality and consistency, while significantly reducing time and cost. This can improve the competitive position of virtually any coil coater’s operation.

What could this kind of improvement do for yours?

Watch our free PCM Webinar to learn about how this innovtive technology can help your business.