FAQ2: More In-Depth Answers to Common IntelliFinishing Questions

During the initial stages of our discussions about potential projects, we send our prospects a series of questions to help define the scope of the system we are to design and cost out. We’ve found that many prospective customers also have a set of questions they’d like to know too. In this article, we’ve taken time to answer some of those questions that come up from our perspective to give you a better understanding of what sets us apart. Hopefully, this information will help you understand our abilities and what you should consider when selecting us as your partner on your next finishing system. We’ve broken the categories into three main sections. Click below to jump to that section.

IntelliFinishing Options

How much part weight can an IntelliFinishing System handle?

IntelliFinishing has four conveyor options that are based on the weight per carrier. These include the 500, 1500, 3500, and 5000 series conveyors. The series number corresponds to the weight per trolley allowed. Since most carriers have at least two trolleys (but some systems have four or more), you can multiply the series number by the trolleys to get to the system’s approximate weight per carrier capacity. In general, we tend to use the 500 series for carriers holding up to 1,000 lbs. We use the 1500 series for carriers up to about 6,000 lbs. The 3500 series tends to be used for per carrier weights of up to 14,000 lbs. And the 5,000 series, up to 20,000 lbs and beyond.

IntelliFinishing Conveyor Sizes

How many installations of IntelliFinishing systems are there?

We have over two dozen installations since we started in 2008. Seven installations occurred in partnership with Caterpillar in our first few years, before the technology was made available to other companies. Caterpillar actually patented a number of aspects of using this technology and we, at IntelliFinishing, represent those patents on all systems installed. However, there are actually hundreds of installations of our conveyance system, the friction-tube conveyor by IntelliTrak. This conveyor was invented in Europe over 60 years ago and is solely distributed by IntelliTrak. IntelliTrak is one of our main partners/vendors for the IntelliFinishing systems. They use this conveyor for material handling projects too, so whenever someone just wants material handling, we pass that contact over to IntelliTrak.

Does your conveyor work well with Shot Blast Equipment?

Our conveyor works exceptionally well with blast systems because we can move each carrier at an ideal speed based on the hung parts. We can even go back and pass through the blast window more than once. All of this is controlled by the recipe software. Over time, we’ve also made our conveyor better when using it with a blast as we’ve changed the it to help keep abrasive blast material out of the friction tube and carrier parts to prevent premature part wear. We currently have 4 systems that use shotblast inline on their systems with more systems on the way in process of being built on the way.  

How do you motorize the turning of the friction wheels?

We use either one half hp or one horsepower motors per section of track for most of our conveyor series options. The motors turn either a set of a belts or a chain that encircles the friction tube. Our conveyor motors are off the shelf and extremely easy to swap out if ever needed. Our belts (for the 500 series) are also easy to swap out and there are 4 per motor, but you only need one to operate the conveyor. The rest are just for extra redundancy. The chains rarely need changing but are also easy to slip off and on.

How does the conveyor work with process equipment and do you manufacture your own process equipment?

IntelliFinishing partners with and uses split top washers and ovens from Midwest Finishing Systems. They also provide environmental rooms, when required. The split top ovens in particular allow the friction wheels, which are synthetic rubber, to stay out of the oven and therefore they don’t melt. In fact, the entire conveyor is kept up out of the process equipment/ This saves energy (no heating up the conveyor chain or carrier loadbars), it’s cleaner, and it eliminates contamination that is common with chain based system. An added benefit is our carriers don’t drag heat throughout the facility like most chain conveyor systems. Across the top of the oven slot through which hooks or racking typically travel, we will have an air knife system that helps to keep the heat in the oven along with doors – also that save heat. Ultimately, our designs are far more fuel efficient to operate. We often can project 30–40% in savings over conventional ovens and wash designs.

Software

What does your system software consist of? 

We typically use several Allan Bradley PLC’s to control the conveyor and other pieces of equipment. We use an Industrial software called Ignition to provide the over-riding supervisory software that integrates each PLC. Most industrial control software price per tag, client, and connections. Ignition, in contrast, provides for unlimited tags, clients, and connections, plus it includes a designer function too. Our parent company and our software programmers are Premier level Integrators of Ignition, the highest level possible.

Ignition collects and stores system historical data too. While we do provide a base option for all systems, many additional system features can be custom quoted such as ERP integration and specialized reporting.

The software we use is custom-made for each system based on the system requirements. Generally, all IntelliFinishing Systems have a simple to use interface, a per carrier recipe approach to allow for wide variation per carrier, the ability to monitor the system from any computer on the network, and integration with each piece of process equipment. Most simple monorail finishing systems have nothing in the way of software control. Our software alone will significantly reduce system mistakes, operational time, rejects, do-overs, etc.

With IntelliFinishing, besides the system floor HMI’s, any networked computer with the proper login credentials can see the system and get various reports. Some reports can also be routinely emailed and downloaded in multiple common formats – although this is usually a custom-added feature.

