Container Application Case Study – Drum Industry

Mauser (Columbus, Ohio) Drumming-Up a Better Paint Line The switch to a vertical line orientation, gun and pump upgrades, and the integration of a new automated control package gives this drum manufacturer the capacity to double productivity and achieve significant material savings.

Mauser, a German-based company with 4,000 employees globally, Mspecializes in the manufacture and delivery of steel drums, with special attention paid to the need for the holding and handling of dangerous solutions that offer safety and durabil- In 2011, Strawser began researching ways products. The company recently acquired ity,” says Brad Strawser, plant manager to improve his finishing operation. At the four new manufacturing plants in North of Mauser’s Columbus facility. “Many time, the Mauser Columbus liquid paint America, including a 66,000-square-foot customers also have very specific drum line ran with the drums in a horizontal facility in Columbus, Ohio. decoration needs – color combinations, orientation, where they were hand-loaded “Our expertise provides the chemical screen printed logos or stripes – that must into the paint booth. The drums lay and mineral oil industries with packaging be addressed.” sideways and spun during the painting process, causing paint rub-off that required constant touch-ups. In addition, the paint operators used shields to create any stripes, which needed frequent cleaning. “It was a very manual system that gave us day-to-day headaches,” explains Strawser. “We wanted someone to eliminate the hassles, and help us to improve efficiency, productivity and paint transfer efficiency.” A Vertical Solution efficiency from 45 percent to almost system, it monitors temperature, pressure For an integrated, turnkey solution, 75 percent and has virtually eliminated and pump operation to provide consis- Strawser turned to Nordson Corporation waste material.” tent viscosity and accurate film builds. (Amherst, Ohio), a leader in the manu- The controller is recipe-based and can “We used to collect waste material in a hold up to 100 pre-programmed recipes. facture of liquid application equipment drum and reuse it for certain customers,” for 60 years. Nordson developed an auto- According to Strawser, Mauser currently agrees Strawser. “Since we installed the has 18 recipes, all of which were easily mated system to alleviate many of the Nordson system, we haven’t had a single issues that Strawser and his team faced. programmed as orders came in once the drum of waste.” system was installed. The touchscreen, With the new system, the drums are run The system also incorporates Nordson graphics-based interface makes operation vertically through an automated paint Perma-Flo® pumps, NH-4 fluid heaters simple. line on a conveyor after machining and and an innovative drum control package. “The operator just has to hit the right fabrication. In the paint booth, the drums It is designed to keep the drum handler are painted using 13 Nordson A7A airless button for the job. Any guesswork is and paint in close proximity, eliminating completely eliminated because everything spray guns at two separate stations for a separate paint kitchen. complete drum coverage. The first station is preset,” says Strawser. “Eventually, we positions the guns to paint the drum will be moving toward a bar code version Automated, Touchscreen of the controller, where we just scan the sides, while the second station reinforces Controls Improve Efficiency coverage to the drum lid and bottom. right bar code and the correct customer After painting, the drums are conveyed to The Nordson drum control package is a recipe is in play.” the drying ovens, then to final assembly, newer product for Nordson, building on after which they are loaded directly onto the capabilities of gun controls used in delivery trucks. powder applications. It is something completely new to Mauser Columbus and the “The old booth was pretty archaic, with paint line operators, but it is an integral guns positioned all over the place and component of the system’s success. a lot of paint being wasted,” says Sean Davis, Nordson customer service repre- The PLC-based control system is sentative. “With the Nordson system, designed specifically for the drum Mauser has improved their transfer coating industry. In a single closed-loop Big Changes Bring Big Results For more information, Mauser has been running the new Nordson “Nordson gave us everything we needed – speak with system since December 2013, and is already better transfer efficiency, lower material costs, your Nordson representative increased throughput, smoother operation,” reaping huge rewards. In addition to the or contact increased transfer efficiency, Mauser has says Strawser. “And I don’t think we incurred your Nordson increased its production capacity by more more than five hours of downtime during regional office. than 70 percent. Where the old system was the entire changeover. They brought a lot of capable of running 350 drums per hour, the knowledge to the table.” United States new system can accommodate 600 per hour. Amherst, Ohio +1.800.433.9319 Phone Mauser is also experiencing significant paint +1.440.985.1536 Fax savings, stretching its use of paint from 21 Canada drums per gallon to about 32 drums per gallon Markham, Ontario with the new system. Paint changes can also be +1.905.475.6730 Phone done on-the-fly, saving production time and +1.800.463.3200 Phone material. +1.905.475.8821 Fax

In addition, the Nordson system has improved Europe overall operational efficiency at the Mauser Erkrath, Germany Columbus facility. Stripes can be painted +49.211.9205.0 Phone automatically via the pre-programmed recipes, +49.211.254658 Fax eliminating the use of messy shields. There Japan is no longer touch-up work required on the Tokyo, Japan chime, since the horizontal rotation was +81.3.5762.2700 Phone For more information on container eliminated. +81.3.5762.2701 Fax coating technologies from Nordson, call 1.800.433.9319 or Asia/Australia/ e-mail [email protected] Latin America Amherst, Ohio +1.440.985.4000 Phone +1.440.985.3710 Fax

CNR-14-5775 Issued 4/14

Nordson Corporation +1.800.433.9319 300 Nordson Drive nordson.com/container Amherst, Ohio 44001, USA