Wednesday 21 March 2018

Tag: , , , , , ,

Anofor, a global supplier for aluminium surfaces’ treatments


When you enter the Anofor coating plant, a company located in Forlì specialised in aluminium profiles surface treatment, you immediately notice the reduced size of the innovative vertical plant. Recently installed, it occupies an area of ​​144 m2 with a height of 12 m instead of the 1000 m2 occupied by the traditional plant. Also, the space required for the profiles loading and unloading is very small, because it is organized in parallel.

In the space left two surface decoration plants to achieve "wood effect" finishes or other effects.

have been installed - one operating with inks sublimation technology and the other with the "powder on powder" process.

COATING PROCESS

Although occupying a small space, the new plant allows all the operations necessary for the pre-treatment / application / polymerisation of powder coatings. 
In the lowered part is installed the powder coatings distribution centre, the PLC for the control of the productive phases, the recovery cyclone for the very little overspray and the equipment for the operations’ control.

The coating cycle consists of , after the vertical loading of the profiles which requires, only one operator to hook them, the same person that, with a colleague, can provide for the discharge - seven stages of degreasing and chemical pre-treatment using a " flow coating "- in cascade tunnel “technology, and it is carried out in a very compact structure, completely covered and isolated from the factory area.
The profiles next reach the drying oven. At the exit, the profiles go to the innovative coating booth: to avoid oscillations they are bound together with an adhesive tape a trick conceived by Anofor. The application of powder coatings has the following steps:
  • the spray guns are placed on the right and on the left of the profiles and inclined to the coating booth axis: in their handling , they create a powder coatings cloud that completely cover the profiles’ surface;
  • the reduced cloud of sprayed powder coatings wraps the profiles at lower pressure with lower impact speed on the surface, thus increasing the transfer efficiency;
  • the little overspray is easily removed by the continuous suction from the rear corner of the triangular booth. In fig. 15 it can be seen how, during powder coatings delivery, booth’s walls and floors remain perfectly clean;
  • Transfer efficiency and reduced overspray facilitate the colour change, which takes only 5 min.


POWDER COATINGS CONSUMPTION

A greater efficiency in powder coating transfer from the spray guns to profiles allows a significant reduction of the overspray that means a decrease in powder coatings’ consumption, which are then recovered in small quantities (very interesting for those who produce small batches or for the application of new colours in continuous). For this reason, powder coating film applied is better, thanks to always new powder coating.
The profiles exiting the powder coatings spray booth  goes towards the curing oven , which has a preheating phase, to prevent that while entering the air removes the powder coatings applied
.

CONCLUSION

It is not easy to find companies - such as Anofor - with a considerable managerial and technical baggage, able to grasp the challenge of great technological change and identifying the right balance between innovation and operational stability.
Anofor has invested in the surface treatment of aluminium profiles to position itself in the market as a leader of the sector and this explains its choices made also in the coating process.

This plant innovation has increased  the number of options available for each company to guarantee an effective response to market needs. Let's talk about an innovative powder coating finishing, but also a conceptual and organizational progress.







0 comments:

Post a Comment