Reputation and Support

What’s your service like after the sale?

Our help desk is available 24/7. Outside of routine part orders, our customers call us on average twice a month. We estimate that 85% of our service calls are resolved on a single call. However, on the rare occasion our team cannot resolve the issue, the techs who worked on your system will assist. We’ve even had some clients call our help desk just to brainstorm ideas, and we love it! We’re here to help however we can.

With the service desk, it is our goal to have a person answer any incoming calls — not a pesky automated robot. However, if our service tech happens to be on another line, an answering service will respond in person and you can leave a message. You will get a call back from the on call technician quickly.

Who owns IntelliFinishing?

IntelliFinishing is a dba of Kasa Companies. Kasa has more than 65 engineers across the U.S. Many of our engineers have a minimum of a dozen years of experience working on high-profile projects in the automotive, airport baggage handling, and finishing system industries. Our IntelliFinishing engineers, project managers, onsite coordinators, PLC and Ignition software programmers come from the ranks of Kasa.

Can we talk to customers or visit some installations?

Yes! We encourage prospects to visit one or more of our present installations. We have no dissatisfied customers! We’re happy to set up site tours to installations that may be similar to your needs or to provide contact information for any of our U.S. installations. Prospects can hear about our reputation straight from other customers. We’re creative with our solutions, put in long hours on installations, and meet our customer’s expectations for timing, performance, and professionalism.

Still think IntelliFinishing might be the right fit for your business?

Contact us by filling out this form or calling 785-309-0356.

Defining Throughput Needs is a Must before Designing a Finishing System

Imagine you’ve been tasked to help feed breakfast to a very large family of twenty people. I come from a family of eleven, so I know what this is like! Your task is to make toast.

Suppose everyone comes to the breakfast table at the same time and everyone wants toast! Great, you say! Naturally, everyone wants to eat their breakfast at about the same time, so you have a relatively short time to make about 40 pieces of toast (at minimum).

Suppose, you only have the old-fashioned two slices of bread toaster available. How long will it take to make 40 pieces of toast if each pair of toast takes, what…3 minutes? Twenty pairs of toast at 3 minutes each is….wait a minute…60 MINUTES! Why, you’ll likely be skinned alive and eaten yourself if you take that long to get toast to each person at the breakfast table – especially if your big brother is one of the last ones to get his toast. Nope…no way…you need a much bigger toaster!

In fact, you probably need to get all the toast done in about 6 minutes or less which would be 10 pairs of toast in 3 minutes and 10 more pairs of toast in 3 more minutes. This means you need 10 of the 2-slice toasters or 5 of the 4-slice toasters, or maybe you could get by with just 2 of the 8-slice toasters, but two of your family members will get their toast at 12 minutes after sitting down. In that case, you have to know which relatives like to eat their toast last…LOL! (For now, we aren’t going to even bring up the tasks of buttering the toast or jelly options, etc.) Good luck! Your family is 20 strong, so likely as not…you can’t afford to own 2 of the really nice 8-slice toasters…so whatever you do…“don’t volunteer to do the toast.” LOL! Enough about me…Haha!

Since finishing systems have ovens, they also could be considered just like those toasters, in some ways. Parts need time to dry off and to cure in ovens. How many parts in how much time defines how big the ovens have to be and ultimately greatly influence the size and price of a system.

Traditional monorail systems tend to run track through the oven at x speed for y time to get to z parts per hour. Power and Free as well as friction-tube conveyors have carriers. Each carrier can carry one to very many parts, but for all intents and purposes each carrier is just like a piece of toast. The number of carriers or pieces of toast per hour define the size of the ovens. They affect other areas too, but much more directly the ovens than other parts of a finishing system.  

If you say you can fit 10 parts on a carrier (at whatever size carrier we want to use and this is often defined by your longest, widest, and tallest parts – but could be based on other criteria as well), and you want to process 1,000 parts per hour on a finishing system, then you need a system that can process 100 carriers per hour. Ten parts per carrier into 1,000 parts per hour is 100 carriers per hour. That’s a fairly fast system, but let’s stick with it for mathematical purposes. 100 carriers per hour means you have a cycle time of just 36 seconds or .6 of a minute.

If you then specify you need 10 minutes in the dry oven this means you need a Dry “Toaster” with about 17 spots in it. Technically, the math is 10 minutes divided by the cycle time of .6 which equals 16.66 to be exact. However, you can’t fit a partial carrier into the oven, so you would round this up to 17.

Now…imagine a toaster with 17 total toast slots! Are you hungry yet?

With an IntelliFinishing System, we are more likely to suggest a system with 2 ovens and 9 spots each or 18 total spots of dry oven. This would give you a little extra capacity to grow into in the future. With two dry ovens with one lane for each (or it could be a single dry oven with two conveyorized lanes running through it), you also have the ability to route carriers that dry more quickly around carriers that dry more slowly.  

