Hutchinson Boosts Efficiency of Its Paint Line

Hutchinson Boosts Coating Line Efficiency in Poland Graco ProBell® automatic rotary atomizers improve quality, transfer efficiency and cleaning on a coating line for automotive primer products. With 40,000 employees across 25 countries, Hutchinson is among the world's leading companies in vibration control, fluid management and sealing technologies. The company aims to provide smart solutions for a moving world by focusing on enhanced safety, comfort and energy efficiency. Its innovative products are used in various sectors including automotive, aerospace, defense, energy and rail.

Hutchinson Polska

At Hutchinson Poland's production facilities in Łódź, Dębica, Bielsko-Biała and Żywiec, the company manufactures a wide range of products including automotive vibration control solutions, precision sealing systems, belt drives, fluid management components and aerospace products and systems.

New Coating Line in Łódź

Hutchinson invested in a new coating line in Łódź for special primer and topcoat products within its automotive sealing product range. The company implements the strictest safety requirements. The coating line calls for extremely high final surface quality, uniform application and minimal overspray droplet requirements. At the same time, a system was sought that would enable fast and easy discharge. It quickly became clear that electrostatic rotary bell atomization was the only technology capable of meeting these requirements. This is a high-energy process that creates an optimum spectrum for droplet sizes in paint applications. But which manufacturer produces the best electrostatic rotary bell atomizer?

Analysis of Manufacturers

The specialist team at Hutchinson responsible for this project evaluated several manufacturers producing rotary bell atomizers for coating lines and conducted product tests. One of the manufacturers was Graco. Testing of the Graco ProBell® electrostatic bell atomizer was conducted at Graco's headquarters in Maasmechelen, Belgium. One of the features that sets ProBell apart from the competition is its hybrid shaping air feature. Inner shaping air and outer shaping air work together to direct paint particles and adjust the spray pattern. This generally optimizes paint atomization, pattern shape and transfer efficiency for excellent topcoat quality. This combination proves especially useful when applying topcoat to many different parts and complex shapes. ProBell features an aluminum bell cup with a toothed edge and equally-spaced axial grooves. These grooves function as channels in paint flow, producing uniform particles. This makes it ideal for atomizing difficult materials such as varnish. Hutchinson also found that ProBell integrates easily with existing robots and PLCs in new installations, and with its user-friendly control interface, operators can easily manage spray parameters. Graco presented many examples of ProBell applications in Tier 1 automotive paint shops.

Easy Cleaning and Discharge

ProBell excels at bell cup cleaning and discharge, one of Hutchinson's core requirements. During cup cleaning, the paint valve is closed and an air signal is sent to the solvent valve. When the solvent valve is triggered, solvent is sent to both the inside and outside of the bell cup. The bell cup continues to rotate to aid cleaning. During coating line cleaning, the paint and solvent valves are closed and an air signal activates the discharge valve. Solvent from a feed source such as a color change valve or proportioner's cleaning sequence rinses ProBell's fluid line. After the fluid line is cleaned, the paint valve can be triggered to clean the bell cup. When preparing for service, air from an external source such as a color change valve can be applied to remove solvent from the gun. If service is not required, the solvent can be left in the system.

Green Light for Graco

Following testing and evaluation, Hutchinson Polska decided to purchase Graco ProBell rotary atomizers. The new coating line was designed by Techniki Lakiernicze Sołtysiak Sp. J. from Bieruń, Poland. The system includes three ABB painting robots, two Graco ProBell rotary atomizers for topcoat application, a standard automatic spray gun for primer application, and a feed system isolated according to gear pumps and pressure tanks. The new installation fully met the customer's expectations. Maciej Banaszkiewicz, Special Processes Coordinator at Hutchinson, stated: "Thanks to electrostatic application with ProBell, our processes are three times faster than before while quality has also improved. The key to success is the easy cleaning of bell cups. ProBell allows us to work 2.5 times longer before stopping for bell cup cleaning compared to other products we tested, and this increases our overall efficiency and productivity." Following these excellent results from the first coating line, Hutchinson's management team decided to use Graco ProBell on a second coating line as well. Philippe Godbil Finishing Products Marketing Manager Graco