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Special Edition on Uncured Powder Thickness Testing
The Elcometer 550 Uncured Powder Thickness Gauge is the only non-contact instrument that accurately predicts the cured thickness of a coating powder before the product enters the oven. Using an elite ultrasonic technology, the Elcometer 550 allows for real time adjustments in your spray booth and guns. The result is a reduction in raw material consumption and the elimination of costly re-work. The Elcometer 550 makes it possible to apply the correct coating thickness for a superb finish on the first pass.
If a powder supplier was willing to give you a 30% price reduction and guarantee you would never have to rework a finished product again, would you make a change? Now an instrument manufacturer is making you the same offer.
Let’s do the math:
600 Daily powder consumption (lbs)
200 Production days per year
120,000 Annual powder consumption
x $3 Price per lb
$360,000 Annual powder spend
If you are like the typical operation, you are likely applying 4 – 4.5 mils of powder when your specification is only calling for 3 mils. Your operators have been trained to do this to “be on the safe side”. The result: a 30% overage in your material consumption.
$360,000 Annual powder spend
30% Wasted material
$120,000 Annual savings
Fill in the blank: My annual cost for stripping, material, labor, and lost production due to rework is ______. Add this amount to your Annual Saving on material.
Now ask yourself a few questions:
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Are your automatic guns set up differently from line to line?
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Are your guns set up differently from shift to shift?Operator to operator?
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Are your operators taking into account changes in temperature and humidity?
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Are your lines spraying 4 to 4.5 mils of powder when the specification calls for only 3 mils?
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Does your line ever run backwards due to low film builds?
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Do you enjoy stripping and re-work costs?
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Are you meeting your production schedules?
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Frequent color changes slowing you down?
What others have to say about the Elcometer 550
“I was hesitant to invest in such an instrument, but realized its value in the first week of operation. I do not think we could have been as successful as we are without the 550. Trojan is able to apply powder to the various shapes of extrusions, measure the film thickness right after the powder booth and make adjustments to all 18 automatic guns in order to ensure the correct mil thickness per the customer’s specification. Trojan has benefited with excellent quality, use of less powder, NO REJECTS and quick turnaround times.”
Carl Troiano
President
Trojan Powder Coating, NY
“Shortly after starting up our new powder coating line at Cybex International we started again looking into instrumentation that could tell us mil thickness of uncured powder. A little skeptical at first whether what the industry had to offer would really work, we decided to give the Elcometer 550 MKII a test run in our process. We found that the gauge was very beneficial. The gauge is essential to us make in making adjustments at the application process, avoiding the wait for results after cure which eliminates a lot of preventable rejects. Wish we would have acquired it sooner.”
Brad Stilwagon
Powder Coating Manager
Cybex International, MN
“I wanted to have real time data for set up, ability to check before cure, as well as the ability to zero in our process. We would paint heavy, a much higher film than needed. We were able to reduce film build from 4 mils average to 2 mils average. In the first year it saved nearly $60,000 just in powder cost, not to mention savings in time and rework. It is outstanding. It does exactly what Elcometer markets it to do.”
Steve Lawson
Paint Technical Manager
Quality Industries, TN
Click the video-still below to watch the Elcometer 550 Uncured Powder Thickness Gauge demo.
Customers who purchase the Elcometer 550 also like:
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Elcometer 415 Powder Coating Thickness Gauge |
Elcometer 215 Oven Data Logger |
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