Here’s another example for a final cure oven: you might specify you need 30 minutes on average. Thirty minutes divided by the cycle time of .60 minutes means you need 50 total cure oven spots. With our system, we might give you 5 ovens with 10 spots each or perhaps 10 ovens with 5 ovens each, or some mixture of ovens that would give you 50 total oven spots. It would tend to depend on what makes most sense with your available footprint.

Naturally, if you only need to do 10 carriers of parts per hour, the ovens are 10 times smaller! Ten carriers per hour gives you a 6-minute cycle time. 10 minutes of dry time divided by 6 minutes is 1.66 spots in the oven, to be rounded up to 2 spots. In this case, the dry oven is likely to be just one oven with 2 spots for carriers. For 30 minutes of cure time, the system would require 5 oven spots (30/6=5). Now you have some choices…a single oven with 5 spots? Two ovens with 3 spots in one lane and 2 spots in anther? Two ovens with 3 spots each, so you build in extra capacity? All these options would have to be discussed.

So, while throughput also will affect the number of load and unload locations, the number and style of booths, and the size of the wash (or even a blast if used), oven space is where we typically start when laying out a system. Without throughput estimates, it’s nearly impossible to design a system.

One last thing…suppose some family members want lightly toasted bread and others like it nearly black? Oh brother!  But with an IntelliFinishing system, this is no problem (metaphorically). The carrier is given a recipe at load that defines time in the oven for that carrier for the dry off and cure steps. By using multiple lanes of ovens, the fast drying or curing parts can speed around the carriers with slower drying or curing parts.

If you’d like to learn more about our systems, contact me at jclaman@intellifinishing.com or by cell phone at 785-577-9104.

And…let’s skip the toast…I’m probably trying to be on a keto diet.

IntelliFinishing Systems and Part Density Go Together Like Eggs and Bacon, with Racking as the Gravy on Top

Organizations consider many factors when considering a painting or coating finishing system. The capabilities of the system and its design are critical to performance. One area to pay close attention to is maximizing part density. Traditional chain conveyors come up short here, with most requiring 6-inch spacing or more between parts. A flexible solution with smart controls, like the IntelliFinishing System, is a game-changer for part density, with racking as a key ingredient. 

In this post, you’ll learn what part density is, how to maximize it, and how racking plays a role. 

What Is Part Density, and Why Is It Hard to Achieve with Chain-Based Conveyors?

Part density describes the ability to hang parts tightly together on a system. Monorail systems typically have poor density. Items must hang from hooks on the chain, spaced from a few inches to even feet apart. Loaders hang parts as the chain moves by at a set speed. For high-speed operations, loaders must scramble to keep up with the chain. As a result, they often must place relatively small pieces a far distance from one another, which creates big gaps and low part density. 

The only way to increase part density in this scenario is by preloading parts offline onto a removable load bar and then hanging a whole raft of parts at once. It can be challenging with a constantly moving chain system. There is sometimes the ability to stop the chain for loading, but it’s not without unintended, negative impacts downstream. Those impacts can include issues with the timing of pretreatment stages of a wash, travel through a shotblast, time in ovens, the timing of the processing of parts in the paint booths, and of course a drag on total throughput. 

Because these systems literally chain you to a speed with a given amount of time to hang, you’ll constantly fight the part density battle. 

Maximizing Part Density and Stop Chasing the Chain

The solution is to stop chasing the chain! Power and free systems and the IntelliFinishing system have the ability for carriers to halt, receive loads, and rejoin the main line. However, there are differences between these two concerning part density. 

The IntelliFinishing System enables smooth acceleration and deceleration because a VFD (Variable Frequency Drive) motor control for each track section. Power and free conveyors use motors that control long chain sections, each typically having a specific speed. In this situation, a carrier “dedogs” from one chain at one pace and then “dogs” onto another chain at another rate. The effect of this is parts swinging considerably, which has its own set of concerns. 

Why Is Maximizing Part Density So Critical in a Finishing System?

Maximizing part density results in finishing more products in less time. When the finishing time is less, you save on natural gas, electricity, and labor, so your total cost to finish per square inch decreases. 

It all comes back to the ability to pack parts closer, which you can do more consistently with the IntelliFinishing System. Typically, spacing can be as little as a few inches, so you’ll be processing more parts per hour. There’s also almost no part sway. The gains in efficiency can range from 10-30%. But to further optimize, you’ll need to have the proper racking, too.

