FandMmag.com |

As 2008 unfolds, it's becoming apparent it will be remembered as the year that spawned a landslide of green corporate initiatives. For OEMs that are serious about protecting the environment, a conversion to coated metal coil can be a major step to a more environmentally-friendly manufacturing operation. Nearly 90 years ago, engineers discovered the benefits of unrolling a coil of aluminum or steel, applying a primer and/or a finish coat and then re-coiling it before shipping it to a processor.

Since those early days of prepainted metal, a myriad of industries have grown alongside the coated coil industry, finding that it makes more sense to form products from prepainted metal than to form products bare and paint them afterwards.  And for companies serious about protecting the environment, coil coated metal could be just the ticket for jump-starting a green initiative. This growth means prepainted steel and aluminum metal processors are seeing a steady increase in the number of coated coils arriving on their docks.

WHO'S USING COATED COIL?

Over 4.5 million tons of coil-coated steel and aluminum are produced and delivered to processors in North America each year. Industry leaders such as GE, Whirlpool, Trane, Mercedes Benz, Nordyne, and Steelcase depend on prepainted metal to meet their manufacturing and quality needs. Thousands of products, including stoves and refrigerators, agricultural equipment, heating and cooling units, metal roofs, and beverage cans are produced more efficiently with prepainted metal. Throughout the manufacturing processes, prepainted products retain their flawless appearance and durability, a feat often impossible with post-painted metal.

WHY CHANGE TO PREPAINT?

Prepainting metal provides consistent color, texture, thickness and performance, proven by numerous quality control tests during and after the coil coating process. Coil coating lines unroll each coil, clean it and treat it, precisely apply a primer and/or finish coatings using a continuous rolling process. This extremely efficient process applies high quality finishes to coil up to 72 in wide at speeds of up to 700 fpm. And the beauty of coated coil is not just one-sided: the consistent, high-quality finish is usually applied to both sides of the substrate to meet nearly every finished product specification.

Coated coil can be final slit to a customer's requirements so it can be stamped, drawn or roll formed into thousands of products, from mini-blinds to door jams. Slitting the material to the OEM's exact width requirements also means waste goes down and yield goes up.

By using prepainted metal, companies enjoy other benefits in addition to manufacturing and quality improvements. Prepaint offers advantages of reducing on-site environmental issues, saving money by-eliminating staffing and operation of in-house painting, and decreasing costs and hassles associated with adhering to environmental regulations. Prepainted metal has weathered many storms, and has outperformed post-painted metal in field tests.

Here are the most common inquiries fielded by the National Coal Coating Association (NCCA) around processing coated coil:

Does prepainted metal with cut-edge hold up? Some manufacturers are concerned with exposed cut-edge on prepainted metal, but research has shown that prepainted cut-edge actually holds up better over time than post-painted surfaces.

What equipment changes are necessary? Some changes may be required in order to get the most out of converting a post painted application to prepaint technology. The most common changes are die clearances, depending on the product being made. In some cases, tooling may be need to be adjusted to allow for the additional film that exists with paint on both sides of the product. When making a conversion to prepainted metal, it is always good practice to evaluate potential manufacturing changes to streamline the process.  In many cases, manufacturing complexity can be reduced by eliminating steps resulting in moving a product through the manufacturing cycle faster subsequently increasing throughput and reducing costs.

Do I have to change my current tooling? In most cases, you don't have to change tooling, but you may have to make a few adjustments. Dies should be polished and die clearances adjusted to fit prepainted metal. Prepaint serves as a lubricant, and when you use prepaint, you actually get extended tool life. It is recommended that tooling be devoted to prepainted material, or cleaned thoroughly between runs, vs. moving back and forth between bare material and painted material. If the customer processes bare metal, the raw material has not been cleaned and carries roll oils and metal fines that can contaminate the prepainted metal.