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WHAT
IS COIL COATING?
WHY
IS COIL COATING BETTER
THAN POST-PAINT?
WHAT ARE THE BASIC ADVANTAGES
OF USING COIL COATING?
CAN
MY PROCESSING EQUIPMENT
/ASSEMBLY LINE USE COATED
COIL?
WHAT
ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL/ECOLOGICAL
ADVANTAGES OF COIL COATING?
WHAT
ARE THE ECONOMICAL BENEFITS
?
WHAT
KIND OF QUALITY CONTROLS
ARE INVOLVED?
WHAT
IS COIL COATING?
A flat surface is easier
to coat than an irregular
shape. It is on this simple
and logical principle
that the Coil Coating
or Pre-Coating method
is based i.e. to clean,
pretreat and coat a flat
product (coil or sheets
of steel or aluminium)
before other stages of
industrial manufacture.
Coated
coil is a precoated sheet
of steel or aluminium
which has received an
organic coating of paint
or plastic laminate prior
to being fabricated into
the finished article by
the end-user.
Coated
coil offers a wide range
of colours. Delivered
in the required form and
size, it can be subsequently
bent, profiled, deep drawn,
etc., without detriment
to the surface coating.
coil
coating allows a very
flexible choice of qualities.
A wide variety of paints
are available: Most important
for appliance applications
are polyester and polyurethane
paints in a wide range
of colours and glosses,
depending on customer
needs. Differently structured
as well as smooth surfaces
are available.
The
distinct advantage of
the coil coating process
is its ability to provide
a uniform coating with
very reproducible thickness,
colour and gloss
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WHY
IS COIL COATING BETTER
THAN POST-PAINT?
coil coatinging of sheet
metal helps to minimize
environmental problems
that would occur with
post-painting, liquid
spray or powder paint
applications on single
work pieces. Such environmental
problems include emission
of volatile organic compounds
(VOC), high usage of chemicals,
water, and energy, and
the disposal of waste.
coil
coatinged metal is produced
from flat metal strip
that is cleaned, treated
and coated in a continuous
process. This yields better
and more efficient cleaning,
pretreatment, painting
and curing operations,
and hence, a product of
higher, and more uniform
quality than is usually
obtained when post-painting
formed parts.
Moreover,
the use of coil coating
solves manufacturing issues
by increasing productivity,
reducing manufacturing
cycle time, providing
faster throughput, and
producing better yields
compared to the conventional
post-painting process.
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WHAT
ARE THE BASIC ADVANTAGES
OF USING COIL COATING?
Since the metal is finished
in the flat, better processing
techniques add up to a
higher quality, better
performing product.
Coil
coated material has shown
competitive corrosion
resistance vs. post finished
products.
For
aesthetic issues, cut
edges can be hidden, folded,
roll formed or tucked
away so that the bare
edge can be kept out of
sight.
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CAN
MY PROCESSING EQUIPMENT
/ASSEMBLY LINE USE COATED
COIL?
The coil coated metal
is ready to be formed
into the final part, by
cutting, punching, bending,
drawing, etc.
coil
coating is a finished
product and it should
be handled as a finished
product. Sound processing
techniques make coil coating
no more difficult to transport,
store and handle than
other materials. It is
recommended, however,
that tooling should be
dedicated to coil coating.
Compared to bare metal,
only a few equipment changes
may be required for the
manufacture of parts from
coil coating.
The
tool surfaces must be
adapted to the requirements
of coil coating, e.g.
by hardening of the tool
surface, and fine polishing,
especially when it is
used to produce the visible
surfaces of parts for
the appliance body. Dies
and cutters need their
clearances to be adjusted
to allow for the additional
paint film. With the use
of coil coating, usually
no extra lubricant is
needed when stamping.
There are a variety of
ways to fasten coil coated
metal. Clinching and adhesive
bonding, for instance,
have been successfully
adopted by many appliance
manufacturers.
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WHAT
ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL/ECOLOGICAL
ADVANTAGES?
The use of coil coatinged
metal reduces, or makes
obsolete, the need for
lubricants, pretreatment,
paint, energy and water,
the emission of volatile
organic compounds and
waste disposal.
The fabricators' workshop
becomes a much healthier
environment.
It is possible with coil
coating: the coil coater
supplies you with prepainted
metal sheet. Flexibility
and adhesion qualities
are such that all subsequent
processing operations
are possible. As a result,
you no longer have the
problems related to surface
treatment and painting
operations.
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WHAT
ARE THE ECONOMICAL BENEFITS
?
Considerable cost savings
with coil coatinged sheet
are derived not just on
the material side, but
in other areas of manufacturing.
