One of the leading companies in the rubber industry was looking for a silicone and polymere spray coating system that could be applied just before packaging their products (such as rubber window seals).
In the past they were using standard nozzles, contained in spray cabines, to spray the rubber from top to bottom. These cabins were equipped with an extraction installation to prevent excessive misting. For thinner coatings they were using air atomizing nozzles and for thicker coatings immersion baths.
None of these methods were delivering the required result and fixing them was costly and ineffective. Excessive liquid was causing most of the problems and ultimately led to quality issues and unhappy customers.
To overcome the wasteful process of overapplying liquids – and then applying costly solutions to get rid of the excess liquid – the rubber producer decided to look for a new solution. It had to be more sustainable, limit costs and prevent a polluted workspace – causing dangerous conditions for the workers.
AutoJet silicone and polymere spray coating system
As an integral part of the leading global spraying technology company our local Spraying Systems engineer was contacted to share his expert advice on the issue. After a careful evaluation he proposed the installation of an AutoJet® 2008+ system with two channels – to use the silicone and polymere coatings separately. The system was equipped with PulsaJet® nozzles to greatly reduce the sprayed liquid volume.
After an initial on-site demonstration the customer agreed on a test over a prolonged period – essential for such a vital process. This way they could evaluate the cost saving potential of the solution and ensure the quality and customer satisfaction.
Result
After the testing phase our customer was happy to note that the system performed as anticipated. The decision was immediately made to roll out the solution for all of their 8 production lines.
The sustainability improvements are nothing short of impressive. Just by making this relatively small change they are experiencing enormous reductions in energy use, chemical use and emissions. The cleaner work environment has also greatly improved safety on the production floor.
Apart from the sustainability improvements the rubber producer is also experiencing an improved production process. Downtime is greatly reduced and the improved product quality means end customers are happy as well.
Together the savings are so enormous that the customer realized a total payback of our proposed solution in just 2 months.