Manufacturers of specialty-coated products have unique challenges, costs, or risks because of the additional processes and materials involved.

That’s why correct roll geometry is critical to creating consistent, accurate coatings. Whether you’re running a gap nip or a contact nip, roll geometry affects material usage, coating thickness consistency, and process speed — just to name a few key metrics.

Ultimately, reducing roll variability is essential to optimal product quality and business profitability.

Is your company missing out on $10,000 a day?

As one of many specialty coatings examples across industries:
The Association of International Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators found that a three-process pass (tandem coater) in window film manufacturing added up to a loss of $3,379.00 per 10,000-foot roll.

On the flip side, a one-pass process based on lean manufacturing added up to:

• $4,500 - $7,500 in extra sales revenue (per 10,000-foot roll)
• $2,000 - $3,000 in reduced scrap loss (per 10,000-foot roll)

That’s a total fiscal benefit of $6,500 - $10,000 per day, per roll. (Imagine the extra revenue potential, if your coating’s raw material costs are even higher than window film manufacturers’.)

Here are 4 profitable reasons to improve your specialty coatings transfer efficiency:

1. You can reduce the number or types of mistakes to fix later.
Rework, or the correction of mistakes, “…consumes capacity and adds variability to production schedules,” says the Industrial Supply Association. “Looming over these costs, though, is the impact on customer satisfaction. Late deliveries and poor quality can mean losing business….”
Improved transfer and consistency helps ensure that your machines are coating properly, the first time.

2. You can reduce the expense, exposure, and waste of hazardous solvents.
Solvents are common in manufacturing specialty-coated products. However, because they’re often hazardous or costly, it’s important to only use the amount of solvent you need.
By improving transfer, you can minimize the amount of excess coating that you’ll need to remove with solvents. As an added benefit, you’ll limit employees’ exposure to solvents.
In fact, 53% of consumers are more likely to become repeat customers when they are aware that a company is environmentally and socially conscious. This “consciousness” includes how a company cares for employees and uses materials in environmentally safer ways.

3. You can improve or help increase consumer satisfaction through high product quality. 
When your rolls are ground at or better than OEM specification, they can coat your product more accurately and uniformly:

• Accuracy helps ensure quality.
• Quality encourages customer satisfaction.
• Satisfaction helps boost or protect your bottom line.

4. You can prevent or reduce costly machine wear, damage, or breakdown.
By ensuring that your rolls are to precise specification, you’ll also help reduce the risk of:

• Web breaks
• Profile issues
• Runnability issues
• Uneven wear of roll covers
• Unplanned machine downtime

Improve Transfer Efficiency with Precision

“Many specialty coatings depend greatly on quality control, precision thickness, precise application rates, and controlled spray environments.”
-The Green Suppliers Network

Contact Precision Roll Grinders, for no-obligation information about how routine, precise roll grinding can help you improve transfer efficiency at your plant.

We can grind rolls to 50 millionths tolerances and help reduce variability in your coating process. And we have roll grinding specialists nationwide who are ready to visit for an on-site, complimentary evaluation.