Profit Potential of a UV Powder System
A UV cured powder coating system can generate higher profits per hour than other types of finishing systems. The faster finishing process, smaller plant footprint, lower cost of energy, and higher throughput all increase profit potential.
Faster Finishing
A UV cured powder coating system has similar processing steps to a thermal (or thermoset) powder coating system, but has significant time and temperature advantages. These advantages increase product throughput, making part change overs faster and decreases time waiting for parts to cool. This results in a greater operating profit per hour.
Smaller Footprint
A UV cured powder coating system typically has a smaller footprint than other finishing systems. An average UV system has a footprint of 2,000 square feet versus 6,440 square foot for a thermoset powder coating system.
Assuming a cost of $7.50 per square foot, the annual cost of the UV powder system is $15,000 and $48,300 for the thermoset powder system.
Energy Savings per 2,000 Hrs
Cost of Energy
With increasing energy costs it is important to evaluate energy usage in a production setting.
A UV cured powder coating system consumes 158 kW/h of energy compared to 461 kW/h for a thermoset powder coating system. Using a cost of energy of $0.1688/kW/h the UV system costs $26.67 per hour of operation. The thermoset powder coating system costs $77.82 per hour of operation.
On a 2,000 hour production shift, the UV powder coating system saves $102,293 in energy cost compared to the alternative thermoset powder coating system.
Higher Throughput
The chart below illustrates the capacity advantage of a UV cured powder coating system compared to a thermoset powder coating system. The UV cure powder coating system has a shorter line length and therefore the system reaches optimum capacity faster.
| Powder Coating Technology | Length | Speed | Preheat | Melt/Cure | Plant Size | Avg Parts | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV Powder | 200 ft | 10 ft/min | 1 min | 1 min | 2500 sq ft | 550 Per Hour | 158 kWh |
| Thermoset Powder | 321 ft | 10 ft/min | 2 min | 5 min | 6440 sq ft | 520 Per Hour | 461 kWh |
