Machine Tool Manufacturer Changes Coating System; Gets Labor Savings and Improved Finish
Cut your labor in half, improve your product, and exceed environmental regulations . . . all at the same time?
Sounds like a contradiction in terms. But that's exactly what a major machine tool manufacturer was able to achieve simply by switching to a different type of coating for its
Sounds like a contradiction in terms. But that's exactly what a major machine tool manufacturer was able to achieve simply by switching to a different type of coating for its
finished products.
Kingsbury Corp. is a multi-national operation that began over 100 years ago as a toy factory. Through early innovations in its own machining techniques, the company gravitated towards making machine tools for other companies and by 1941 had abandoned the toy business altogether. It is now a world-leading producer of special-purpose high production metalcutting, assembly equipment, turning and machining centers for automotive, aerospace, appliance and other manufacturers. Headquarters is a 320,000-sq.-ft. plant in Keene, NH, but there are additional facilities in Canada, the United Kingdom and China.
The machines and systems that Kingsbury makes vary in size and complexity. Some fit into a 10-sq.-ft. area. Others take up as much space as a football field. In every case, they are designed to provide many, many years of quality performance, typically under operating conditions that are less than friendly to the machine's protective coating.
In 1996, while researching coatings that would meet tougher environmental regulations, Kingsbury was introduced to a paint system that would do just that . . . and much more. "We had been using enamels (as final coatings on the machines)," recalls Dave Whipple, Kingsbury's technical team leader-casting finishing. But these enamels contained a level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that would soon be considered environmentally undesirable. On top of that, adds Whipple, over time the coolants used by their metal removal machines would take a toll on the enamel finishes. Customers might consider this an "occupational hazard", but in Kingsbury's philosophy, a longer lasting coating would be a value-added indication of an on-going commitment to customer satisfaction.
Enter Joe MacPhee of Boyd Coatings & Paints Co. in nearby Hudson, MA, an authorized DuPont Industrial Coatings distributor and Kingsbury paint supplier for the prior ten years.
"We met with Dave and he told us what he was looking for," says MacPhee. "It boiled down to a coating system that would be free of lead and meet regulations on VOCs, but would also hold up better to the aggressive machining coolants that are used in these machine tools.
"At the time, DuPont had just come out with Corlar® 26P, a high solids epoxy with almost zero VOC content. Other paint manufacturers had also come out with low VOC products that would meet environmental standards, but we knew Corlar® 26P had performance attributes that the others could not match. So we recommended this system to Kingsbury."
Application Time Slashed
Those performance attributes were significant. Not only would Corlar® 26P be easy to apply ---- needing minimal prep work --- it would require no primer, cutting the application time in half! And on top of that, it would prove to stand up to the nasty coolants better than any finish Kingsbury has tried, before or since.
The specific system is called Corlar® 26P HB DTM. HB stands for "high build", and DTM for "direct-to-metal."
"It has good interior durability and can be used as a primer or topcoat," adds MacPhee. "As opposed to typical primers, 26P has a high gloss, and you can get it in any color you want. It's an easy-to-use, two-part epoxy that's a bit on the forgiving side in terms of preparation. It sticks well, even with just a cleaning of the surface. And in one coat you'll get your moisture barrier."
Going to this one-coat system cut in half both the amount of time Whipple's crew spends applying the paint as well as the amount of paint used. It also helps keep his department less cluttered. "We like to have only one paint in here, instead of all kinds of different activators, primers, thinners and stuff like that," Whipple says.
Extra Time Savings
Corlar® 26P saves time for Whipple in other ways. First, it has a fast dry time, and when force cured, as recommended, it can decrease dry time by as much as 33%. As Whipple notes: "We can force dry it overnight. We put it under the lights and it cures very quickly." That helps Kingsbury meet shipping deadlines, which are always important to customers, especially when they're waiting for such expensive purchases to arrive. And getting such large items out the door clears up valuable real estate in Kingsbury's plant.