How Racking Supports Part Density

Racking Example on IntelliFinishing Automated Finishing System

Racking is the key to part density. You won’t have great part density if racking prevents parts from hanging tightly. For example, one of our system customers, JR Metal Fabrication, designed their own racking that greatly maximizes part density. Their setup includes a vertical hanging bar with slots at specific distances. From this, horizontal bars fit within the slots to create a grid. Each horizontal bar has an approximate spur spaced every few inches from which parts hang. The spurs, rails, and hanging bars come in a variety of sizes and arrangements to work with many different types of parts. This rail and slot hanging rack system allows JR Metal Fabrication to maximize part density on their 10-foot carriers. They routinely place from 20 to as many as 800 parts on each carrier.

How Can You Use an IntelliFinishing System for Racking and Increase Part Density?

We don’t provide the racking with our systems. It’s usually the responsibility of the system owner. However, we have a system that allows for greater part density than traditional chain-based overhead conveyor based finishing systems. The racking should be appropriately sized and fitted for the parts you finish and for the size of carrier you need on your system.

Are There Ever Situations Where Part Density or Racking Don’t Matter?

The answer is—they always matter. There may be instances where part density is fixed for some reason. An example is our customer, Prince Hydraulics, which paints hydraulic cylinders and valves. They determined they always hang only eight cylinders vertically per carrier, which is 8 feet long. Each cylinder is about a foot apart.

Cylinders can be an inch or two in diameter to several inches. Their lengths vary, too. Their system spins cylinders using star gears as they emerge from the wash, move through the blow-off device and, arrive in the paint booth in front of robotic paint applicators.

Racking Example on IntelliFinishing Automated Finishing System

In theory, they could hang more than one cylinder. However, the spinning effect would cause lower cylinders to wobble if daisy-chained to the top cylinder. To mitigate this, they choose to go with eight cylindrical products per carrier only. However, they also paint hydraulic valves. When painting valves they hang between 4 to 8 valves vertically per each of the 8 foot hook spaces. In this way they can paint from 24 to 80 valves per 8-foot carrier. Depending on the size of the valves, each vertical rack creates a space between the valves from several to just a couple inches apart. The vertical rail still spins during the blow off and within the booth. Because the valves attach to the rail, the spin is controlled, and the robotic paint program adjusts to finish each valve. The part information at each hanging spot on the carrier is transferred from their ERP where it’s recorded in production when the parts are hung on removable loadbars resting on carts and then transferred to their IntelliFinishing system when the removable bar with parts are being loaded. The part information then is communicated to the robotic program through their IntelliFinishing Recipe system. This technique allows Prince to load up to 80 valves per carrier, depending on the size.

Maximize Part Density with a Full Plate

The IntelliFinishing System is an innovative take on finishing systems. It’s chainless, agile, and has the capabilities to increase part density and capitalize on great racking. All the ingredients come together so your business can fill up on total finish efficiency. Contact us to see if an IntelliFinishing system might be right for you.

How IntelliFinishing Revolutionized Finishing Systems

Like many industry-leading company’s creation story, IntelliFinishing— now a top-tier provider of custom finishing systems — was formed to remedy a serious issue for a major construction equipment brand, Caterpillar. In the late-2000s, Caterpillar encountered difficulties with their multiple chain-based finishing systems. Each was built for a very limited set of Caterpillar parts, and often struggled to keep pace with evolving paint and production specifications. Because of these limitations, Caterpillar was experiencing extensive periods of downtime to build new systems, often taking several years and requiring more plant footprint. These conditions were bottlenecking production, and decreasing efficiency and ROI.

Caterpillar knew there had to be a better way and sought a more adaptable and modular finishing system that could accommodate new products or processes without necessitating entirely new systems.

Caterpillar identified IntelliTrak’s 500 and 1500 series friction-tube conveyors as promising solutions due to their ability to move carriers of parts at varying speeds per track section and their modular design. They then collaborated with Midwest Finishing Systems to incorporate their existing modular pretreatment washers and ovens. Caterpillar envisioned a finishing system that integrated the IntelliTrak conveyor and Midwest Finishing pre- and post-finishing equipment, but there was a catch… It would require a sophisticated and flexible process control system.

Kasa Controls and Automation Fills the Gap to Create a Nimble Finishing System

To create a control system that would allow each carrier to be assigned a unique recipe based on the products hung per carrier, Caterpillar enlisted the expertise of Kasa Controls and Automation. Known for their conveyance automation systems in the automotive industry, Kasa’s recipe driven control system approach ensured that each carrier could have its own distinct set of pre-treatment steps, wash stages or pressures, dry times, and post-treatment steps. Between the smarter control system and the flexible conveyor with modular process equipment, a much wider assortment of parts could be finished with higher throughput on the same system. The systems could also be installed much quicker due to the modularity of the system.

Caterpillar filed approximately 19 patents while collaborating with the three companies to develop, among other things, an even more robust 3500 series conveyor, which could support the six ton weights required for the largest Caterpillar parts. The three vendors then constructed six total systems using the 3500 Series and one powder coating system using the 500 series conveyor for Caterpillar in 2008 to 2012. As these systems were being installed, Caterpillar offered each of the three vendors exclusive rights to market the technology and patents to other businesses in the finishing industry. The vendor team agreed to allow Kasa to market this technology and thus the DBA of “IntelliFinishing” was branded to represent the concept.

