Higher quality, lower costs: To ensure that the paint is optimally atomized onto the surfaces, the Identica Lehner GmbH the airmatic system from ensutec. The concept relies on air conditioning, filtering and ionizing the compressed air. The following report appeared in issue 19/2020 of the trade magazine car companyWe document it verbatim with the kind permission of the editors:
If a customer gets his vehicle back with the perfect color and a high-quality surface finish after an accident repair, the paint and varnish company has done everything right. If the process in the workshop is also efficient, there is also a pleasing economic added value.
Günther Lehner, owner of the K&L specialist company Identica Lehner GmbH in Weißenhorn, therefore relies on supporting technical equipment, such as the airmatic system from ensutec. The system, owned by Swabian entrepreneur Thomas Mayer, prepares the compressed air for applying the paint. The goal: more even and higher-quality paint surfaces and less spray mist.
Lehner can confirm from many years of experience that the airmatic concept has proven itself in practice. After all, he has been using it in his companies for almost ten years. The company owner appreciates the good surface quality and savings in paint material and cabin filters that the system enables. According to Lehner, for example, the ionization of the atomizing compressed air noticeably reduces dust inclusions in the paint. The latest generation of the so-called EMP unit also ensures better atomization of the paint and thus less overspray. According to the entrepreneur, paint consumption has fallen by around 15 percent as a result. Less spray mist in the cabin also reduces the load on the filter units. "We only have to change the floor filters every six to eight weeks. Before, they had to be changed every 14 days," reports Lehner.
"We only have to change the soil filters every six to eight weeks. Before, they had to be changed every two weeks."
Günther Lehner, owner of Identica Lehner GmbH
To achieve the combination of improved surface quality and savings, ensutec managing director Thomas Mayer relies on a multi-stage and modular airmatic concept. On the one hand, the system ensures that the temperature of the compressed air is kept at a constant level. To ensure that the air comes out of the gun free of contaminants, it is also passed through an integrated filter unit.
Finally, the system includes the so-called EMP unit. Here, high voltage is used to generate an electric field through which the air is passed. As Mayer explains, this means that the droplet sizes of the paint are distributed more evenly and the paint jet is more homogeneous. At the same time, the jet width and application efficiency are increased, explains the managing director.
According to Mayer, the static discharge of the compressed air has another effect. "The paint becomes smoother," reports the managing director. He puts this down to the significantly lower recharge of the surfaces by the paint jet. Measurements have shown that, for example, plastic surfaces can briefly experience up to 5,000 kilovolts from a regular paint jet. The electrical treatment of the painting air using EMP technology significantly reduces this value and the paint can relax better.
According to Mayer, companies could save 10 to 20 percent of paint material and achieve a 20 to 30 percent higher application efficiency with the atomization system. This would reduce the spray mist by around 20 percent, the expert adds.
Proven effects
Mayer has now been able to prove through scientific studies that the effects described are based on solid foundations. In 2017, for example, ensutec investigated EMP technology as part of a funding project approved by the German Federal Foundation for the Environment (DBU) and further developed the system technically. Measurements on the system optimized as part of the project have shown, for example, a paint saving of 15 percent.
In addition, studies have confirmed that the droplet sizes in the paint jet became more uniform and around 15 percent more paint reached the surfaces. As the managing director emphasizes, these effects were solely due to the ionization of the painting air by the EMP unit.
However, Mayer emphasizes that the term ionization is not entirely accurate. Rather, conventional ionization is an effect that normally lasts over a distance of up to 80 centimeters. After that, the ions recombine and the effect is lost. With the EMP concept, however, this "ionizing" effect extends up to 15 meters.
Further studies have also shown that the concept is harmless to health. Measurements have shown that the EMP technology does not produce any substances that are hazardous to health and that the painter can also use this air as breathing air for protective hoods.
create conditions
Günther Lehner also advises business owners to check the operational infrastructure before purchasing an atomization system. For example, the air output of a paint booth must be sufficient for extraction. If there are any uncertainties, cooperation partners can help to check the technical requirements.
If a company is interested in a system from the Swabian manufacturer, it can lease or buy it. Prices for the modular system start at around 12,000 euros. If a customer wants to test it in advance, this is also possible. However, there is a fee of around 400 euros for this, explains Mayer.
According to the entrepreneur, how long it takes for the purchase to pay for itself depends on the volume of orders a company has. The system can pay for itself within one to three years. To determine the individual time period for a company, Mayer's team offers a calculation tool.
When a company purchases a compressed air system, ensutec application engineers usually stay on site for around two days. However, as the managing director emphasizes, his employees deliberately stay in the background. This is to ensure that a company gains its own experience with the system and that the airmatic system is introduced in the best possible way to meet the company's individual needs. If there are any questions or problems afterwards, the ensutec experts are always ready to help, says the managing director.
In principle, the changeover is not a big challenge for the painters and they can work as they are used to without having to make major adjustments, explains Mayer. They just have to be careful at the beginning not to apply too much paint. "For example, if you apply the base coat exactly as before, nothing is gained. Only the layer thickness is thicker," explains the entrepreneur. Günther Lehner also confirms that the system is quick and easy to use. "You actually notice how the results improve the very next day," says the business owner. HOLGER SCHWEITZER