Liquid Paint

An internationally recognized paint and pigment manufacturer commissioned Galaxy Sivtek to design and provide a customized solution.

Client’s profile:

One of the largest manufacturers of paint, pigment, wallpaper, waterproofing solutions, etc., in India. It has been providing solutions to numerous paint and chemical requirements for more than seven decades. The company is one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of all types of paint, pigment, dry paint, various chemicals, etc.

About the Product:

As part of their search, the client was seeking a robust classification and screening machine capable of sieving and screening Liquid Paint to identify contaminants, minute particles, and other unwanted materials that could adversely affect the product’s quality.

We were asked by the customer to filter a water-based acrylic emulsion that is suitable for moderately humid to dry climates. Special features of this product include weather resistance, long shelf life, non-toxicity, APEO (Alkylphenol Ethoxylates)-free, and an ecologically friendly composition.

During the manufacturing process of both paints, complex processes and materials are involved. To manufacture paint, pigments like titanium dioxide, chrome colors, and zinc oxide are mixed with solvents like hydrocarbons and alcohol.

Lump formation is caused by the different chemical properties of the ingredients during the manufacturing and mixing process. Furthermore, during the manufacturing process, the paint became contaminated, so it was necessary to filter it to remove lumps and ensure that it was free of contamination. Before final filling, the company used nylon bag filters to separate oversize & foreign particles. Nylon bag filters presented the following problems to them:

Frequently changing the bag: Since paint is viscous, it has difficulty passing through the bag during the filtration process. During this process, the opening of the mesh expands due to the operator squeezing the bag to ensure the paint passes through. Consequently, lumps pass through the mesh openings in the final product, so bags need to be changed more frequently, which increases their production costs.

Inventory & Stock management: The company was required to maintain a stock of nylon bag filters due to the increased use of nylon bag filters. Investing in the bags increased their operational costs as well as their investment.

Disposal of used bags: Because environmental policies are quite strict, it has become a challenge for the company to store and dispose of used bags. Moreover, they were required to invest in the proper disposal of used bags, which subsequently increased the cost of production.

Manpower: Managing the manual filtering process as well as packing requires more manpower due to the manual nature of the process.

Breakthrough in the Manufacturing process: Due to the fact that nylon bag filters need to be replaced frequently, it was not possible to implement a continuous manufacturing process, which again impacted operational and production costs.

Solutions :

Galaxy Sivtek developed a customized filter arrangement for removing lumps and agglomerates before the self-cleaning filter. As a result of this custom arrangement, the material was screened twice before it was processed.

First, the raw material was screened to reduce lumps before entering the progressive cavity pump (screw pump). The pump utilizes a pumping element consisting of a precision machined rotor with one external helix and a double internal helix elastomer stator with two internal helixes. During static and dynamic operation, the sealing line formed between the rotor and stator set is maintained due to the special profile of the rotor and stator set.

In order to prevent damage to the pump body, i.e. the stator or the rotor, the raw product should not contain lumps or agglomerates. To solve this issue, a special perforated screen with a 2mm opening was used to remove hard bumps and prevent the filter from becoming clogged.

After the pre-filtered water-based paint was pre-filtered, the final contaminants were removed by fine-screening using the automatic filter with a 600-micron bracket. At constant pressure, the progressive cavity pump supplies the fluid.

Result

They were able to reach their desired output through the customized solution, as well as solve the main issues of choking, reduced time, and reduced manpower.