5 POWDER COATING

TECHNOLOGIES
To Save Time
and Increase Profit

Time spent cleaning up excess powder from your powder coating booth can be drastically reduced and your
company’s bottom line can receive a boost when you outfit your new or existing booth with the latest technology.
Powder coating is a messy process, even for the neatest industrial manufacturer or business. Because of the
manpower required to clean it up and the high volume of wasted powder, profit margins are sometimes smaller than
they could be.
Whether you are a small- or high-production operation, these five technological upgrades have the potential to
elevate your shop’s powder coating production.

1. FLUIDIZED POWDER BEDS

Due to the shape and contour of parts being powder You can reclaim wasted powder by incorporating options
coated, a 100 percent transfer efficiency is impossible such as fluidized beds into your powder booth, saving
to attain. In fact, a 70 percent transfer efficiency is your business a lot of money and reducing time spent
average for most businesses that powdercoat flat panels, removing wasted powder. This is especially impactful in
and businesses with complex parts may have transfer high-production powder coating facilities or when shops
efficiencies as low as 30 percent. This equates to a lot of use zinc-rich primer, which is very expensive and
powder waste. For high-production shops, hundreds — or extremely heavy.
even thousands — of pounds of powder could be wasted
Fluidized beds are an option on Global Finishing
each week.
Solutions® (GFS) Powder Collection Modules, which are
incorporated into the powder booth. GFS fluidized beds
consist of a porous, microscopic white membrane, similar
to a plate, that is typically ¼-inch thick, depending on the
type of powder. It sits beneath the filters, angled inward
at the bottom of the booth. Air is evenly dispersed as
it passes through the membrane, and the microscopic
pores prevent powder from passing through.

70% transfer efficiency is average for most

businesses that powdercoat flat panels.
Businesses with complex parts may have
transfer efficiencies as low as 30%.

1 Powder Coating | globalfinishing.com

2. POWDER DRAWERS and the booth remains between 100 and 125 FPM.
With consistent airflow in the booth, powder is not
accumulating, which promotes better visibility. Consistent
airflow also helps prevent migrant powder, which can
cause cross contamination when powder coating with
multiple colors, and can collect on tools and equipment
outside of the booth.

Another advantage of pulse control technology is

minimized filter changes. GFS recommends changing
filters in powder coating booths every 12 months.
However, in dry climates with low humidity, the powder
does not clump into the fibers of the filter media,
enabling filter life to be extended.

Similar to fluidized beds, drawers collect wasted powder

so that it can be discarded or reused. Removable drawers Pulse control technology keeps filters from
are located beneath the filters. When the filters pulse, the excessively loading, so that the air velocity is
powder from the filters drops into the drawers. consistent and the booth remains between
100 and 125 FPM. With consistent airflow in
Instead of shoveling excess powder off the floor, the the booth, powder is not accumulating, which
drawers can simply be removed from the powder promotes better visibility.
module, similar to pulling a sock drawer out of a dresser,
and then the powder can be dumped into a drum and
transported for waste or reclaim. The entire process takes
only about 15 minutes.
4. TRANSFER PUMPS
Excess powder buildup is particularly problematic for
3. PULSE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY shops performing frequent color changes, and may
prevent powder from being reused. Shoveling the
Another technology feature that can improve efficiency powder out of the booth between color changes can take
in your powder coating operation is pulse control. one to three hours, depending on the size of the booth
Incorporated into GFS Powder Collection Modules, pulse and the amount of powder sprayed. That is a significant
control technology provides more consistent airflow amount of downtime for production — or extra labor if
and better visibility in the booth. As the filters load with removing the powder after hours.
powder, a magnehelic
gauge on the side of Consider adding a transfer pump — supplied by GFS
GFS powder coating distributors — to your powder coating operation. With
booths monitors the a transfer pump, the excess powder from the fluidized
booth’s pressure drop. bed is dumped into a 55-gallon drum or other waste
Once a preset pressure container. This allows the booth to remain in operation
drop is reached, the and eliminates the need for someone to shovel out the
filters pulse, allowing excess powder. It also allows powder to be reused.
powder to fall into For operations in which powder is reclaimed, a transfer
the fluidized beds or pump can be run through a sieve, filtering the powder to
drawers or onto the remove foreign objects, debris and heavy sediments. The
floor of the booth. powder is then transfered to a hopper, where 30 percent
Pulse control reclaimed powder is mixed with 70 percent virgin
technology keeps powder. Some powder is eventually discarded once it
filters from excessively becomes too fine.
loading, so that the air
velocity is consistent

2 Powder Coating | globalfinishing.com

5. MANUAL VFDs
At 125 FPM, with the settings on a powder gun adjusted “The powder that doesn’t go on the part forms a giant
to try to prevent film thickness build, the airflow can be cloud. The powder clings to everything and ends up
counterproductive. Powder covering the operator,” said Michael Cook, a powder
can be pulled right out coating industry expert for GFS.
of the gun, without even
Controlling airflow in your powder booth — and thus
hitting the part. And wasted
reducing wasted powder and protecting your employees
powder cuts into your profit
— is much easier with manual VFDs. This is especially
margin. To avoid this, some
useful when powder coating small parts, such as those
businesses turn off the fan in
used in the aerospace and medical industries, or when
the booth and powder coat
the thickness of the powder is critical. Resembling a
with no airflow. Not only is
volume knob, a manual VFD on the control panel allows
this hazardous to the powder
you to easily adjust the airflow in the booth.
coater, but clinging powder
can result in a big mess.

Adding the latest technology to your powder coating booth saves both time and money, streamlines production and
makes your operation more efficient. To speak with someone about integrating one of these technologies into your
business, contact a powder coating expert at GFS.

[email protected]
globalfinishing.com | 800-848-8738
3 Powder Coating | globalfinishing.com