Alpha Group, a Moroccan company specialized in extrusion and powder coating of aluminum profiles, installed a new vertical powder coating line. The line supports the company in expanding its production capacity, ensuring the production of 12,000 tons of high quality coated profiles per year.
Supplied by SAT, the powder coating line has a conveyor speed of up to 2.0 m/min and guarantees a production output of about 760 coated profiles/hour. The line includes a cascade-type pre-treatment tunnel (with stainless steel tanks and walls) and a V-shaped powder coating booth with high transfer efficiency. Designed specifically for vertical powder coating of extrusions, this compact booth features automatic guns from Gema installed on a multi-arm vertical reciprocator. The booth consists of two vertical walls that encompass the path of the overhead conveyor. Powder is applied to both sides of the profiles inside the wall area. Each of the walls is comprised of a rotating belt that is continuously cleaned.
Thanks to the partnership between SAT and Gema, the line is equipped with a Gema OptiCenter OC08 electrostatic powder application system with 20 automatic OptiGun GA03. OC08 guns with the MagicControl 4.0 (or CM40) control system.
The CM40 is an advanced interface for Smart Factory automation, enabling it to control all the system’s components and automation functions. It also ensures intelligent networking for all application components, providing greater efficiency and manageability of the process. The system is outfitted with a gap control system designed to detect the presence of profiles and turn on the guns only when profiles are in front of the guns, thus reducing the amount of powder used.
The line also includes new generation curing and drying ovens, which are characterized by the position of the fans at the bottom of the device, simplifying maintenance. Innovations within the new curing oven enable an optimization of energy consumption thanks to the positioning of the fans at the bottom of the oven, the separation of the curing zone from the entrance and exit corridors, and the high efficiency combustion chamber to optimize the use of the thermal energy.