RGA Metal, a small goods rack manufacturer located in Montreal, Canada set out for a new powder line for both finishing production runs and for first articles and small runs. RGA Metal required that the production lines were to be compact and efficient.

The handling and processing of the parts is done by a conveyorized system with two independent conveyors. The first line is utilized for high volume production runs, at 790 feet long it runs at a rate of 10 FPM (feet per minute). The second smaller line is for first articles and small production runs, this line is 512 feet long and runs at 3 FPM.

Included in these lines is a single stage ambient non-heated washer with side by side process tunnels. The stainless steel washer cleans, degreases, phosphatizes and seals the parts in a single stage before their 1st dry-off pass through the oven. After the dry-off process, parts then proceed into the powder area. Powder coating of the parts is done by a pre-existing ITW Gema system. After coating is applied, the part makes its final pass through the oven where it will cure and move on to the unloading area.

The oven utilized in this system is a dual pass oven; used for both drying the washed parts as well as for curing the powder coated parts. The oven includes a gas infrared gel stage at the entrance of the curing section that elevates the part temperature and gelling powder almost immediately. The oven is constructed of 6” insulated oven panels and was balanced so that its overall operating costs are at a bare minimum, providing RGA a very good return on their investment.