HIGH QUALITY PAINTING LINE FOR AUTOMOTIVE PARTS IN INDIA

The plastic painting line that we have supplied for Polyplastics is used to paint the front grills and other moulded plastic parts that Polyplastics manufacture for the brands Suzuki, Renault and Toyota among others.

As Tier 1 supplier for the Indian automotive industry, Polyplastics have high demands for a painting line. Thus we are pleased that they are very satisfied with their new line. A line that was designed by us and commissioned in 2022.

– Moldow’s approach remained highly transparent and cooperative which resulted in to an excellent design, cost optimization and meeting the project timeline, Vice President at Polyplastics, Sanjeev Singla, says.

– It has been very exiting yet challenging designing and supplying this painting line. We have ended up with a very good result and a satisfied customer thanks to good project management, know-how and cooperation, says Managing Director of Moldow, K. Preben Hansen.

High Quality Painting of Plastic Parts Requires Know-How

With more than 50 years of experience with designing painting lines, we know that painting of plastic parts in the required high quality is complex. It requires a painting line design that is just right.

– To achieve the flawless high-gloss painting that is expected within this industry, the right processes and precise control of air, temperature and humidity is crucial, explains Project Manager from Moldow, Peter Skjøth, and continues:

– Polyplastics was confident that we could design and deliver the right solution for them. This was based on an initial satisfying system design with integration of energy optimizations and advanced technology combined with our good references for similar projects to the automotive industry.

And Polyplastics have been very satisfied with the cooperation:

– Our experience so far with Moldow has remained “WOW” experience, and we would like to engage Moldow for future ventures, Vice President, Mr. Singla, says.

The Crucial Painting Line Design

A Power&Free floor conveyor transports the plastic items through the line, which is 2.000 m² in total divided between upper and lower level.

The pretreatment of the items is very crucial to achieve a high-quality outcome. In this painting line, the first process is a manual cleaning and inspection of the items. After that follows a flaming process with robot, and as the last pretreatment process, the items are blown with deionized air.

The wet paint application – primer, base coat and top coat – is carried out in three large spray booths by robots with manual follow-up. The spray booths are Moldow’s special VSA Heavy Duty wet spray booths.

– Our wet spray booths are a crucial element in our painting lines. The special technology ensures very efficient separation of overspray of more than 99%. The special thing about the HD-version is the access to daily maintenance from the back of the booth, Peter Skjøth explains.

The line is built as per European norms and standards even though it is placed in India. For example, a negative pressure is created by use of Ex fans in the spray booths, which is not common in India. This way, the employees is protected against the harmful substances by keeping them inside the booth.

After each spray booth a flash-off zone follows where the solvents from the paint is removed. The ventilation and air control in this part of the process is very important due to the wet paint.

– The ventilation and control of airstreams, temperatures and humidity are always of crucial importance to the final painting result. Due to the Indian climate, this has played a big role in the design of the line, Peter Skjøth explains.

After flash-off, the items arrive at the drying oven, after which the items are cooled down before being ready for inspection and unloading.

Energy Optimizations – a Matter of Course?

Energy optimizations and reduction of CO2 emissions is a hot and important topic at the moment. However, this has been the case for Moldow for many years, who always integrates it into the plant design naturally.

– As an example, we always include recirculation in our designs, whenever possible, to reuse as much energy as possible. This is natural for us and has been so for many years, but the custuomer doesn’t always think about it or prioritizes it, K. Preben Hansen explains and continues:

– Mr. Singla and Polyplastics knew the importance of energy optimizations for a higher initial investment but lower operating costs and savings in the long term.

Besides recirculation, an energy optimized line at Polyplastics’ facility is ensured by using the highly efficient spray booths and frequency-controling the fans, pumps and conveyor.