The advantages of an electronic paint dosing system

Maintaining ratio accuracy is an important element when spraying paint. Electronic paint dosingtechnology systems, or proportioners, can provide accurate two- and three-component proportioning in a wide range of applications. Providing definite advantages over hand and mechanical proportioners, they have become standard operating systems in many finishing operations around the world.  

Electronic proportioners have become increasingly popular in many finishing operations because of their ability to maintain ratio accuracy and reduce waste.
 

Benefits of electronic proportioners

Electronic proportioners have a number of benefits:

• Accurate two- and three-component proportioning
• Wide range of operating ratios
• Very good ratio accuracy at various flow rates (1%)
• Excellent finish quality
• Minimal waste (less than 500cc)
• Low colour-change downtime

Because of these benefits, electronic proportioners have become the standard operating systems in many finishing operations around the world. They are suitable for a wide range of applications such as:

• Single and multiple colour applications
• Air spray and air-assisted applications, including electrostatics
• Plural-component materials, including solvent-borne, waterborne and water-reducible urethanes, epoxies and acid-catalysed paints
   

Electronic proportioning vs manual proportioning

There are other methods of proportioning plural-component materials, such as manual proportioning. Proportioning by hand has several limitations:

• Must be mixed in batches, resulting in increased waste
• Low ratio consistency
• Inconsistent finish quality from batch to batch

Electronic proportioners mix material on demand, resulting in minimal waste. The only wasted material is the paint from the system integrator to the applicator, which generally results in less than 500 cubic centimeters (cc) of wasted paint in a typical application. Electronic proportioners can also control ratio accuracy to 1%.
 

Electronic proportioning vs mechanical proportioning

Mechanical proportioners can provide on-demand mixing and can handle large volumes of material. However, they also have some drawbacks:

• Only 10% ratio accuracy due to mechanical wear and pump cavitation
• High colour-change downtime

Electronic proportioners offer a reliable ratio verification process as well as a calibration function to compensate for mechanical wear. They also offer an easy colour-change option that can minimise colour-change downtime. Discover in detail how electronic proportioners work. 
 

An affordable option

Most electronic proportioners are easy to operate and contain state-of-the-art diagnostics that can keep manufacturing processes running smoothly and efficiently. They provide definite advantages over hand proportioning and mechanical proportioners. The range of electronic proportioners available today makes them affordable for most industrial finishing applications.