Achieving Savings Through Spray Application

"Save time. Save money" is not an empty cliché in the maritime industry; it makes economic sense. Whether you are spraying neat urea, Fiber Reinforced Plastic, polyurethane, hybrid paint or any other paint; you need to reduce the time you spend on material preparation, heating, mixing and spraying. In this way, you can increase your productivity and naturally the profit of your operations. By spraying with Graco's FRP gel coat system and Reactor E-XP2i, you can save money and material costs.

In Italy: L'Artigiana Vetroresina

Let us take L'Artigiana Vetroresina as an example. The translation of this Italian company's name actually explains who they are: Fiberglass craftsmen. However, there is a disadvantage to focusing on the highest quality, handmade fiberglass products and emphasizing meticulous attention to detail at every processing step—it is very time-consuming. No matter how beautiful the final product is, if you cannot deliver it on time, you give the competition a chance to overtake you. Facing increasing competition, especially from Chinese competitors, L'Artigiana Vetroresina decided that they now needed to save time. This resulted in strategic decisions that led to the purchase of a Graco FRP resin/gel coat system from Graco dealer RPM Solutions S.r.l. Thanks to this lightweight, easy-to-use gel coat system with an RS (resin spraying) gun, the company can now work on multiple parts simultaneously and immediately save time. At the same time, because the spraying quality allows users to focus on the impregnation area with extreme precision and without wasting time, the system provides significant savings in resin.Managing Director Dario Manca said: "Thanks to the Graco FRP gel coat system and the ease of use it offers, we no longer need to repeatedly prepare materials, because the machine mixes the composition according to parameters that we can set before start-up."

Optimizing Catalyst Supply

One of the common problems encountered by FRP sprayers is a drop in catalyst supply. If there is not enough catalyst in the mixture, soft spots can form, which can result in no curing and costly, time-consuming rework. In this regard, it is very important that the catalyst is present in the polyester. For this reason, Graco ensures continuous availability of catalyst with its FRP gel coat system. By reducing the air motor transit time to a minimum, continuous pressure is maintained on the catalyst. As a result, negligible pulsing in the spray pressure is achieved and thus a consistent spray pattern is obtained. In addition, Graco's air motor is perfectly balanced; that is, the material pressure in the motor is equal in up and down strokes. As a result, a consistent spray pattern is again achieved; this also makes it easier for the user to control the spray pattern.

Time Savings Everywhere

Changing blades in a traditional fiber cutter usually takes approximately 15 minutes. With Graco's RS Cutter, blade changes are performed at lightning speed in less than 30 seconds. In addition, the magnetized holder allows for easy replacement of individual blades, or even replacement of all of them with just one blade. Another time-saving feature is that the anvil tension of the cutter head can be changed during operation without removing the guard.

From Local to Global Presence

L'Artigiana Vetroresina's continuous pursuit of quality and innovation transformed the company from a local fiberglass product supplier into a company with a strong international stance. The purchase of the Graco Reactor was just one of the factors that helped them progress in this direction.

In Greece: Kipreos Emmanuel

Building materials company Kipreos Emmanuel has been successfully operating in Greece and Germany for the last twenty years. It focuses on modern and customized insulation applications using the latest products, materials and techniques. As a typical project, one can cite spraying a membrane with two-part, flexible, 100% solids content, fast-curing neat polyurea spray applied to a ship deck. This protects the steel deck from corrosion and makes the surface slip-resistant. However, accelerating polyurea application, significantly reducing cure time to seven or eight seconds and enabling higher volume, faster surface application requires spraying neat polyurea at the high pressures necessary.

The Only Solution: Graco Reactor E-XP2i Proportioner

Four years ago, the company purchased a Graco Reactor E-XP2i proportioner to apply fast-curing polyurea coatings. Managing Director Emmanuel Kipreos said: "We wanted to meet customer demands for more advanced high-pressure neat polyurea spraying applications, and we thought the E-XP2i could help us move in this direction." This complete integrated system combines the electric Reactor system, diesel generator, air compressor and air dryer in one package. The E-XP2i's patent-pending design provides continuous and stable temperature control for superior heating performance without wasting energy. The generator's waste heat allows operation with a smaller generator, ensuring rapid heating of the material. Kipreos was interested in the turnkey system because of the following advantages: •Time savings: With turnkey systems, pre-selected and installed components and pre-made cable connections make installation in your vehicle very easy. •Fuel savings: The turnkey system reduces annual diesel fuel consumption by half. •Power savings: Eliminates expensive shore power sources. •Advanced heating capacity: Temperatures can be adjusted instantly during operation to minimize downtime. Kipreos said: "What we liked about the E-XP2i was that it was designed for high-pressure neat polyurea coating application and spraying. For example, its hybrid heater and heated hose adjust the materials to the correct viscosity before mixing."

Easy to Use

In addition to these, Kipreos users found the Reactor easy to use. The most important reason for this is that the E-XP2i comes standard with the Graco Advanced Display Module (ADM). The ADM allows users to track, monitor and record project information and download data to a USB drive for advanced analysis. At the same time, it allows storage of up to 24 material formulations, enabling material spraying parameters to be changed quickly, easily and seamlessly. By reducing human error when entering settings, you spray the material as recommended by the material manufacturer. Kipreos said: "The Reactor E-XP2i has been a very important purchase for the company as it has allowed us to expand our polyurethane application activities and win new projects in the maritime industry." Stephan Rindfleisch FRP and Reactor Product Marketing Manager Graco Inc.