New Service Alert: In-House Powder Coating at KAD
New service alert!
The KAD team is excited to announce that we now offer in-house powder coating services.
Many manufacturers outsource finishing treatments. While we’ve successfully worked with trusted powder coating suppliers for several years, bringing this capability into our precision machine shop will benefit our clients who need superior cosmetic finishes for their prototype models.
What Is Powder Coating?
Since it debuted in North America in the 1960s, powder coating has become one of the most popular finishing treatments for industrial and commercial products.
In contrast to wet paint, powder coating is a dry finishing technique that involves melt-mixing polymer resins with pigments, curatives, leveling agents, flow modifiers, and other additives. Once combined and cooled, the mixture is ground into a fine powder, with a consistency similar to that of the flour in your kitchen.
To apply powder coating evenly, most manufacturers—including KAD—employ an “electrostatic spray deposition” (ESD) technique. A spray gun gives the powder particles an electrostatic charge and attracts them to the part. After the powder coating is applied, it is cured in an oven. The result is a hard, smooth, and consistent coating.
The Benefits and Considerations of Powder Coating
Simply put: powder-coated parts can look phenomenal. Powder coating is an excellent option for high-touch components that require a cosmetic finish. There are an array of colors to choose from, and many suppliers also offer a variety of textures. Clients can choose from gritty and rough to superfine and smooth, depending on their design requirements.
Powder coating is also extremely tough and can withstand substantial wear and tear. Much more durable than wet paint, powder coating is abrasion resistant and doesn’t chip. It also doesn’t off-gas like wet paint does—a big benefit for our team and the environment!
One thing to note about powder coating is that it can affect tolerances. We mask and plug holes as needed to ensure critical tolerances are achieved, but buildup is a natural aspect of this finishing process. Powder coating can add between 0.005″ and 0.015″ of buildup to a part.
4 Ways Clients Benefit from In-House Powder Coating Services
At KAD, we’re always looking for ways to provide better manufacturing solutions. When we noticed a steady stream of orders requesting powder coating as a finishing treatment, we determined that it was time to meet our clients’ needs directly.
We’re thrilled to offer powder coating services for metal parts made from materials like steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. We stock basic colors, including black, white, gray, and primary colors, and we can accommodate parts measuring up to 18″ x 24″ x 10″.
Here are four ways you benefit from our in-house powder coating services:
1. Lower costs
If you’ve recently ordered parts–or anything, for that matter—you’ve likely noticed that shipping costs are outrageous. Precision machine shops have to pay for shipping to and from a service provider when outsourcing powder coating services—and it’s even more expensive if a client needs a rush job or has a large order.
Providing powder coating services in-house decreases indirect manufacturing costs for our clients.
2. Faster lead times
Eliminating the need for shipping doesn’t just lower costs; it also shortens lead times. We estimate that we can shave two full days of travel time off orders that require powder coating by offering in-house services.
3. Better on-time delivery
Relying on shipping companies and outside finishing vendors had us beholden to two different timetables and made it difficult to guarantee a specific delivery date.
Now that we manage the entire process on our own, our on-time delivery rates are better than ever.
4. Improved quality
Shipping parts to and from a powder coating supplier increases the risk of parts becoming damaged during transit.
Keeping your parts in our shop the whole time gives us full control over how they are handled and packaged, so you can be confident that they will arrive in pristine condition.
Ready to take advantage of our in-house powder coating services for your next prototype model? Get started today by requesting a quote. We can’t wait to work with you.