Isolated Paint Control Panel Brings Consistency and Speedy Changeovers to the Production Line

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Problem

A local gearbox manufacturer has had ongoing issues with multiple paint operators making changes to the paint system throughout the day. They rotate painters every couple of hours so the paint quality and consistency is all over the board throughout the day. We have isolated the spray gun controls and implemented electrostatic painting but they still have issues. All colors run through a manual color change manifold and fluid pressure regulator which limits the fluid pressure even when color changing. There are also issues when the colors aren’t changed on a long run that the other colors settle out in the lines.

Air Power Solution

Paint Control Panel

Air Power built a custom, lockable, control panel with a multitude of controls for the company and for the operators.

  1. Hi/Lo fluid pressure settings though independent air regulators controlling a single Graco air piloted fluid pressure regulator. These are set with supervision and management and are locked from the operators. They have 2 fluid pressures to select from and nothing else to minimize operator adjustments. Pressure selected is visible via included gauges.
  2. Select-able color valve stack via a rotary control to select the color being sprayed as well as the solvent flush.
  3. Graco back pressure regulators on each recirculating line for the 3 colors to allow paints to recirculate when not in use.
  4. Atomizing air pressure adjusted internally and locked out from the operators.
  5. Integrated inlet air filtration to ensure clean, dry air to feed the spray gun

Effect

This solution will eliminate the operators each making many adjustments throughout the day and tighten the quality and consistency of their paint process. It will also speed up color changes now that they are select-able via the color stack rotary control along with a flush setting that will allow full solvent pressure to clear the lines. When the flush cycle is selected the atomizing air will be cut off to eliminate the estat safety concern associated with a solvent flush. The re-circulation of the colors will improve the quality and consistency of each color when selected via the color stack. The integrated air filtration will extend the service life of the spray gun while improving the quality of the paint process also.

Ingersoll Rand – Makes it Easy

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One of the main causes of injury in a manufacturing facility is due to lifting heavy objects. In this case study, Air Power helps a customer eliminate the risk of injury with an Ingersoll Rand custom monorail lifting system.

 

Challenge

 

A local machinery manufacturer has had issues finding a suitable solution to include as part of their OEM machinery builds. They had a history of using electrical hoists and I beam trolleys which have not been well received by their end-users. The previous offerings by others were hard to maneuver and difficult to position the load for final placement.

 

Air Power Solution

 

Air Power proposed an Ingersoll Rand Zimmerman rail system, which are easily adaptable, cost-effective and easy to use. We designed a system for them that included 4 individual monorails with rigid mount hanger kits to increase clearance and ZAW air balancers with pendant controls for load lifting and proper part positioning.  The solution allows each of the 4 sides of their machine to be covered from end to end.

 

Results

 

The proposed solution provided the necessary benefits including:

  1. The ZRA1 monorails utilized minimum push/pull forces, allowing ergonomics on the operator and ease of use.
  2. For future integrations, the individual monorails provide an easily adaptable solution, should the OEM design change over time.
  3. The aluminum profile ZRA1 provided a reduction in solution weight.
  4. The ZAW air balancers allow the end-user to position the load close to its final destination then use the “float” of the balancer for final (and exact) placement of the part; further enhancing the user experience.

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