Door and window manufacturer Premdor has completed the installation of new coating equipment at its sites in Hedingham, Bridgwater and at Stockton-on-Tees-based sister company Bonlea Ltd.
Premdor, the UK division of door giant the Masonite group, says the technology supplied by Universal Finishing Systems has boosted efficiency in the coating process and reduced drying times.
All four systems in place are versions of Universal’s standard Minivac and Supavac vacuum application systems, specially adapted with a pressure maintenance device to maintain coating consistency, even on problematic comb joints.
Initially, two systems were installed at the volume production Hedingham site, to apply the base coat and base primer. General manager Peter Smith then recommended the equipment to his colleagues at the other sites.
Premdor said the previous deluge coating system at Hedingham did not have fine spray control, resulting in loss of coating, and had brush maintenance problems. Dipping systems at Bridgwater and Stockton-on-Tees were also heavy on coating use and were judged to pose health and safety risks.
Components enter and leave the coating machines via a template to maintain constant pressure during application. The pressure maintenance device prevents excess air entering the system when comb joints are being coated.
The system applies coatings to all four sides of components in a single pass at speeds of up to 40m/min.
Bridgwater and Stockton-on-Tees have one coating machine each, fitted with Teflon hyperslip surfaces for improving cleaning speed and to reduce downtime between applying the base coating and base primer.
