September 17, 2020 Benefit of Powder Coating to Manufacturing Industries

Powder coating has become more widely used to coat and paint materials, and it has several key benefits to the manufacturing industry.

Over the years, as manufacturing processes have developed and improved, companies operating in the manufacturing industry have seen several benefits as a result. These benefits not only affect the company producing parts but the clients they serve and how those parts can be used. It is important to understand the benefits as it could change the way a company operates.

Powder coating is a process which provides a range of benefits to manufacturing companies and their customers. In this article, we are going to look at these benefits and also provide some more information on powder coating.

Powder coating can be used for individual projects of various sizes, from car wheel rims all the way up to large industrial support structure.

The process

Powder coating was developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s and has since become a highly respected and effective way of applying a coating to a piece of metal. The most important thing to keep in mind is that powder coating works on metal parts. This is because the process relies on creating a difference in magnetic charge between the metal part and the powder being applied.

The target metal is earthed, and the powder particles being applied receive a negative charge. This is achieved by applying the powder with an electrostatic gun powered by compressed air. There are several benefits to this which we cover later.

By creating a difference in charge between the powder and the target piece of metal, the powder is not only sprayed onto the metal because of the compressed air but also attracted due to the difference in charge. Once the whole target has been covered with the powder, it is baked in a curing oven. This critical stage of the process strengthens the bonds between the powder molecules and between the powder and the metal.

The benefits

Depending on the individual manufacturing company, some of the benefits of powder coating will be more relevant than others. The main benefit of powder coating is the strength of the coating which is produced. This is due to a combination of the application process and the part being baked in the oven after it is coated. The strength of the coating produced from powder coating allows manufacturing companies to deliver products to their clients with a highly durable finish. While Norsok coating is effective in the offshore industry, powder coating can also hold up well in harsh environmental conditions and protect the metal underneath.

Some manufacturing industries are more focused on consumer products for everyday use, but powder coating can benefit them as well. While the coating being strong is important, what can be more important to some companies is how the product looks. A company manufacturing bikes, for example, on a large commercial scale need the paint applied to their frames to be durable while also looking good. With powder coating, paint powder can be applied in any colour, and can also be applied in multiple layers to create patterns and designs. For the best results, applying the powder should be carried out in a sterile environment to avoid any contamination.

Their environmental impact is an area all manufacturing companies should be looking to make improvements in today’s society. If companies use traditional paint, in comparison to powder coating, the environmental impact is significantly higher. Powder coating is considered a non-toxic form of painting as little to no VOCs are released from the paint. VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) are commonly found in solvent-based paints and not only contribute to air pollution, but also can have serious impacts on human health, with some VOCs linked to cancer.

The other benefit of using powder coating services to paint a metal is that any excess can be reused. The paint powder does not stick to the target object, which is known as overspray, can be collected from the sterile environment and reused. The thing to keep in mind when collecting and reusing overspray is that it can’t be mixed with other colours, as this will impact the finish of a future project as different colours may have been included by accident. When collecting overspray, it needs to be from a project that was all one colour.

There are clearly several key benefits with powder coating, which can really help companies in the manufacturing industry produce better products for their clients and also improve their overall operation. The real benefit with powder coating is its flexibility with the number of industries and applications it can work with.

Gary Forster

Gary Forster is a director at Stovrite, a highly experienced company who provide a range of metal pre-treatment and coating services to a variety of industries and private projects.

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