The Effect of Dispensing System Use on Quality

Impact of Dispensing Systems on Quality Dispensing systems are generally systems that enable the automatic and precise dosing of liquid or semi-liquid products prepared on a recipe basis. Although they are used in many different sectors, this article will focus on their effects on quality in liquid ink and industrial paint applications, where they are most widely used.

Automation and Prevention of Human Error

Many companies decide to invest in a dispensing system due to quality problems they experienced when previously preparing their products manually. Today, quality expectations are continuously rising across all sectors. To meet these expectations, it is necessary to minimize differences between product batches. At this point, products prepared by hand always carry a higher margin of error, and it becomes difficult to achieve a standard. With dispensing system use, production can typically be carried out with an error margin of ± 1g, allowing batch-to-batch differences to be minimized.

Traceability

In products prepared manually by hand, errors are not properly documented, making it very difficult to identify the source of a quality problem when one occurs. Both the dosing performed by hand cannot be sufficiently precise, and there is never certainty that errors made are properly recorded. Since all operations in dispensing systems are recorded, backward traceability is provided. In fact, when a product experiencing quality problems is prepared, the error amount in the dosing of each component and the manufacturer batch numbers of all components (raw materials) used in the product can be traced. This also makes it easier to identify the source of the quality problem.

Raw Materials Always Being Available in Production-Ready Condition

Especially in inks and paints, the components making up products generally consist of color pastes, varnish-binders-bases, certain additives and thinners. While these components await use, problems such as sedimentation, drying, caking, separation or viscosity changes due to evaporation can occur. To ensure that the quality and color of the product being prepared are always at the same standards, these components to be used must also be brought into a production-ready state. Products with sedimentation or separation must be mixed to become homogeneous before use. During this mixing process, the mouth of the container holding the component is often opened, which will cause rapid evaporation, particularly in solvent-based products. This will cause a change in the standard viscosity of the component being used. If viscosity is not readjusted before use, a quality problem may arise in the product being produced. If there are problems such as caking or drying, these must also be eliminated before use. In products prepared manually by hand, these situations can sometimes be overlooked and production can proceed without components being adequately prepared. With dispensing system use, all components connected to the system are stored in a closed system, so problems such as viscosity changes due to caking and evaporation can be minimized. Additionally, with the circulation system found in dispensing systems, all components can be kept in a homogeneous state. The circulation system can be run automatically at desired intervals. Thus, particularly components with a tendency toward rapid sedimentation can be circulated more frequently to ensure they remain homogeneous at all times. In cases where the circulation system is insufficient, barrel or IBC mixers can also be mounted to the system to enable better mixing of components. As a result of all this, in the dispensing system, components are kept in a production-ready state at all times, ensuring that the quality levels of products to be manufactured remain standard. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, to better meet today's rising quality expectations, decisions on dispensing system investments are now being made not only based on production tonnages but also based on quality increases. At Kairos, one of our primary objectives is to contribute to our customers always achieving higher quality and standardized production with the ADAColor Dispensing systems we manufacture in Turkey.   Deniz Sülar Chairman of the Board Chairman of the Board Kairos Makina