Economic considerations

The determination of the coating thickness is mainly for guaranteeing that the properties added to the product by the coating are added economically. Determining the economic value of a measuring device is, however, rather difficult, particularly since it is not a productive machine, but only determines the properties and quality of a product without improving them directly. Classical economic calculations cannot be employed without modification, because these only include production times, material consumption, personnel costs and maintenance costs.

Based on our experience, we have found that the following factors play an important role when considering the economics. The most important factors are listed first.

1. Avoidance of warranty claims by:

· the identification of rejects

· providing evidence of the quality (documentation)

· objective assessment of the quality

2. Rapid reaction if there are process deviations

· time saving

· avoidance of rejects

3. Reduction in the setting-up time

· time saving

· avoidance of rejects

4. Better rate of utilisation of the personnel

· Relief of the operator from monitoring functions

5. Reduction in consumable material

· coating

· residual coating

6. Reduction in damage to the environment

· contamination of the waste water

· disposal of the waste water sludge

· improvement in working conditions

One of the most important reasons for the economic benefit is the avoidance of warranty claims. If one looks at the coating methods currently used, one will find the that the value gain of the coating is low compared to the value of the component itself, because components have already passed through a number of processing steps before they are coated. In addition, the components are installed in complex end products and must function there as intended.  If a faulty coating would lead to a component or components being declared as rejects, any value created in earlier steps would be eliminated. It is much worse if the component has failed as part of the end product simply because the coating did not fulfil the expectations required of it.

It is recognised that the coating only contributes to a small degree to the value gain of the component but is a decisive factor in its usability. If the component is viewed in isolation, one could assume that e.g. an excess of coating would not matter too much, and that sample testing followed by sorting would be sufficient for producing an adequate quality. However, the entire system must be considered. Although the component only corresponds to a small part of the value of the entire engine, it is relatively important for its functioning, and its quality will eventually determine the quality of the end product. Consider an unfavourable case, e.g. a batch of 5,000 components is delivered, 2 % of which have a faulty coating. The first components are already installed and after 100 components the customer notices the fault. The consequence is that production is stopped and a warranty claim is made against the supplier. The supplier must collect the entire batch at his own expense and provide a replacement batch of the same size as rapidly as possible. Even if we disregard the fact that the components might require re-working, the same quantity of components must be available as a replacement batch. If this is not the case, and if a delay occurs, the customer can insist on a replacement batch from a different supplier so that his production is not endangered. In the worst case, the supplier might lose his customer.

It is easy to see that enormous consequential costs can arise which are in no relationship to the total cost of the making the coating and which endanger the economic well-being of a company. In practice, certainly not all the circumstances would actually occur, but even the avoidance of one or several faults can avoid costs which are well above the purchase price of the measuring system.

A further important reason is that rapid reaction is possible should a process deviation occur. Only by operating an online measuring device will you be able to intervene immediately after the coating process, should a process deviation have occurred. You will not have to wait until the end of the long drying process, as you would have to with conventional measuring methods. This decreases the number of rejects and reduces the reaction time, which makes the coating process more economical. In this context, the reduction in the setting-up time of the coating installation also needs to be mentioned, as it also benefits from the shortened reaction time. Particularly for service coating companies, with their small batch sizes and wide range of components, it is an important cost factor.

The economy of the measuring device is often explained through the expected saving in coating material, because a simple calculation is able to determine the savings potential. In most cases, however, the other factors mentioned above are more important. Only with coating methods with a high coating material consumption above 40 tonnes per year, can the economy also be explained in terms of savings in coating material. According to our experience, a saving of between 10 % and 20 % of coating material is achieved by using an online coating thickness device. However, it must be observed that the coating installation must be able to apply the coating with the appropriate precision. You can use our economy calculator as a simple aid with which to help you to determine the savings potential from a reduction in coating material.
Finally, it should be mentioned that by the use of measuring devices, the employee's knowledge of the coating process and its quality determining factors is increased. We have found that the use of the online measuring system often identified quality-relevant error sources which could be corrected by the employees themselves and which increased stability of production.

Indicators for the greatest economy

In this summary we are listing a number of indicators which can be used to make the coating system very economic. Starting from your coating process, they should help you to estimate where the potential for savings lies.

· automated coating

· precisely guided components

· large batch sizes

· small number of component types

· components which already possess an appreciable value

· low number of colours

· high coating material consumption

· defined application spectrum

· simple installation of the measuring tools without positioning technology

· measurements in motion

· transport speed of the components below 10 m/min

· precisely working coating installations