Air Power offers the quality equipment manufactured by Graco.

As temperatures begin to get hotter, viscosity is very much at play when picking the proper pump.

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Problem:

When specifying the proper pump for any fluid application understanding the properties of the fluid to be handled is of the upmost importance.

Viscosity…. is one of, if not the most important variable when determining the proper specification of a diaphragm pump (or any pump) and associated flow rates. The viscosity of many materials fluctuate as ambient temperature’s change through the seasons and as plant conditions change month to month, so understanding the effect viscosity has on sizing pumps is important.

Solution

All AODD pump ratings are with water at the pump outlet. For example, a Graco 1050 pump is a 1″ ported pump rated at 50 gallons per minute (water at the pump outlet).  When looking to specify the above example pump, three things must be further evaluated to insure proper performance/specification – Viscosity (will alter flow rate), available air pressure at the pump, pipe or hose size (at pump outlet all the way to the point of discharge).  Once you have determined these variables you can properly select the perfect pump for your unique application.

Results

Getting the right pump will make a world of difference in the efficiency of your set-up. Not only will your flow rates remain stable throughout the year, but downtime will be reduced and the life of your pump will be extended.Perfect Pump

 

 

 

Graco Endura-Flo pump solves multiple issues for large paint booth

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Problem:

The customer came to Air Power wanting to upgrade their pump package that supplies material from their paint kitchen to two applicators on each end of their booth.  The booth runs 60’ long, with a width of 20’ and would be used to touch up dump truck beds.  After running a pressure drop calculation we determined that the material could fall out of solution if there were a day or 2 that no spraying was needed.

Air Power Solution

After reviewing the application with the customer, Air Power proposed using a 3:1 Graco Endura-Flo pump.  This option allows for the 3x the pressure, which was more than enough to overcome any pressure loss during the materials travel, as well as, has a much larger fluid section requiring less wear and tear on the pump while in operation.  Since this is strictly a touch up process and not guaranteed to be an everyday event, we also recirculated the fluid lines to prevent any material from falling out of solution.

Results

This solution provided more than enough pressure to power the required spraying.  Additionally, if there’s an occurrence where the system isn’t used for several days, the customer only has to run the pump a few minutes before spraying to move the stagnant material back within the agitated drum requiring no waste or quality concerns.

The Air Power solution solved the pressure problem, the potential solution issues, and provided a much larger fluid section to prevent wear and tear.

 

 

 

From Obsolete to Upgrade

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Many manufacturers struggle with finding new parts to maintain old equipment that is integral to their manufacturing process. In this case study, Air Power finds a solution to replace obsolete equipment and get this customer back in production.

Customer

A Manufacturer of foam-filled plastic parts

Challenge

The customer was having trouble with their old, worn-out mix valve on their dispense system. The old equipment needed repairs that required parts that had been discontinued by the manufacturer.  Every 45 minutes of runtime the customer would have to swap heads and do a cleaning on the used head. The customer was informed that a newer version of their system would become available, but they simply could not wait any longer and needed a solution today.

 

Air Power Solution

Air Power Account Manager Matt Graham proposed a Graco HFR with a Paradyne  Two-Component Dynamic Mix Valve to replace the existing equipment. The Graco Paradyne Dynamic Mix Valve is a rotary static valve that consistently mixes and dispenses materials requiring exceptional mixing energy. Engineered with rugged components and precision controls that eliminate dispensing inconsistencies, reduce maintenance downtime, and optimize material usage.

The Paradyne Valve Reliably mixes and dispenses difficult foaming polyurethanes, low viscosity silicones, and other hard to blend two component chemistries.

  • Easily integrates with Graco meter, mix, and dispense systems like the EFR, PR70, or HFR for a complete dispensing solution.
  • Control system delivers precision RPM control, and real time monitoring for dispensing process stability.
  • Built with durable check valves and disposable mixers that reduce maintenance and downtime.

This solution allowed the customer to be back in production quickly and allow them to continue to use their current process. With the help of our Dispense Specialist team; Jeff Pittman, Adam Kearns, and Neal Cutler, we were able to find a solution that integrated into their current system to minimize downtime and the cost of the upgrade.

 

Install_Graco Voltex Mix Valve

 

Results

 

This customer was extremely happy with the results. They are back in production with no hiccups. The Graco HFR and Paradyne mix valve integrated seamlessly with their current process.  Air Power’s solution saved them money in downtime and integrated with their current process to minimize costs.  The new system allowed the customer to run for four hours without any maintenance and at the end of four hours they just have to change the static mixer. They are happy to be back in production and planning to upgrade a few more systems with the help of Air Power Manufacturing Solutions! If you are interested in upgrading equipment in your manufacturing facility, Call Air Power today!

 

Dispense_Graco_VOltex

Spray Finishing Made Mobile

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In this case study, Air Power Account Manager Austin Lambright helped this customer eliminate pain points in their finishing process, allowing them to save time and money in production costs.

 

CHALLENGE

The customer has a 90ft DOD aircraft that is coated with a very short pot life, a very expensive material. Because of the short pot life, several painters would have to mix an individual pressure pot and all spray the plane at the same time. This caused a lot of waste in material and was time-consuming.

