Giering Rebuilds Largest E-Coat Line From Pretreatment Through Cure
Giering Metal Finishing has completed a major rebuild of its EC-1 electrocoat line at its Hamden, Connecticut, facility, expanding what began as a post-rinse replacement into a broader modernization of the company’s largest e-coat line.
The EC-1 uses a continuous conveyor to move parts through cleaning, pretreatment, electrocoat immersion, post-rinse and oven cure in a single automated pass. Giering said the rebuild was driven in part by the requirements of a customer’s heat-exchanger application.
One of the primary changes was replacing older cold-rolled steel tanks and structures with stainless steel. Giering said the change reduces a potential source of debris and contamination that could reach parts during processing and lead to coating defects or rework.
The seven-stage pretreatment washer includes two cleaner stages and five rinse stages. Spray nozzles apply cleaning and rinsing solutions from the top, sides and bottom of parts, and filtration was added to the spray nozzles to help maintain consistent coverage and reduce particulate contamination.
Giering also replaced on/off heating equipment with high-efficiency boilers that modulate heat more evenly. The company said tighter temperature control helps maintain the chemistry of cleaning and treatment baths while reducing process energy consumption.
According to Giering, customers comparing output from the rebuilt line with the previous system have reported better coverage and smoother finishes. The company did not disclose the project cost, commissioning date or added production capacity.
For more on technologies and processes used to protect and finish manufactured components, see PCI’s Industrial Coatings coverage.
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