The paint dries hard, too, with excellent abrasion resistance. This allows Whipple to use a time-saving approach that wouldn't work with less hardy coatings.
"We can now paint everything before we machine it," reports Whipple. "That way we don't have to mask it off. The 26P holds up very well all through the machining process. These parts come in all shapes and sizes, and can be clamped on for milling, drilling or grinding. Yet when they come back to the paint shop, there's very little touch-up to be done. Usually we just wipe them down; sometimes we repaint a scratch or two."
Given that the typical Kingsbury machining center or assembly system will spend its existence inside a factory and out of the public eye, one wouldn't think its color would be all that important. More often than not, though, matching a customer's specified color is critical.
"Each customer has their own color scheme within their plants," Whipple explains. "It all depends on where the machine is going. The customer may have color-coded shop areas."
And, of course, the buyer of such expensive machines may think it very reasonable to expect the exact color they want, for whatever reason.
That, according to Boyd Coatings & Paints' MacPhee, is no problem. "We use a spectrophotometer to match colors for Kingsbury. We can match 26P to Federal or RAL standards and get just about any color quickly. In fact, we can get them a particular color about as quickly as they can go out and get stock white." All MacPhee needs is a small sample, even as small as a quarter, for the spectrophotometer to read. "We aim for a color match with a delta E of one or less," MacPhee adds. "That means a person with normal color vision will not be able to tell the difference in color between the sample and the paint we mix."
Ninety-five percent of the painting done in Whipple's department is applied by spray. Typically, they use Accuspray HVLP guns with high volume and low pressure. This minimizes overspray, making application more efficient and environmentally friendly.
Whipple is completely satisfied with Corlar® 26P. "That's what Joe MacPhee fixed us up with and it's been working really well for us ever since!"
The Coolant Test
Not that Kingsbury is standing pat. Every year or so, a new paint candidate comes on the scene. It must pass muster with Whipple.
"We test all paints here," he notes. "First, they're checked for VOCs and HAPs. Then we make up test samples, one painted with 26P, the other with whatever new paint. We place both in a machine and have coolant run on them constantly for two or three weeks.
"We haven't found one yet that stands up to the DuPont paint!"
Kingsbury Corp. is a multi-national operation that began over 100 years ago as a toy factory. Through early innovations in its own machining techniques, the company gravitated towards making machine tools for other companies and by 1941 had abandoned the toy business altogether. It is now a world-leading producer of special-purpose high production metalcutting, assembly equipment, turning and machining centers for automotive, aerospace, appliance and other manufacturers. Headquarters is a 320,000-sq.-ft. plant in Keene, NH, but there are additional facilities in Canada, the United Kingdom and China.
The machines and systems that Kingsbury makes vary in size and complexity. Some fit into a 10-sq.-ft. area. Others take up as much space as a football field. In every case, they are designed to provide many, many years of quality performance, typically under operating conditions that are less than friendly to the machine's protective coating.
In 1996, while researching coatings that would meet tougher environmental regulations, Kingsbury was introduced to a paint system that would do just that . . . and much more. "We had been using enamels (as final coatings on the machines)," recalls Dave Whipple, Kingsbury's technical team leader-casting finishing. But these enamels contained a level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that would soon be considered environmentally undesirable. On top of that, adds Whipple, over time the coolants used by their metal removal machines would take a toll on the enamel finishes. Customers might consider this an "occupational hazard", but in Kingsbury's philosophy, a longer lasting coating would be a value-added indication of an on-going commitment to customer satisfaction.
Enter Joe MacPhee of Boyd Coatings & Paints Co. in nearby Hudson, MA, an authorized DuPont Industrial Coatings distributor and Kingsbury paint supplier for the prior ten years.
"We met with Dave and he told us what he was looking for," says MacPhee. "It boiled down to a coating system that would be free of lead and meet regulations on VOCs, but would also hold up better to the aggressive machining coolants that are used in these machine tools.