 

AIR POWER SOLUTION

By using a mobile cart with a large Graco EnduraFlo 4:1 diaphragm pump, we are able to feed 4 painters with one central paint vessel. This not only cuts down on a lot of waste, but also simplifies the prep and clean up process, ultimately saving money both in material cost, maintenance, and production time. An all-around process improvement.

 

Graco Endura Flo Cart Solution

 

RESULTS

The customer drastically improved production process time, labor hours, and material savings in their paint process.

 

Graco Endura Flo Cart2

 

Graco Endura Flo Cart

Filling Station with Timed Dispense System

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In this video, Air Power Account Manager Aaron Osborne walks you through this Lubricant Dispense Station. The customer needed to pre-fill cartridges so the operator could utilize it in a manual application for the day shift. Air Power proposed a solution that combines a Loctite Timing and Pressure Dispense System with a Graco Husky Pump. This Filing Station solution reduces down fluid pressure and allows for multiple cartridges to be filled and stored. When the operator needs a cartridge s/he grabs from filling station and attached is bench side dispenser for accurate dispense into the end product.

Silicone Drum System Saves Money

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Manufacturing facilities in today’s competitive market strive to produce the highest quality product. In this case study we will discuss the importance of recognizing every company’s desire to produce a premier product.

Customer

Leading Global Manufacturer of Display Refrigerated Cases Systems

Air Power’s Solution

In partnership with the customer and the silicone material supplier (Ellsworth Adhesives), Air Power offered a solution by using 3 ea.  Graco 55 gallon drum packages. These drum packages will replace manual and battery operated caulking guns. By going to bulk drums vs expensive tubes customer will reduce silicone cost by 30%. Customer purchases over 1 million dollars per year in silicone. Drums are placed near three assembly stations throughout the plant. Material fluid hoses are festooned 14 feet over head at each operating station to eliminate dangerous trip hazards.

Result

By converting from caulk tubes to bulk 55 gallon drums customer will reduce RTV silicon by an estimated cost by 30%. Each Graco 55 gallon ram drum package features Graco Data Trak. The Graco Data Trak features a light tower located on the 55 gallon ram package. The light tower will alert the operator with a signal showing drum is low on material or empty.

Increased floor space by eliminating cartons of tubes placed on wood skids near each operating station. Increase production time by elimination to open cartons of tubes of silicone and place tubes into manual caulking guns.

Eliminate the need to have batteries charged. Eliminate the cost of replacing battery charged caulking guns.

 

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Silicone Drum System Saves Money

Increase Transfer Efficiency

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Challenge

Customer was looking to improve transfer efficiency on their automated spindle machine spraying primer on various size metal housings.   The existing system utilizes one spray gun set a considerable distance from the parts.  This causes excessive overspray and waste.  Customer also wanted to go from using 55 gallon drums to 5 gallon pails due to settling and solvent flash off in the primer.  The 55 gallon drum sits for around 4 months.  The viscosity needed to be regularly checked and adjusted.

 

Before Before 2

 

 

 

 

 

Air Power’s Solution

Equipment utilized – Graco fixed automatic spray guns coupled to a Graco dual regulated pressure pot with agitation.  All controlled via an Air Power custom designed pneumatic control panel for system optimization and performance.

Air Power, Inc. proposed replacing their single gun setup with two guns.  These guns will be mounted on mounts that can be adjusted to effectively cover the various size parts.  This will minimize the amount of overspray and improve the transfer efficiency of the system.  The controls for this system will be contained in a centralized control box.  Fluid supply will utilize a 5 gallon pressure tank.  This will allow the operator to place a 5 gallon bucket of primer into the tank.  This system will be enclosed to minimize solvent flash off.  This will help improve the consistency of the coating as it will not need to be constantly adjusted.  The paint supply will also be exhausted in roughly a week now.  This will allow fresh primer to be sprayed, also improving consistency.

 

Results

  • Customer experienced increased transfer efficiency which saved them money by minimizing the amount of overspray and waste. It also reduced the amount of filtration they were purchasing due to the reduced overspray saving them time and money.
  • Customer reduced solvent flash off due to the switch from 55 gallon to 5 gallon pail saving the operator time from adding additional solvent to the 55 gallon drums.

 

Air Power Solution Air Power Solution

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Eliminate Overspray

Paint Kitchen Automation Cleans up Inefficient Mess for Equipment Finisher

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Graco E-Flo DC Pump

Graco E-Flo DC Pump

 

This case study demonstrates how the Graco Intelligent Paint Kitchen can improve the painting process by decreasing production downtime, lowering production costs and increasing process efficiency.

Customer

Heavy-duty lift truck equipment finisher.

Challenge

 

The maintenance manager at a heavy-duty lift truck equipment finisher was left with someone else’s mess. The paint room supervisor had designed a paint kitchen for a 24-hour operation, only to leave when production changed to five days a week. With no one taking ownership of the paint room, inefficiency took over.