With their inaugural non-Caterpillar project for Raytheon, plus other installations for companies such as Hytrol, Greenheck Fans, Boeing, and others, IntelliFinishing expanded beyond their Caterpillar origins, offering custom finishing systems to a diverse array of companies across North America.

Continued Success and Partnerships

Today, IntelliFinishing maintains strong partnerships with Midwest Finishing Systems and IntelliTrak, providing custom finishing systems that include control panels and bespoke programming by Kasa Controls and Automation. Staying true to our commitment to system excellence, IntelliFinishing continues to support the systems installed for Caterpillar in 2008-2012. IntelliFinishing’s inventive and adaptable approach to finishing systems has resulted in over two dozen installations for OEMs and Custom Coaters including for Altec, LoadTrail, Cascade, Hyster Yale, LG-MRI, and others.

If you’re considering a new finishing system and need a flexible system that can handle a wide variety of parts or perhaps a system that may fit in a tighter space, or just want a system that is modular and can grow over time, discover why so many trust IntelliFinishing with their custom finishing systems and contact us today!

IntelliFinishing Simulation: Optimizing Throughput for Large Finishing Systems

IntelliFinishing is a leading provider of automated industrial powder coating and liquid paint systems. IntelliFinishing is a DBA of Kasa Controls & Automation. Kasa (and therefore IntelliFinishing) is an expert in both simulation and emulation not only in paint finishing but also in the industries of automotive, baggage handling, and parcel automation.

At IntelliFinishing, we realize finishing products can be a complex and challenging process, especially when different finishing recipes are involved. Because it’s crucial for manufacturers to achieve high levels of throughput while maintaining quality and efficiency, we developed a state-of-the-art simulation service for IntelliFinishing that helps manufacturers forecast potential bottlenecks and optimize their system’s performance.

How Does the IntelliFinishing Simulation Work?

To ensure its effectiveness, we require a forecast of the quantity of product per finishing recipe that the system will need to process in a given timeframe, usually within a typical shift. Using this data, we design a system model showing the sequence of operation per carrier based on the ideal recipe for the parts hung on that carrier.

Then, to create the simulation, a CAD layout is used as the foundation where each process step is defined by expected recipe variation parameters. Considering loading time, we then introduce variation into the potential recipes. For instance, some products may require a 30-minute final cure time, while others may require a 20-minute or 50-minute cure time, and there may be variations in color or pretreatment for each part.

Other examples of variations include:

  • Pretreatment options like speed through a blast and timing in various stages of wash
  • Dry oven timing and temperatures
  • Color options and booth selection
  • Booth application timing
  • Cure oven timing and temperatures
  • Unload timing

Finally, all variations in the system are taken into account to run the simulation. This allows you to test the effect each variable has on each part of the system, resulting in determining ideal conditions and maximized throughput.

Benefits of Using IntelliFinishing Simulation

There are many benefits to using simulation. For instance, we can identify system bottlenecks by loading various combinations of parts, recipes, and carrier requirements in advance, thereby improving system efficiency and minimizing downtime. Additionally, simulation can help identify ideal manpower requirements based on various throughput volumes and carriers per hour.

For example, it’s possible you may be experiencing a labor shortage, like so many others in the manufacturing industry. However, with simulation, we can predict the impact of the shortage on carriers and products finished per hour. So, say you use manual painting booths and are understaffed, then impact on the entire system and total throughput can be predicted.

Another area simulation could benefit is predicting the ideal number of system carriers to accomplish a desired carrier per hour rate. Often there is a sweet spot for the number of carriers operating on a large system, which — without a simulation — takes a lot of trial and error, relying more on art than science. But with a simulation, you can manipulate the variables in real time, resulting in hard data that shows a bell-shaped curve effect on throughput up to a certain point. Eventually, the system will get overloaded with carriers, causing a bottleneck and total throughput to diminish — and that is when the sweet spot is identified.

By using a simulation, you’ll gain greater efficiency and cost savings through identifying bottlenecks, optimizing manpower requirements, and predicting ideal carrier counts for a desired throughput.

IntelliFinishing: Your Finishing System and Simulation Partner

IntelliFinishing can help customers make informed decisions about their finishing system, ultimately leading to greater efficiency, cost savings, and confidence in your system’s performance.

As a lead supplier of finishing systems that offers superior performance, energy efficiency, and flexibility, you can achieve the desired level of throughput for your finishing system.

Contact us today to see if an IntelliFinishing system can help you achieve greater throughput!

The IntelliFinishing Difference: The Power of Smart Controls in Finishing Systems

In the world of manufacturing, IntelliFinishing stands out by providing customized finishing systems. Our unique solutions are not only efficient and flexible, but also meticulously tailored to meet manufacturers’ specific process requirements.

