External coupling painting: Movingfluid innovation

In this article:

• • • • The starting point: the 2010 plant for ArcelorMittal
      • Squaring the circle: assured productivity in half the space
      • The key word: flexibility

External coupling painting: when innovation starts with fluid handling    

Innovation in industry is often the result of mechanical additions to existing production processes: a more efficient conveyor belt, a better performing booth, and so on. All legitimate and in most cases useful interventions, but offering limited solutions: in other words, most of the time one thinks about improving individual processing without taking everything else into account. Therein lies the huge difference between Movingfluid and the others. Not only do we never lose sight of the big picture, but we always start with what we know best: handling fluids.

When it comes to painting and coating, every reasoning of our technical engineers starts with the liquids, which determine both the final yield on the product and the needs and performance of the entire line. The experience gained in fluid handling allows us to offer improved solutions for any need, as was recently the case with an supports external painting system for couplings. 

The starting point: the 2010 plant for ArcelorMittal

It is 2010 and Movingfluid builds an industrial outdoor coupling coating plant for steel giant ArcelorMittal. The solution, for the times, is quite advanced and supports a production of 470 thousand pieces per year. The process starts with the manual loading of the couplings onto a conveyor belt, which takes the various batches to the following stations:  

1. spray painting with air-assisted spray guns;  
2. drying in a gas furnace; 
3. painting the rings in different colours depending on the function of the coupling; 
4. internal oiling to protect the paint during transport;  
5. ink jet marking of the coupling with identification code. 

At the end of the line, an operator unloads and prepares the parts for packaging and shipping. This system, which is still in use today, meets the demands and operational requirements of the company and is distinguished by certain merits. However, when it came to replicating it for another client, we made some improvements… but let us proceed in order. 

Distinctive elements (and room for improvement)

In order to meet the company’s production volumes, the entire plant was designed and built to process a complete coupling (from line entry to unloading) in a very short time, every 40/45 seconds. In addition to this, the system is able to process parts of different sizes: a diameter ranging from 2.⅜” to 13”; a length ranging from 110 to 350 cm; a maximum weight of 60 kg.

Among the critical operational issues brilliantly overcome by our Challenge solvers, we must also mention the precision of the painting (managed in several colours) and the cleanliness of the entire process. In order for the coupling to retain its functional characteristics, the edge thickness must not be painted: not an easy task considering the shape of the object and the colour application technique used. In addition, in order to apply the recognition rings correctly, the spray guns must be able to change colour and automatically start an internal cleaning cycle to avoid contaminating the colours or clogging the nozzles.

The line created and installed for ArcelorMittal remains extremely valid and efficient, even though it occupies a considerable area of the plant. Here too, all possible measures were taken to reduce the footprint, for example through the arrangement of the serpentine rollers. But today, with the technologies available and the innovations brought forward through years of challenges, our proposal would be different, even more compact and performing.      

Squaring the circle: assured productivity in half the space

In recent weeks, our technicians have been working on a project similar in premise (the painting of the couplings) but made even more complicated by some specific requirements. In this case, in fact, the challenge is multiple: the current, entirely manual line needs to be replaced with a system capable of supporting tight production quantities but in limited spaces.

Specifically, we are talking about around 500,000 couplings per year at the rate of one coupling every 40 seconds, ranging from 2.⅜” to 9.⅝”. Added to this is the need to ensure not only optimal fluid displacement and flawless application, but also the possibility of using different coatings: one-component, two-component or UV. And, as we said at the beginning, it is precisely from the fluids that we start to find the best possible solution to all critical issues: this is what we designed.   

From the spray can to GIOTTO: the unique rotary station that combines all functions together in one

What do you do if the area allocated to the painting plant is too small to accommodate a traditional production line? Change the tradition: just as Giotto – famous for his perfect O – revolutionised the course of art history, so our GIOTTO solves space problems in a way that is as simple as it is innovative. Currently, the company performs painting by hand: marking, for example, is done by stencils applied by the operator who, equipped with a spray can, applies the colour. The time is ripe to move to an automated system, but there is not enough space for a linear arrangement of machinery. Ergo: they must not be arranged in a line!

GIOTTO concentrates all processing operations in a single rotary workstation so that each workpiece can be loaded and unloaded at the same place and in the same position, without taking up all the space of a classic industrial system. A solution already successfully adopted in other sectors (such as the automotive industry for painting brake discs), which allows various types of paint to be handled with single-component, two-component and UV guns and for reducing production times with the short-wave infrared radiation technology of the IR oven which makes the process even more precise and smooth. All this, with a minimum footprint. This is what we mean by ‘starting with the handling of liquids to solve the problem’: GIOTTO optimises paint transfer and application, ensuring the highest quality of finish and compatibility with space requirements.  

The key word: flexibility

The company’s production standards are ensured by accurate process programming and the ability to customise the rotating island to increase efficiency and speed. Should painting and curing need to be accelerated tomorrow, more guns can be added or the power or number of IR lamps can be increased: the system is flexible and lends itself to multiple customisations. Compared to ArcelorMittal, for example, some additional work is already planned in this project, so GIOTTO will have to be set up with different areas at the moment: 

1. automatic sleeve recognition via Data Matrix 
2. painting
3. drying
4. ring application 
5. oiling 
6. punching 
7. marking 

Finally, maintenance is also facilitated, since it is a single-point system that is easier to inspect and repair. The versatility and the opportunity to change the configuration of the table depending on the activity are the aces in the coupling of this system, which is new to the industry and highly efficient: a much-needed evolution.

If it is also time for your company to evolve, Movingfluid always has the solution you are looking for, even if it does not yet exist:

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