• Friday afternoons, the paint room attendant shut down the paint circulation, air compressor and pneumatic agitators.
• Monday mornings, they lost at least six carriers of parts and more than an hour of production time, because material had settled in the paint lines over the weekend.

Circulating the paint on the weekends meant running a 500-horse power (HP) air compressor. The energy cost savings seemed to outweigh the cost of lost parts.

 

Solution

 

The maintenance manager consulted his local distributor, who wasn’t sure how to handle the situation. The equipment they had was sound; it just didn’t provide the flexibility they needed. Their Graco account representative offered an out-of-the-box solution. The Intelligent Paint Kitchen (IPK), powered by the E-Flo DC 4-Ball Piston Pump, could allow them to reduce downtime, save on energy costs, and remotely monitor the paint room. Some of their existing equipment could even be repurposed in the new set up.

Results

 

The Graco Intelligent Paint Kitchen system automated the paint room and made their production schedule more flexible. Electric equipment avoided air compressor costs, and allowed them to keep the paint circulating during non-production times. With presets and remote monitoring controlling the paint room, efficiency is the new norm.

• Friday afternoons, the paint room attendant sets equipment on sleep mode.
• Monday mornings, production starts smoothly without loss of parts, downtime or rework.

With the help of remote monitoring, the maintenance manager now spends less time with production supervision. Their newfound efficiency allows them to
take on and scale back production as needed without overextending their resources.

 

 

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Paint Kitchen Automation Cleans Up Inefficient Mess For Equipment Finisher

 

 

Air Power Partnered with Graco on this case.

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Save Time and Paint with ProDispense

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Manufacturing facilities utilize various types of coatings, some of which are two component paint.   These formulas must be mixed properly in order to properly adhere and perform in the field as designed.  This case study highlights a solution that allowed the customer to maintain tight paint ratios, minimize waste, and remove hand mixing from the process.

Customer

A leading manufacture within the truck and bus industry located in North Carolina.

Challenge

This truck and bus manufacturing facility has multiple paint booths due to their high volume, high quality, and high standards associated with the paint application.  They use a two component primer and paint, and have to maintain automotive quality finish on their production line.  The main paint line utilizes a Graco Proportioning System to dispense on ratio paint to operator; however the offline paint repair/touch up facility still relied on manually mixing (or “hot potting”).  Hot potting tended to be very wasteful as the paint mixed wasn’t always sprayed prior to gelling, or the two parts were mixed off ratio causing imperfections within the finish aesthetics and quality.  Due to hot potting the general work area was considered “messy” as operators were physically hand mixing paint and catalyst out of drums.

Air Power’s Solution

Air Power in partnership with Graco, proposed a solution utilizing the Graco ProDispense platform of product.  This proportioning solution allows the offline operators to mix exactly how much they need for each application on ratio every time. There is no guesswork when it comes to material being mixed or how much is needed, and the work area is self-contained with little to no mess. The offline paint process has become streamlined as the paint operator only has to know how much paint he needs (in liters) and what color.  They select the desired paint volume and color from a custom touch screen user interface. Once selected the exact amount is dispensed and mixed into the paint applicator.  The operator then removes the paint applicator and performs the associated painting task.

Result

Operators are no longer mixing paint by hand.  This alone has saved the company time and money due to costly mistakes associated with the hand mixing process.  The waste output has been reduced due to the ability to accurately and repeatedly meter, mix, and dispense the exact volume of paint in which the operator needs on time and on ratio.  Aesthetically the workspace is much cleaner.  An added benefit to management is the ability to now view, track, and have visibility of paint usage, due to the ProDispense reporting capabilities, within an application which historically has had none.  Allowing for better ontime tracking, shipment, and forecasting.

 

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Reduce Paint Waste with ProDispense

 

 

Graco’s ProDispense is a cost-effective and user-friendly electronic system that dispenses preset amounts of fluids. The ProDispense system allows durable goods manufacturers to quickly and accurately fill cavities with oil, grease, water, or other industrial fluids in assembly line environments where accurate dispensing is essential. ProDispense can deliver up to eight different fluids at multiple dispense points, and accurately measure volume.

  • Consistent fluid dispense
  • Reporting capability tracks volume and usage
  • Easily connects to PLC and barcode scanners
  • Return on investment assures that ProDispense quickly pays for itself
  • User interface provides simple operation and data entry
  • Local or integrated control
  • Manual or automatic dispense
  • Tracks dispense results for process verification

 

 

 

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Graco ProDispense

 

 

Goodbye to Manual Mixing

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Introduction

This customer manufactures underground boring equipment for gas and water lines. They used “hot potting” or manually mix 2 paint components to spray two colors: yellow and black.

Background

This company has one booth for top coating and would manually mix the black and yellow paints. It took well over an hour to change out the colors. The parts being fabricated were staged all over the plant waiting to be painted. Due to backlog and space contingencies, some items were stored outside. Rainy days would slow down the process even more.

Air Power Solution

Air Power’s solution recommended using a Graco Promix 2KE with gun flush box and using drum pumps they already had. Mixing on demand out of a 55-gallon drum of each component, improved the ability to change colors in less time than it takes to bring a new part to be coated.

 

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