5 Reasons to Switch to Plural Component Mixing

Hot potting vs. proportioning

Why spend money on plural component equipment to heat and mix elements, when you can do it with your own two hands? Hand mixing, also called “hot potting,” will get the job done -- eventually.

Manually mixing elements can be time consuming, but it’s not really slowing you down that much. Is it?

In the short term, hand-mixing may be sufficient, but it quickly puts a strain on everyday operations over time.

Plural component spray equipment is gaining popularity as a much more sophisticated alternative to the strenuous and inefficient methods of hot potting. But, what exactly makes it worth it to take the leap?

5 ways plural proportioners improve finishing

Here are five simple ways that plural components can improve operations.
 

There’s a reason why employees don’t like hand-mixing. It’s repetitive, laborious, and inefficient. It involves manually heating and mixing elements, trying to guess the correct amount, and loading the mixed materials into the spraying system. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for factories to find and hire skilled painters because the work is so undesirable.

On the other hand, plural component proportioners heat and mix multiple elements at the touch of a button. This is done directly prior to application, so that no materials are wasted, and in the same location as the spraying system.  This helps the factory produce goods more efficiently with the possibility of increased revenue and customer satisfaction. Most importantly, this is less mental and physical stress for employees, which could even lead to higher job satisfaction and quality of life.

It is important to keep health concerns a top priority and leverage technology that will protect your team. One major benefit of using plural component equipment is that it reduces emissions. Fewer emissions result in less build up of toxic and potentially hazardous chemicals. For the average operator, working in a relatively confined space, this is a huge investment in safety.

In this day and age, every factory should be looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint. The good news is that it’s possible to help the environment and save money at the same time. With the help of plural component equipment, your factory can eliminate waste in several major ways.

• First, plural components waste significantly fewer materials than hand mixing methods because the equipment mixes the materials exactly before they are sprayed. Rather than mixing a giant batch of materials and throwing away half after it cools, you are able to mix materials directly prior to application, so the only wasted material is the small amount left in the spray hose.
• Secondly, plural components use very little solvents, which cuts the costs of solvent, cuts disposal costs, and reduces emissions.
• Lastly, plural components eliminate the buildup of empty paint cans, which you would normally have to store and properly dispose of.

The sophisticated interfaces of plural component equipment make mixing simple and easy.  Improve accuracy and prevent on-job mistakes by handling everything electronically. Versatile dosing, on-ratio performance, and consistent mix quality are simple and easy to maintain with the help of plural components.

Without the inevitable mistakes of measuring by hand, you could save valuable time and money.

If you have ever been involved in hot-potting, you know the mess that comes along with it and how long it takes to clean up. As we all know, time is money. In the finishing industry — which stresses words like "efficiency" and "throughput time" — this can be especially true. Your time can always be better spent applying finish.

By contrast, the only cleaning involved with plural component equipment is flushing out the sprayer and shutting it down. This is quick, easy, and especially nice for switching colors often.

Everyone’s least favorite part of the job is clean up. Painting already has the negative connotation of being very messy work. But this doesn’t have to be the case with plural components. Your employees will thank you later.