- finished
product achieved in
only two stages-processing
and assembly
- reduced
transport and handling
costs
- minimal
pollution as coil coaters'
plants are designed
to dispose of all waste
products
- improved
productivity
- reduced
wastage of raw material
- bottle
necks substantially
reduced or totally eliminated
- compliance
with the most demanding
conditions of pollution
control regulations
since coil coating lines
are equipped with treatment
units for waste water
and exhaust gas effluent.
- large
storage areas no longer
needed to house semi
finished products
- energy
savings
- workforce
redistributed to more
profitable work
- expenditure
on effluent disposal
eliminated
- no
need for hazardous or
inflammable material
storage
The
use of coil coated materiel
has positive impact at
all levels of the manufacturing
process. Ultimately that
means improved quality
and lower costs.
coil coating allows for
better manufacturing cycle
time as metal arrives
coated and ready for production.
By eliminating a post
finishing operation, you
free up floor space. Additionally,
since work-in-progress
inventory is reduced,
less floor space is required.
Production capabilities
can grow without adding
exclusive manufacturing
space.
A cost
comparison must account
for primary costs (metal,
chemicals and paint, people,
energy, water and waste),
as well as secondary costs
like the number of manufacturing
steps appropriate to produce
a product in a spray operation,
the time involved in manufacturing
the product, the cost
of rework and touch-ups.
Furthermore, there are
savings to be made on
hidden costs, compared
to post-painting. These
savings include logistics,
flexibility of operation,
growth limitations, and
manufacture cycle time.
THE
BENEFITS
Better
utilisation of existing
capacity
coil coating reduces or
even eliminates the major
bottleneck in the finishing
operation - the paint line.
This means that capacity
constraints are minimised,
enabling manufacturers to
meet increased production
requirement without the
need for capital investment.
Elimination
of waste disposal costs
The cost of the disposal
of hazardous waste associated
with the painting operation
is eliminated. Moreover,
as paint can serve as a
lubricant, the need for
costly die lubes is also
removed.
Easier
environmental compliance
The cost of observing environmental
regulations is significantly
reduced, or even eliminated.
Quicker
processing
Since input material is
more directly related to
output the processing time
is reduced, creating a reduction
in the need for inventory.
Minimised
scheduling problems
Scheduling problems and
the costs associated with
batch-type processing are
minimised or removed altogether
Minimised
rework costs
The consistent quality of
coil coated materials reduces
the need for rework and
lowers non-conformance levels
and associated costs.
Controlled
costs
Purchasers of coil coated
material receive a pre-finished
product of both pre-determined
price and quality.
BUSINESS
ADVANTAGES:
- Cost
efficiency
- Versatility
of design applications
- Manufacturing
efficiency
- Added
value to sales initiatives
- Environmentally
clean technology
- The
ability to rely on a
product with a proven
track record
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WHAT
KIND OF QUALITY CONTROLS
ARE INVOLVED?
The
applied organic coating
provides:
- optimum
balance of properties
- guaranteed
uniform surface finish
- enhanced
corrosion resistance
of substrate
- multipurpose
material
- a
durable surface which
minimises handling damage
- a
material which can precisely
and consistently meet
design specifications
in terms of coating
thickness, appearance
and overall performance
Before
being supplied to the
precoater, samples of
the coil coating undergo
laboratory tests. The
order is delivered once
the quality specifications
have been fulfilled.
Just
before being used, in
others words before precoating,
the consistency of these
products is once again
controlled and adjusted
if necessary.
The
metal strip also undergoes
a number of tests before
being coated, in order
to guarantee optimal surface
conditions and respect
of the specified dimensions,
although the quality controls
and tests undertaken in
the manufacture of all
metallic substrates are
already very strict.
During
the coating operation,
and once the strip has
left the production line,
other tests and controls
are carried out to check
that all preset parameters
and tolerances are respected.
This namely means checking
the thickness of the coating,
its gloss, its colour
and the surface finish
in general, together with
its formability, adherence
and hardness.
In addition,
accelerated laboratory
tests are carried out
to control the resistance
of precoated products
to atmospherical conditions:
tests of resistance to
salt spray fog, to water
immersion, to water condensation
and to UV radiation are
common.
In addition,
however, long term analysis
is carried out on the
basis of such tests as
outdoor sample exposure
in various rural, marine
and industrial environments.
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The
F.A.Q.s
presented here are courtesy
of European
Coil Coating Association
(ECCA)
For
other Coil Coating information
you may also check out
National
Coil Coating Association
(NCCA)
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Perfect Coil, Perfect Colour... Perfect Industries
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