Need to Pump Paint and Lacquers
When Schefenacker Vision Systems UK Ltd, a major producer of car door mirrors, were looking to improve their Paint Kitchen they trialed a "One Nut" Air-Operated Double-Diaphragm Pump from Flotronic Pumps.
It was so successful they standardised on FPL Diaphragm Pumps for all their paint kitchen applications.
Schefenacker had been using the traditional old style AODP for many years, but were looking to upgrade their paint kitchen. They trialed several diaphragm pumps from different manufacturers, but the fast maintenance "One Nut" Flotronic design proved to be a winner.
The ½" Slimline Series Stainless Steel pump transfers the paint, primers, base coats and lacquers from the paint kitchen to the robotic paint applicator in the spray booth, where the paint is applied to the mirror casings.
The paint is sucked 1 metre from drums and then pumped through ½" pipe with a lift of 2 metres and a run of 5 metres. The viscosity of the paints can vary from 100 – 2,000 cps. and the system is geared up for either solvent or water based paints.
Schefenacker produce door mirrors for all of the major car manufactures and there can be as many as 200 different paint colours needed. Around 40,000 mirrors are produced each week. The speed of changing from one colour to another is critical and occurs frequently, so the pump and system needs to be flushed out with solvents or equivalent water based cleaner several times a day.
"We have been very pleased with the reliability of the FPL diaphragm pumps" comments the Paint Shop Maintenance Engineer. "The increased flow was a bonus, which helps with improving our productivity. And they could not be easier to maintain!".
PROCESS DETAILS:
- Paints
- 1 M lift
- Viscosity – up to 2,000cp
- Temperature ambient
- Discharge 5 metre head
PUMP DETAILS:
- Slimline 316 Stainless Steel
- ½" BSP
- PTFE elastomers
