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Graco HydroShield Electrostatic Spray System
Air Power in partnership with Graco is working hard to prep the Hydroshield for upcoming customer demos throughout our entire territory! Pre-plan, setup, and spray prior to demo ensures a successful onsite demo. We’d like to thank the team of Graco Representatives Nick Lewis, Nick Yanavitch, and Chris Maicon for all working with the Air Power team to establish this product in the field.
The Graco Hydroshield Spray Package is an operator-friendly solution for spraying waterborne material that improves transfer efficiency and safety. This system includes manual electrostatic air spray or air-assist guns, controller interface, and high-performing pumps.
The HydroShield Batch Waterborne System makes it easy to safely use electrostatics to spray waterborne material.
- Refill paint supply without having to open the isolation cabinet.
- Use one controller with simple screens to set and adjust system parameters.
- Minimize downtime with durable components that are easily accessed and maintained.
Check out these pictures of the Air Power team setting up this system in the Air Power High Point Finishing Lab!
Air Power wins Graco 2020 Top 20 Distributor Award
Graco’s Top 20 Program was established in 2010 to define the top sales performing distributors in North America. Every year since, the HPCF sales group has recognized the Top 20 distributors for their Protective Coatings Equipment (PCE). Air Power Manufacturing Solutions has been named one of Graco’s Top 20 Distributors in North America.
Being a Top 20 Distributor is a significant achievement. Although based on total sales, distributors don’t get to that level of success without hard work and strategic investment in their companies. Many different things go into building a successful Graco distributorship, but there is one common characteristic shared by all of Graco’s top-performing distributors—they are customer-focused.
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Spray Finishing Made Mobile
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.
RESULTS
The customer drastically improved production process time, labor hours, and material savings in their paint process.
Improving Your Electrostatic Process
Improving Your Electrostatic Liquid or Powder Coating Process
In this video, Air Power Specialist Travis Stirewalt and Account Manager Eddie Rhodes, share tips about improving your electrostatic process. Learn how to improve your electrostatic process with expert advice for powder coaters and liquid painters. Discuss best practices that help you put more powder or paint on your parts and less in your filters or the paint booth floor. What does this mean for you? Higher transfer efficiency and less paint (money) wasted by increasing your first pass transfer efficiency. Video from the Air Power, Inc. Chattanooga Branch.
Which Pump?
How Does An Air Operated Double Diaphragm Pump Work?
An air operated diaphragm pump is a type of positive displacement pump that uses compressed air as a power source. The compressed air is shifted from one chamber to the other by a linked shaft that allows the chambers to move simultaneously. This back-and-forth motion, forces liquid out of one chamber and into the outlet manifold, while filling the opposite fluid chamber via the inlet manifold. Upon changeover, the fluid section that was filled on the previous shift empties into the outlet manifold and then fills the opposite chamber via the inlet manifold. The rapid changeover allows for reduced pulsation at the outlet.
How to Select an Air Operated Double Diaphragm Pump?
Choices are endless when selecting the correct air operated double diaphragm pump (AODD). Aluminum? Stainless? Why Plastic? Different chemicals require different pump components which are critical in determining the best pump solution for the application. Not all applications are the same and neither are the pumps. Check out some general information regarding the construction of Graco AODD Pumps.
Paint Kitchen Automation Cleans up Inefficient Mess for Equipment Finisher
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.
Air Power Partnered with Graco on this case.
Click Here to learn more about what Graco offers.
Air Power Attends Graco Finishing Series Launch Event
The Air Power Sales team attended Graco’s 2019 Finishing Series Launch Event. It was held at the Georgia Power Center in Atlanta, GA and GEMA’s Training Facility located in Indianapolis, IN. This exclusive training is designed around Graco’s extensive product and application knowledge further equipping our team of Account Managers and supporting Application Specialist’s ability to support, promote, and identify opportunities within the manufacturing community. We were able to receive 10 hours of hands-on training directly with Graco’s team of product managers, engineers, and marketing leaders; allowing for a successful and mutually beneficial event. This training centered around cutting edge technology and product enhancements; with topics including: product messages, combating competition in the field, and proven examples (case studies) of how these technologies solve customer challenges. Below are the seven (7) topics that the Air Power and Graco team covered in detail.
Intelligent Paint Kitchen for Pneumatic Pumps
Graco’s intelligent paint kitchen is a system of smart sensors communicating with each other that optimize the performance of your circulation system. It is a less complex, less expensive alternative to advanced remote monitoring and control for the entire paint room — especially when compared to traditional custom built systems. All components are standard products, not a custom-built system, which makes them easy to be configured and install. And because both the initial investment and installation costs are lower, you’re able to be more competitive in a global market. With the intelligent paint kitchen, you can remotely monitor and control key circulation system parameters like pressures, flow rates, tank levels and agitator speeds. The enhanced awareness of key circulation system parameters in real-time enables quick diagnosis of issues and ensures your system is operating at peak efficiency.
New Pro XP Electrostatic Gun Models
Graco took their trademark, high performing electrostatic spray guns and made them better. They are smaller, lighter and designed to maximize your profits. Available in 40, 60 and 85 kV, the Pro Xp electrostatic spray gun also has a round spray option for when you need a bell-shaped pattern and a High Conductivity version for when you have low resistivity material.
Radial Piston Agitator
These units consume 30 to 50 percent less air than rotary vane motors. Manufacturers can upgrade to radial piston agitators, which run the most efficiently at low to medium speeds.
Sealed 4-Ball Plus Lower
Graco’s sealed lower not only has longer maintenance cycles, but it is also easier, faster and cheaper to replace than an entire pump assembly. The lower is completely sealed, so it can be used for every pumping application in your mix room, including catalyzed coatings. Common components make it simpler to maintain your pump, and it reduces inventory level on repair parts. Plus our positive displacement piston pumps displace fluid in both directions of the stroke, providing low cycle rates and high flow, ideal for applications using shear-sensitive materials.
Active Surge Suppressor
Graco surge suppressors were designed specifically for the finishing industry from decades of pump technology research. The streamlined fluid path ensures low shear, smooth fluid flow, and superior flush ability.
ProDispense
Graco’s ProDispense is a cost effective, user-friendly electronic system that gives you the capability to quickly and accurately fill cavities with industrial fluids in assembly line environments. The ProDispense allows for Consistent fluid dispense that is compatible with manual or automatic applications. The easy to use interface allows for the tracking of volume. The fluid panel configurations allow for a wide range of material viscosity and flow rates with accuracy ranges of 1 to 3 percent.
ProControl 1KE
Graco’s ProControl 1KE allows you to actively manage fluid and air pressure to lock in precise spray parameters. It not only monitors fluids, it has added controls to manage fluids and improve spray performance. These systems allow for precise control of pressure, flow rates, and atomizing air with the ability to easily adjust. The user interface allows for accurate reporting of material usage while remotely monitoring all fluids via the advanced web interface on your corporate network.
Graco Liquid vs Electrostatic Spray Gun for Waterborne Paint
Graco Liquid vs Electrostatic Spray Gun for Waterborne Paint
Welcome to Air Power’s Finishing Lab! In this video, we show the capabilities of the Graco Electrostatic Spray Gun for Waterborne paints. The electrostatic feature can be switched on and off making this spray gun versatile to fit any customer’s needs.
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