TCI's office and warehouse in Georgia will be closed for the holidays on Thursday, December 24 through Friday, December 25 as well as Friday, January 1 for the holidays. The Canadian office and warehouse will be closing at noon on Thursday, December 24 through Friday, January 1.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Merry Christmas from TCI
TCI's office and warehouse in Georgia will be closed for the holidays on Thursday, December 24 through Friday, December 25 as well as Friday, January 1 for the holidays. The Canadian office and warehouse will be closing at noon on Thursday, December 24 through Friday, January 1.
Monday, December 21, 2015
Santa Claus at TCI
Each year, without fail, Santa Claus and his reindeer
travel the world to bring presents and joy to the people on his nice list. This
year Santa made an early appearance at TCI and surprised elementary school
children who stopped by to sing holiday songs to the TCI employees. Santa
(a.k.a. Dennis Hall in Customer Service) has dressed up as Santa
for many years and participates as Santa in the Americus Christmas Annual
Parade.
'Tis the season for believing! Thank you Dennis for your help in making this the most wonderful time of the year!
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Applying a Second Coat of Powder Coating
Sometimes, you have to apply one
coat of powder over another. You can
recoat with most powders, though you’ll probably face common problems of poor
electrostatic attraction and poor inter-coat adhesion.
Techniques
to help with the application of a second coat:
- Ensure a proper ground in your powder coating system
- Lower your gun voltage
- Preheat the part
- Clean parts thoroughly before recoating
- Slightly increase cloud density
- Increase gun to part distance
If you need to apply a second coat, it is important to make
sure part preparation is consistent. As
with any new coating job or procedure you do, always test the procedures
thoroughly to work out application techniques and find application problems
before you begin to produce the powder coated part.
Please contact us today to speak
with one of our professional service technicians. We can help you with
application questions or any of your powder coating needs.
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
The Spotlight's On...
Kenneth Bryant
Kenneth Bryant has been a dedicated and valued TCI
employee for almost 19 years. During Kenny’s years at TCI, he has contributed
to our success in a number of roles including: grinder operator, QC technician
mixer, forklift driver, lead man in grinder department, extruder operator on
the busses, lab extruder, and mighty mixer.
Kenny’s
drive for success is evident in his personal commitment to quality. Kenny says,
“TCI isn’t an assembly line. Each person has a machine to operate and is
responsible for their own success.” He always works to improve production and
promote job safety. His “whatever it takes attitude” to exceed the expectations
of our customers is another indication of his dedication to TCI.
Appreciative
of his accomplishments and career highlights, Kenny especially takes pride in a few key recognitions.
He received the Lead Man employee of the month award, as well as being the
first person to run the grinder at the new facility. He supervised on-the-job
training at South GA technical school, and is a proud member of the safety
committee.
Kenny
resides in Americus, GA with his wife Addie Bryant and daughter Andrea N. Owens
Jones. Outside of work, Kenny likes to spend time with his family and friends,
whether it’s grilling, baking cakes and pies, dinners out, walking, or shopping with his wife.
We
want to offer our sincerest thanks to Kenny for the contribution he has made to
our company.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Flat/Fan Powder Coating Gun Tips: Use the Right Tool for the Job
Using the right tool for the job is no exception when it comes
to powder coating. It is difficult to
powder coat a part properly with the wrong control devices. Therefore it is important
to use the best-suited powder gun tips to control and direct the flow of powder
as it leaves the tip of the gun.
The flat spray pattern device has gained popularity in the last
20 years. This device attaches to the gun tip and focuses the powder into a
flat or fan-shaped pattern. This aims
the powder into specific areas with pinpoint accuracy. The flat spray tip also
produces a higher powder velocity than the deflector tip, allowing the powder
to penetrate recessed areas easier. The distance between the gun and the part
along with the size of the slot in the nozzle control the size of the
pattern.
Flat spray
nozzle effects on powder cloud:
- Develops flat rather than conical spry pattern
- Typically covers a smaller spray area
- Heavier build in the center of the spray pattern
- Concentrates more powder into recesses
- The higher powder velocity can blow powder off the part producing insufficient wrap.
- Less forgiving than the defector tip
Taking time to examine your application methods and investing in
pattern control devices will pay off with improved coating efficiency and
product quality, saving you time and money.
Please contact us today to speak
with one of our professional service technicians. We can help you with
application questions or any of your powder coating needs.
Friday, December 11, 2015
TCI's New Association Memberships
TCI Powder Coatings is proud to announce two new association memberships with the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) and The Society for Protective Coatings (SSPC). With these new association memberships, TCI has more opportunities for advanced education and training programs, keeping TCI a leader in the industry.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Deflector Powder Coating Gun Tips: Use the Right Tool for the Job
Using the right tool for the job is no exception when it comes
to powder coating. It is difficult to
powder coat a part properly with the wrong control devices. Therefore it is
important to use the best-suited powder gun tips to control and direct the flow
of powder as it leaves the tip of the gun.
The deflector tip is the most common pattern device. It directs the powder flow into a round
pattern. This creates a larger powder
pattern than a gun without a deflector therefore increasing the area the powder
covers. The deflector also reduces the
powder velocity, which increases the electrostatic charge of the powder.
Deflector size
effects on powder coating:
- Determines peak film build and uniformity
- Determines size and coverage of the cloud
- Concentrates powder along edges of pattern
- Gives a more uniform deposit with moving parts
Taking time to examine your application methods and investing in
pattern control devices will pay off with improved coating efficiency and
product quality, saving you time and money.
Please contact us today to speak
with one of our professional service technicians. We can help you with
application questions or any of your powder coating needs.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Factors Affecting Charge for Powder Coatings
The charging characteristic of a powder is directly related to both the physical properties of the material itself and the specific processing conditions.
Factors affecting
charge include:
- Composition
- Particle size
- Substrate type (conductivity)
- Substrate size
- Line speed (time to spray)
- Humidity
- Virgin to reclaim ratio
- Gun flow rates (vol. and speed)
- Gun voltage and current (amount of charge)
- Resin type
- Particle shape
- Substrate shape (flat, frame, recess, etc.)
- Substrate temperature
- Booth airflow
- Gun to substrate distance
- Quality of ground
- Gun tip and deflectors
It is important to examine and find the best process factors
to improve your bottom line, reduce
overall costs, and meet performance requirements with quality and efficiency.
Please contact us today to speak
with one of our professional service technicians. We can help you with
application questions or any of your powder coating needs.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Optimizing Gun Pressures
The key to quality powder coating is to spray just the right
amount of powder with the minimum amount of air necessary. Excessive feed air
pressure and powder volume will not result in faster or better coated parts,
and generally speaking, the finish, spray guns, and spray booth may be
compromised as a result.
Excessive gun pressures will have a dramatic negative impact
on spray quality and efficiency.
Too much powder/flow
pressure can:
- Cause excessive wear of equipment
- Create impact fusion problems
- Cause gun spitting and puffing
- Increase film thickness uniformity
- Decrease first pass transfer efficiency
- Increase amount of overspray and reclaim
- Reduce electrostatic attraction:
- Large particles can bounce off
- Particles traveling too fast for wrap
- More particles to charge
- Increased friction creating high static charge reducing the effectiveness of the corona charge
It is important to find the correct gun pressures to
alleviate the listed negative impacts and to improve your bottom line, reduce overall costs, and meet performance
requirements with quality and efficiency.
For
more information on Optimizing Gun Pressures, read TCI's Troubleshooting Guide.
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