Our recipe-based smart controls are central to the IntelliFinishing difference, propelling our services beyond industry standards. This key differentiator is paving the way for unparalleled customization and adaptability in manufacturing operations.

Revolutionary Control with Recipes

At the core of IntelliFinishing’s innovation is our recipe-based control technology. It affords manufacturers the ability to tackle an extensive variety of part sizes and shapes, like Prime Powder Coating’s facility expansion that can now accommodate components up to 23 feet long and 4,000 pounds. Despite the demand in variety, our systems deliver meticulous accuracy across every phase of the custom finishing process — from wash cycle to the final cure.

Gone are the days of being confined to the traditional loop of conveyors. IntelliFinishing’s layouts, empowered by our smart controls, allow carriers to move both forward and backward. The strategic use of reverse motion and deadheads significantly cuts down on the space typically lost to wide turns. This not only conserves valuable square footage, but also amplifies operational efficiency, optimizes resource and equipment use, and facilitates capabilities beyond the reach of conventional systems.

Furthermore, our systems’ streamlined operations lead to labor optimizations. Clients frequently report a reduction in shifts and associated costs, bolstering a more economically lean manufacturing environment. In fact, one customer reported reducing shifts from three to one after installing an IntelliFinishing system.

Unmatched Flexibility for Any Industry with Smart System Controls

Our smart control system is the driving force of IntelliFinishing’s distinction. This breakthrough technology bestows unprecedented flexibility within the conveyor system, permitting individual control over each carrier’s movement. It’s this granular level of control that allows your finishing operations to be as varied as the parts you process, maintaining quality and efficiency at all times.

The ability to change speeds in a process or to alter treatment times and stages enables an optimal process per carrier, redefining the usual finishing paradigm of sorting like parts and finishing them on different systems built for those parts to allowing one system to be able to handle all the parts in an as needed and leaner process. Our automated systems have proven their versatility across a variety of industries, from aerospace to agricultural and construction equipment, automotive parts to defense machinery. IntelliFinishing systems are engineered to adjust to the ongoing evolution of products, pretreatments, finishes, and other industrial demands, demonstrating our commitment to innovation.

The IntelliFinishing Difference

IntelliFinishing stands at the forefront of the finishing systems industry, delivering comprehensive solutions that redefine efficiency and customization. Our commitment to a turnkey approach extends from the meticulous design phase through to a seamless installation, ensuring every system is fine-tuned for optimal energy efficiency and intelligent operation. With IntelliFinishing, you’re not just upgrading to a new system; you’re investing in a future-proof operation that can effortlessly adapt to the evolving landscape of manufacturing with a diverse handling capacity, on-the-fly adaptability, and seamless integration into current processes.

We set ourselves apart by revolutionizing traditional finishing systems with our unique conveyor system and smart controls, providing an unmatched level of customization and operational flexibility. This approach can drastically reduce installation time and often creates a smaller system footprint, enabling your operation to pivot and scale with agility.

IntelliFinishing is dedicated to empowering manufacturers with greater control, efficiency, and adaptability in their finishing systems. We craft each detail to precisely meet the dynamic needs of modern manufacturing environments, but with the ability to change the process as needs and requirements change. With IntelliFinishing, you gain a partner committed to shaping the future of finishing, where your specific needs dictate the capabilities of your finishing system.

A great way to learn more about IntelliFinishing is to visit our Videos page or if you’re ready to implement your new finishing system with recipe-based smart controls get in touch today!

Prime Powder Coating featured in PCT Magazine

The feature article in a recent issue of Powder Coated Tough Magazine features Prime Powder Coating. (Read the PCT article here.) Prime installed an Intellifinishing automated powder coating system in their new 45,000-square-foot facility. The system is custom-designed to integrate the latest in automation technology and is capable of handling significantly larger and heavier parts. As with all IntelliFinishing systems, what truly differentiates this system are the intelligent controls integration, allowing unparalleled carrier recipe customization. And because this system was especially fitted for Prime Powder’s new facility, it can also be reconfigured for future growth without experiencing downtime.

You can access the case study on the IntelliFinishing site here.

Always On-Call: Meet IntelliFinishing’s 24/7 Service Team

Sometimes the old adage KISS­­––keep it simple silly––can’t always apply. This is the case with IntelliFinishing’s high up-time finishing systems. These impressive automated finishing systems can be incredibly complex, yet easy to use, but they also have proven over the past decade to be extremely reliable. Since opening in 2008, IntelliFinishing has installed several of our flexible finishing systems each year, both large and small, and each one custom designed for the client’s needs. But despite the intricacy, flexibility, and no matter the size of the system, our service team almost never makes on-site repairs. Last year, for example, nearly 40% of IntelliFinishing customers did not make any problem service calls to our 24/7 customer service team—at all. The average number of problem service calls per all IntelliFinishing installations was just 3 and, since nearly all of our systems are connected back to our service team via Ethernet, most of those calls were resolved in minutes. Occasionally, an issue may require a callback from a project engineer or manager if the problem is highly technical. And of course, when needed, we help our customers order emergency parts and/or, then go onsite to fix any problems that might be causing significant system downtime or just to solve issues that can only be handled on location.

