Aluminios Cortizo, headquartered in Padrón, Galicia, Spain, installed a vertical powder coating line at its production unit in Manzanares, Spain. With this latest installation, the company operates a total of 15 powder coating plants capable of providing an extensive color range, from classic finished to specialized coatings. This is the tenth surface treatment line that SAT has supplied to the Cortizo Group since 2014.
The new vertical powder coating line includes two Cube powder coating booths, an extendible conveyor system, and a vertical brushing machine. Installed prior to the pretreatment tunnels, the vertical brushing machine provides mechanical pre-treatment of profile surface, removing any unwanted aluminum particles (chips or dirtiness coming from the extrusion process) — which reduces the incidence of surface defects. Furthermore, the brushing machine lightly scratches the profile surface, simplifying the chemical pretreatment and increasing the chemical etching rate. While the profiles are treated by the brushing machine, they are not moving along the conveyor line thanks to the extendible conveyor system that keeps them still during the brushing phase.
The pretreatment tunnels are manufactured with polypropylene tanks and PVC walls in order to ensure the best conditions when working with pretreatment chemicals and to achieve durability, resistance against corrosion, and thermal insulation.
The two V-shaped powder coating booths provide high powder transfer efficiency — enabling the company to improve powder penetration, coating thickness uniformity, and the quality of the coating layer, which mainly consists of fresh powder. In addition, the booths optimize the distribution of powder on all the sides of the profiles as well as reduce the consumption of powder.
Finally, the curing oven features a revolving door system. Patented by SAT, the system allows for the profile to enter and exit the oven. Since the oven is constantly kept closed, heat loss is prevented. This can significantly reduce the energy consumption of the whole system, as well as improving the final product quality.
Cortizo is a manufacturer of aluminum and PVC systems for the architectural and industrial sectors in Spain and Europe. With its nine production centers, the company is capable of implementing the complete aluminum manufacturing cycle, including casting, extrusion, powder coating, anodizing, chemical brightening, CNC machining, packaging, storage, and distribution. Cortizo has a production capacity of around 139,000 tonnes of aluminum products per year.