We would like to present the effects of cooperation with the Defro company - which is one of the largest manufacturers of heating equipment in Europe: biomass central heating boilers, fireplace inserts and pellet cookers. The company has modern machinery at its disposal, and the constantly expanding range of products necessitates a modern approach, also in terms of surface preparation for powder coating.
Defro uses an automatic modular car wash, where washing is carried out in 3 stages;
- Washing with conversion layer generation
- Pre-rinsing
- Final rinse
The components subjected to cleaning and surface preparation are central heating boiler components usually made of hot-rolled steel. This is a type of material that tends to cause a lot of problems in achieving the right level of degreasing.
Situation found
During our joint analysis with Defro, we highlighted a number of key elements that, when changed, will increase safety and reduce the cost of operating a modular car wash:
- Temperature - components washed at 50°C;
- Washing solution - high concentrations of phosphatising formulations and degreasing and washing additives were used. This resulted in high consumption to maintain current operating parameters;
- Harmfulness - the agents used were corrosive, requiring protection in those handling this part of the production process and their constant attention;
- Quality of the conversion coating achieved and the degree of washing - under-washed oil was identified on the surface of the washed components, also visible on the painted parts in the form of yellow stains, which necessitated repainting.
Implementation of Kairos products and chemistry
After analysis, we proposed the implementation of the Kairo-SURF PF product.
The implementation was preceded by training of Defro employees. Following the launch of the car wash, we again carried out an analysis of the situation
- Temperature - the new effective wash temperature is 25.7°C, generating significant savings in the energy required to heat the liquid in the washer
- Washing solution - the concentration of the washing bath is only 0.5%
- Harmfulness - new solutions fall into the category of irritants, are safer than caustics
- Quality of the coating - As a result of implementing Kairos products, the coating is correctly washed and the problem of yellow oil spots and the need for repainting has been eliminated.
- In the long term, a manufacturer of central heating boilers has achieved a 5-fold reduction in chemical consumption in the washing process before powder coating
- Kairos products no sludge formation, the problem of sludge collection, nozzle cleaning and disposal is completely eliminated