Meet Scott, Our Service Manager

Because we receive so few calls, even with a 24/7 hotline, our service manager, Scott Jensen, is actually free to work on other projects for IntelliFinishing’s parent company, Kasa. But that doesn’t mean he’s not available. In fact, one customer who holds the distinction of having one of our largest low maintenance automated finishing systems, is also one of the most frequent callers, though not for the reason you might think. According to Scott, “this customer just seems to genuinely like calling us. More often than not, they actually solve their own problems before I can even get their system up on my screen.” Still, Scott, or one of his handpicked deputies, is always available, night or day, should you have a question or problem with your finishing system.

Keep It Simple, Keep It Human

Our 24/7 IntelliFinishing help line is always answered by a live person and we promise to get your problems fixed as fast as humanly possible.

If you’d like to experience our 24/7 customer service, just call 785-404-3636 and Scott, or his designated stand-in (Scott needs time off too) will be delighted to answer any questions. To learn more about IntelliFinishing and our finishing systems, click here.

Save Hundreds of Thousands on Operational Costs with IntelliFinishing

So you’re in the market for a new automated finishing system that’ll allow you to bring finishing in-house in order to optimize the speed of your production process and save money. Or, you need a new automated finishing system because your existing system just can’t keep up with demand, is prone to breakdowns, or can’t accommodate your new products or desired processes.

After some research, you’ve narrowed down your selection to a traditional overhead chain-based system such as a monorail or a power & free (P&F) system, and an IntelliFinishing system. While upfront costs will factor into your decision-making, you should also remember to estimate the operational costs of running the system, as the differences can significantly impact your bottom line. Here are five ways your IntelliFinishing system can save you money on operational expenses compared to competing traditional chain-based systems, lowering your total cost of ownership.

No chain system absorbing BTUs: The problem with heavy duty chain-based conveyors is that the chain system itself can absorb 10 to 23% of the BTUs emitted by dry off and cure ovens. This requires the system to burn more fuel to complete the finishing process leading to greatly increased natural gas and utilities costs. But your IntelliFinishing system, by using a conveyance that is mounted above and outside each oven with only the parts and hangers running through the oven has no chain to absorb and to drag heat out of the oven. The result is a more energy efficient system that doesn’t waste thousands per month in BTUs. Plus, the chain heat is constantly being distributed throughout your facility. This might be viewed as a plus in mid-winter, but it can be quite unpleasant during more moderate weather months – often making working on or near the finishing system one of the “hottest” jobs at the factory – and we don’t mean that in a good way!  By comparison, working on or near the ovens on your IntelliFinishing system will seem quite pleasant. This is also due to the highly efficient construction of the ovens, but ultimately your IntelliFinishing system will decrease your system and building cooling costs significantly. It might even make working near or on the finishing system…”cool”, too.

Doors help lock in the savings: Anyone paying a home utility bill understands the agony of seeing an open front door while the heat is on during the winter or the A/C is on in the summer: it’s throwing money right out the door. The same concept applies to finishing systems. Chain-based conveyor systems normally do not include ovens equipped with doors – unlike IntelliFinishing system ovens. Chain systems usually have wide open ovens that constantly allow heat to escape. Your IntelliFinishing system will typically use conveyor operating software to open and close oven doors as the parts are transported in and out. With your IntelliFinishing System, your parts will typically speed up to get inside the oven and then slow down or stop just inside the oven as the doors close. The doors are kept closed as much as possible and precisely at the right times though the software and conveyor system, so no more wasted heat out a wide-open door all day long! Doors on ovens help account for up to 5% of potential BTU savings per hour.

Multiple lanes reduce congestion: The same way adding another lane to a highway can reduce traffic, your IntelliFinishing system designs will typically feature multiple ovens or lanes per oven. This will allow faster curing parts to bypass slower items and increase total throughput and without affecting any other carriers of parts on the system. Multiple lanes of ovens also can have a tighter footprint than the usual single lane and serpentine ovens common on monorail or P&F systems, enabling them to fit into more concise spaces while saving at least another 1% in BTUs per hour.

