Painting & Powder Coating

THE PROBLEM:  All powder coating and much of the painting of metal parts today is done through an electrostatic coating process. A metal part is hung on a metal hook or rack that is then carried by a conveyor line into a booth to be either painted or powder coated. The paint or powder is charged negatively when it comes out of the application sprayer, and the part being coated is charged positively. This ensures a good bonding of the coating on the parts, and reduces the amount of paint or powder required to coat the part. But, with each run through the paint booth, the carrying hooks or racks receive another coating of the paint or powder being applied. The coatings can build up to a point that they reduce the electrical contact between the carriers and the parts being painted, with the result that the part is no longer coated properly and much of the paint or powder is wasted. The hooks or racks need to be cleaned before the buildup reaches this point.

Also, parts being coated may sometime need to be recoated. If so, the coating that has been applied may need to be removed before the part can be reprocessed. This can be as much of a problem as cleaning the carrying hooks and racks.

THE SOLUTION:  The heavily coated hooks, racks or parts are hung on a hanging cart or placed on a forklift movable carrier which is then placed on a flat bed cart and placed in our Controlled Pyrolysis® Cleaning Furnace. The parts are cleaned as the organic portions of the coatings are vaporized into smoke - pyrolyzed - as the temperature of the cleaning chamber reaches approximately 800° F.

Emissions generated during the pyrolysis process are drawn through an afterburner operating at approximately 1400°F, incinerating any smoke or odor, leaving only odorless, harmless water vapor and carbon dioxide to exit out the exhaust stack.

After the cleaning cycle, only inorganic ash remains on the processed parts. The parts are removed from the furnace and moved to a cleaning area where the ash can be tapped off or washed to remove it. The cleaned hooks and racks are then ready to be returned to the finishing line. The oven’s fully automated cleaning cycle greatly reduces labor costs, extends the life of parts and helps maintain a moving and clean finishing line.