The motivation for running a business is to make a reasonable return on our investment.  We do a certain amount of labor and expect to make a profit by charging for our output.  The goal is to be able to deliver enough quality output involved.  There are many ways to describe how you do this, and there are many formal practices that can be used to get the most of a day’s work.  Cost control is central to that process.  A series of questions comes to mind that identify some of the key areas that affect success in a coating shop.

Q.  How much profit do you make on rework?
A.  Mistakes do happen and perfection is rare.  It would be unrealistic to expect 100% trouble-free output every minute of every day.  We should still strive for perfection but accept excellence.  Achieving excellence means focusing on doing something once and doing it right.  It requires a concentrated effort and designing a process that will control output quality and deliver reliability.  Rework is limited when good controls are used.  Racking configuration and rack maintenance, washer and maintenance, plant cleanliness, application control, and other variables have to be understood and managed so that mistakes are limited.

Q.  Do you compare the value of different powder materials? 
A.  One factor that affects rework is the particular powder that is used.  Not all whites are born equal.  Test and evaluate different products to find the one that fluidizes the best, covers the surface the best, penetrates faraday areas the best, and uses less material to cover the part.  The best powder coating is the one that provides the lowest overall cost per square foot while meeting all quality standards.

Q.  How much powder material do you throw away?
A.  Powder overspray can be reclaimed and used to maximize material utilization.  But very short runs or a need for faster color change may make it more practical to spray to waste.  That drives a need for high first-pass transfer efficiency (TE) to limit the volume of over-spray that will go to waste.  High first-pass TE requires focus on number of guns, time to coat, technique and setup.  It also requires control over the spray environment and the atmosphere around the booth.  Process control provides savings.

Q.  Do you always have good earth ground?
A.  All good powder coaters know that good ground is important to successful and profitable coating.  They correctly assume that TE is improved by good ground.  The real problem with poor ground is defects.  Light coats, orange peel, heavy coating, hooks scars and similar defects are often a direct result of poor ground.  Ground should be measured routinely.  It is one variable that a coater has absolute control over.  Design good tooling, keep the line clean and the hooks clean and you will have good ground.

Rodger Talbert is technical director of The Powder Coating Institute.  He can be reached at 616-356-6190 or via email at rtalbert@powdercoating.org.