"At the time, DuPont had just come out with Corlar® 26P, a high solids epoxy with almost zero VOC content. Other paint manufacturers had also come out with low VOC products that would meet environmental standards, but we knew Corlar® 26P had performance attributes that the others could not match. So we recommended this system to Kingsbury."
Application Time Slashed
Those performance attributes were significant. Not only would Corlar® 26P be easy to apply ---- needing minimal prep work --- it would require no primer, cutting the application time in half! And on top of that, it would prove to stand up to the nasty coolants better than any finish Kingsbury has tried, before or since.
The specific system is called Corlar® 26P HB DTM. HB stands for "high build", and DTM for "direct-to-metal."
"It has good interior durability and can be used as a primer or topcoat," adds MacPhee. "As opposed to typical primers, 26P has a high gloss, and you can get it in any color you want. It's an easy-to-use, two-part epoxy that's a bit on the forgiving side in terms of preparation. It sticks well, even with just a cleaning of the surface. And in one coat you'll get your moisture barrier."
Going to this one-coat system cut in half both the amount of time Whipple's crew spends applying the paint as well as the amount of paint used. It also helps keep his department less cluttered. "We like to have only one paint in here, instead of all kinds of different activators, primers, thinners and stuff like that," Whipple says.
Extra Time Savings
Corlar® 26P saves time for Whipple in other ways. First, it has a fast dry time, and when force cured, as recommended, it can decrease dry time by as much as 33%. As Whipple notes: "We can force dry it overnight. We put it under the lights and it cures very quickly." That helps Kingsbury meet shipping deadlines, which are always important to customers, especially when they're waiting for such expensive purchases to arrive. And getting such large items out the door clears up valuable real estate in Kingsbury's plant.
The paint dries hard, too, with excellent abrasion resistance. This allows Whipple to use a time-saving approach that wouldn't work with less hardy coatings.
"We can now paint everything before we machine it," reports Whipple. "That way we don't have to mask it off. The 26P holds up very well all through the machining process. These parts come in all shapes and sizes, and can be clamped on for milling, drilling or grinding. Yet when they come back to the paint shop, there's very little touch-up to be done. Usually we just wipe them down; sometimes we repaint a scratch or two."
Given that the typical Kingsbury machining center or assembly system will spend its existence inside a factory and out of the public eye, one wouldn't think its color would be all that important. More often than not, though, matching a customer's specified color is critical.
"Each customer has their own color scheme within their plants," Whipple explains. "It all depends on where the machine is going. The customer may have color-coded shop areas."
And, of course, the buyer of such expensive machines may think it very reasonable to expect the exact color they want, for whatever reason.
That, according to Boyd Coatings & Paints' MacPhee, is no problem. "We use a spectrophotometer to match colors for Kingsbury. We can match 26P to Federal or RAL standards and get just about any color quickly. In fact, we can get them a particular color about as quickly as they can go out and get stock white." All MacPhee needs is a small sample, even as small as a quarter, for the spectrophotometer to read. "We aim for a color match with a delta E of one or less," MacPhee adds. "That means a person with normal color vision will not be able to tell the difference in color between the sample and the paint we mix."
Ninety-five percent of the painting done in Whipple's department is applied by spray. Typically, they use Accuspray HVLP guns with high volume and low pressure. This minimizes overspray, making application more efficient and environmentally friendly.
Whipple is completely satisfied with Corlar® 26P. "That's what Joe MacPhee fixed us up with and it's been working really well for us ever since!"
The Coolant Test
Not that Kingsbury is standing pat. Every year or so, a new paint candidate comes on the scene. It must pass muster with Whipple.
"We test all paints here," he notes. "First, they're checked for VOCs and HAPs. Then we make up test samples, one painted with 26P, the other with whatever new paint. We place both in a machine and have coolant run on them constantly for two or three weeks.
"We haven't found one yet that stands up to the DuPont paint!"