CASE STUDY
2021Semi-automatic painting plant for outdoor supplies
Customer
Ethimo s.r.l – Vitorchiano (VT)
Objective
Build a semi-automatic painting system with manual paint application for medium-small batches with a wide range of colors and finishes.
Challenges
- Implement the company’s production process with an in-house painting system
- Ensure maximum operational flexibility in batch management and color changes
- Identify optimal solutions for the pre-treatment and passivation of metals and stainless steel
Impact
Environmentally friendly passivation
In order to ensure greater control over the quality of the finished product, it is essential that the treatment and finishing of metal surfaces, particularly stainless steel surfaces, take place using controlled processes and chemicals that can ensure high corrosion resistance and excellent coating adhesion.
Passivation pretreatment-essential to improve corrosion resistance and to remove dirt, oils, grease, rust and other contaminants that could interfere with the adhesion and effectiveness of the surface protective layer-is carried out in the pre-painting stage in the automatic washing tunnel, fed by a reverse osmosis plant with a flow rate of 100lt/h supplied by Chemtec, the same chemical company that developed PRONORTEC, an environmentally friendly passivation nanotechnology that is an alternative to zinc phosphating, contains no heavy metals and creates no sludge or toxic-harmful reaction products.
Anti-contamination systems
During pretreatment, the chemical solutions that fall off the parts are collected in the tanks below and put back into the cycle by means of pumps and manifolds that feed the nozzle ramps. Each nozzle feed pipe is located outside the booth and is dedicated to a single stage of washing: thus, contamination of the different liquids is avoided. At the bottom of the tunnel, drainage sheets are provided to return the liquids to their respective tanks. The nozzles are arranged in such a way that they evenly invest the surface of the parts to be treated, while a suction chamber, located at the entrance of the tunnel, sucks up the vapors escaping from the treatment areas.
The hot tank is heated by a gas burner with a heat exchanger placed inside it, while the static ovens are heated by an air vein burner.
Manual transport and automated processes
A manual overhead conveyor conveys the parts to be processed along the entire line-from the washing tunnel to the powder coating booth with manual powder application unit using dense phase technology, to the two separate ovens for drying and curing.
The order and production cycle management software–based on the dictates of Industry 4.0 and the Mysql database–consists of a dedicated database server and a control program managed by 15-inch touch-screen panels positioned at crucial points of the plant–loading, painting and unloading stations.
Such a plant configuration optimizes work, provides operational flexibility, and allows the operator to be in control of the job situation at all times, allowing data and parameters to be changed in real time.
