Qdos dosing pumps improve production ‘uptime’ at aluminum coating plant

Aluminium powder coating specialist, France Alu Color, has reduced its costs for chemicals and further improved the reliability and safety of its surface treatment processes, thanks to the adoption of Qdos chemical metering pumps. The installation has been so successful that the pumps generated payback on the investment within one year.

• Eight Qdos 30 dosing pumps in operation at France Alu Color
• Reliability and safety boosted, with maintenance costs reduced
• Return on investment within 12 months

Unclogging production

This plant includes a powder coating operation which comprises surface preparation, chemical conversion, application and baking. The Head of Chemicals, Mr Crouzet, had been experiencing problems with acid etching and chemical conversion, after the solenoid diaphragm metering pumps previously employed for this duty suffered siphoning, clogged valves, and a lack of precision to dose the injected chemicals.

The only way to keep production moving was to regularly maintain the pumps, with all the time, costs and safety issues (due to potential chemical contact) involved in doing that. Watson-Marlow recommended a trial of a Qdos30 chemical metering pump.

“We installed Qdos pumps on the vertical powder coating line to dose specific chemicals at three essential points in our surface treatment process,” says Mr Crouzet. “This brought about a radical change because the siphoning problems ceased, meaning there were no longer issues relating to excessive chemical consumption.”

Accurate dosing

Another advantage for France Alu Color is that dosing is now precise regardless of flow rate between the 0.1 ml/min and 30 l/hr range of the Qdos30 pumps. Furthermore, Qdos pumps do not have any valves, so the clogging problems that were seen previously no longer occurred.

“The Qdos30 can be emptied easily and thanks to the design of the ReNu pumphead, the pumped liquid remains sealed within,” says Mr Crouzet. “There is even an alarm system that sounds if the tube within the pumphead fails. This means that the operator never comes into contact with the chemicals, ensuring complete safety.”

Less waste

Other benefits of using Qdos technology cited by France Alu Color include a dramatic reduction in maintenance times and, due to precise dosing, the production of far less waste.

Qdos metering pump