Gravimetric dispensing system makes production more flexible and reduces costs

Citation

(1998), "Gravimetric dispensing system makes production more flexible and reduces costs", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 27 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.1998.12927ead.001

Gravimetric dispensing system makes production more flexible and reduces costs

Gravimetric dispensing system makes production more flexible and reduces costs

Keywords Coatings, Rexson

Trespa International of Holland, which specialises in high quality panel material for façade cladding and interior uses, has reportedly reduced the amount of time it takes to get new coatings made from two weeks to one day, with the help of a new Rexson Colorweigh gravimetric dispensing system.

A new production facility has been installed by Trespa to handle electron-beam cured coatings for the manufacture of high pressure laminates, used for applications such as exterior cladding and laboratory bench-tops. The new facility was designed to increase the flexibility with which coatings could be produced and to reduce the cost of coating production.

A Rexson Colorweigh system has been installed to help achieve the required savings in both time and money. According to Rexson the gravimetric dispensing system has given Trespa the flexibility to produce whatever size batch they need, from 1-1,500kg, with as short a lead time as several hours. The new dispensing system also produces coatings to a high level of repeatability (E = 0.3), ensuring quality and consistency is maintained.

When outside suppliers were used, Trespa could have to wait up to two weeks or more for them to deliver, with a limited range of batch sizes.

Costs have been reduced because it is cheaper to produce coatings in-house, and less storage of finished coatings is required. Over-ordering is also reduced as only the exact amount of coating required is produced. In addition, the dispense software allowsreuse of materials which have already been dispensed, reducing wastage. As the base materials are very expensive, this further reduces costs.

The system installed at Trespa is a Rexson Colorweigh 48 gravimetric dispenser with 18 dispense valves and two weighscales (32kg and 1,500kg). The 32kg scale is used for more accurate and/or smaller dispenses, and the 1,500kg scale for larger dispenses. In total, Trespa produces approximately 450 tonnes of finished coatings a year.

The Rexson system is built up of modules, so that in the future, Trespa will be able to expand the existing system to suit new production lines. The Rexson Colorweigh equipment was adapted to enable it to pump the highly viscous coatings which Trespa use, and was also made suitable for use in a Zone 1 area.

An important consideration when Trespa chose the Rexson equipment was Rexson's flexible approach to their requirements, and the way in which the system is built-up from modules which can be added to as production requirements change and grow.

Trespa had allowed a six month changeover period to transfer production from external sourcing to internal production. However, this we understand proved unnecessary, as the Rexson equipment required far less set-up time than had been allowed, and once set-up, operated smoothly. Rexson also helped by carrying work out at weekends and during holidays to minimise disruption. This all resulted in a much shorter transfer time.

"We are very pleased with how quickly the Rexson Colorweigh system came on-stream and with the amount of support and back-up they gave us," commented Joris Vrancken, Trespa's production manager. "In fact, we've even recommended them to another company because we were so pleased," he added.

Rexson Systems has wide experience in the ink, paint and coating industries, and supplies a range of dispensing systems for different sizes of manufacturers and different types of materials. Engineering and service support is provided worldwide, to design and install new dispensers as well as to develop and maintain existing systems.

For further details contact Rexson Systems Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)1536 312000; Fax: +44 (0)1536 312231.