OVERVIEW:
OEMs that manufacture laminate products in-house must invest in equipment and labor to perform lamination processes.This requires a significant capital investment, ongoing maintenance, and adequate floor space. Maintaining equipment and supplies for in-house lamination processes can be costly and time-consuming, and result in poor quality due to many processing challenges.
There are alternatives to these OEMs that many companies may not be aware of if they have been performing in-house lamination for many years. Outsourcing to a coil coater offers many benefits as UNICHEM explains the challenges of in-house lamination and advantages of outsourcing to a coil coater in this article published on pcimag.com, the Paints and Coating Industry, OEMs Opt to Eliminate In-House Lamination Operations.
CHALLENGE:
“All kinds of things can happen during a non-continuous laminating process,” as UNICHEM explains. Performing lamination processes in-house can be a very temperamental process that may result in a high scrap rate and product returns due to wrinkles, poor adhesion, or adhesion failure. Many things can go wrong with an in-house painting process that is not continuous like coil coating. Surface preparation, consistent cleaning and pretreating is important as inadequate cleanliness of the metal can cause adhesion problems. Inconsistent curing temperatures and misapplication of film thickness can also cause adhesion or flow problems. Performance or appearance problems all lead to increased scrap rates and/or returns.
SOLUTION:
Outsourcing your lamination processes to coil coaters provides many benefits with improved quality and cost savings. Coil coaters can apply a B-stage adhesive to sheets of metal such as aluminum or steel, that is designed to activate and cure within a specific temperature range. The coil coating application is precise, controlled, and continuous for high quality and improved productivity. This eliminates many steps for a manufacturer who receives the sheet of metal with adhesive applied, so the only process they need to do is apply the laminate film to the metal and activate the bond with the right temperature. OEMs can also receive a fully laminated and painted product to eliminate in-house processing altogether.
RESULTS and BENEFITS:
Manufacturers experience improved productivity and reduced operational costs. Results achieved from outsourcing lamination to coil coaters include:
- Improved quality – reduce quality issues and scrap, reducing cost and increasing customer satisfaction.
- Improved productivity – enables increased speed to address down stream operational considerations by eliminating the complex step of in-house lamination.
- Reduced costs – eliminates the need to purchase and maintain laminating equipment, tie up working capital resources with laminate inventories, and eliminate the need to invest and recruit in a volatile labor market.
Download: UNICHEM Case Study – The Many Benefits of Outsourcing Lamination to Coil Coaters (PDF)
With improved quality, productivity, and reduced costs, outsourcing to coil coaters is a win-win scenario for manufacturers.
UNICHEM offers solutions with uniBOND industrial adhesive formulated for coil coating applications and available in single or B-stage curing options. Contact us with any questions or for custom solutions to your lamination process.