IntelliFinishing reduces water use and electrical consumption: Competing finishing systems waste a lot of water and electricity because they usually run all day whether parts are present to be finished or not. But an IntelliFinishing system uses more intelligent technology to activate washes only when products are present in each wash stage. Meanwhile, each section of the conveyor turns on only when needed to move product. This is made possible because each section of track, whether it’s just a few feet up to a section of track that could be 65 feet long, is operated by either a ½ horsepower or 1 horsepower motor that turns the friction tube conveyor sections. The motors are interlocked and controlled by the software system to soft start and stop only when carriers are present and need to be transported over that section of track. For example, a 20-foot section of track, transporting a 10 foot carrier of parts, might move that carrier at 20 to 40 feet per minute depending on the purpose of the track or the process it’s travelling through. Therefore, the carrier would move across that track in 30 to 60 seconds. If the system’s production rate is 20 carriers per hour, then that carrier should have at least 3 minutes to traverse this section of track. Effectively, the motor will be off 2 to 2.5 minutes per carrier cycle and therefore not consuming any electricity during this time. Compare this to chain systems that often use large, energy-intense Caterpillar drives to move the product and the chain itself. The most common way to operate these traditional systems is to run the chains all the time during production hours no matter if products are loaded to finish or not. It’s like running your kitchen oven all day even if there isn’t any food in the oven to cook. Your energy-smart IntelliFinishing system can literally save thousands on all of your utility costs per year.

Chain systems rarely make daily capacity – ours does: Many of our former chain-system customers report they never made more than 70% to 85% of system capacity with their old or existing monorail or P&F systems. The reason for this capacity deficiency (beyond simply breakdowns…which are also common on traditional systems) is that products loaded on chains normally travel at a set speed. Any late loaded products will never close a gap. Similar gaps may occur during painting, masking/demasking or other manual or automatic processes. As a result, the finishing system will need to operate 15% to 30% longer each day to meet plant throughput expectations compared to its rated capacity. This often forces the plant to work longer to make up for the loss. For example, for facilities that operate on a 10 hour shift, this can mean running the finishing system an extra 1.5 to 3 hours longer each day or on additional shifts on weekends or off hours to make up the difference. These extra hours of system operation are just that much more utility and labor expenses. But with your IntelliFinishing system, you will have variable conveyor speeds as carriers travel through the system. Your IntelliFinishing system can increase the speed of any late-loaded products up to 20 fpm faster in non-process areas of track above ‘usual’ speeds to close gaps between carriers. Operators will have more time to handle situations where loading is taking longer than usual cycle times, or painters need more time to finish occasional complicated parts.  The system will simply catch up to previous carriers so total capacity expectations are met and the system finishes the desired daily production on time or even early.

IntelliFinishing combines smart control technology with a revolutionary friction-driven and modular conveyor that features the ability to move carriers at various speeds per section of track, the ability to change direction from forward to backward as may be desired, and the ability to optimize energy use, water use, and throughput.

The system has extremely high uptime ratings compared to traditional systems and it reduces total runtime while achieving a lower total cost of ownership so that you can invest operational savings back into your business or simply as profits.

To learn more about IntelliFinishing, click here.

For Finishing Systems, Smart Controls Are A Smart Idea

In today’s Information Age, the most valuable commodity in the world is no longer silver, gold, or oil—it’s data. What makes data so precious is its ability to help businesses optimize processes, marketing, products, services, and of course, revenues. So, you may ask, “What does this have to do with finishing systems?” Well, if you’re using a traditional automated finishing system with very limited control and no data logging, then you’re not optimizing your operations and potentially losing tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars each year to inefficiencies. Switching to an IntelliFinishing System that includes smart controls enables a better workflow and better finish quality, saving both time and money.

Actionable Insights

Famed management consultant Peter Drucker had a saying, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” In other words, a business can’t improve its processes and achieve greater successes without clearly defined and quantifiable metrics. Or if you prefer Sherlock Holmes, the legendary detective had a famous line: “Data! Data! Data! I cannot make bricks without clay.” The idea is the same—you can’t achieve the desired outcome without first capturing and understanding the proper inputs. If you want to increase the consistency, quality, and throughput of your finishing process, then you need a flexible finishing system that also includes smart controls – delivering valuable data and actionable insights that can be used to enhance operations.

Smart Controls Drive Improvements

While many of today’s industrial machines now feature smart controls, the same can’t be said of traditional conveyorized finishing systems—most are commonly equipped with limited controls that offer no data logging or measurable analytics. But an IntelliFinishing system with smart controls allows operators to track parts as they move through the system. The system can log all production data of interest including pre-finish process settings and times per loadbar, part, or order; coating times and paint or powder usage and settings; carrier dwell times, speed per section, or status; dry off or cure oven timing, temperature, and trends; and more. The data is all stored in a database that can be customized into easy-to-read reports, tables, and graphs so that improvements to quality, productivity, and performance can be made.

Smart Features of IntelliFinishing

IntelliFinishing takes your finishing system to the next level. With IntelliFinishing, parts are processed according to each carrier’s selected recipe. Recipe’s can be fixed or customizable per your finishing needs. For example, the smart system uses recipe information to determine which cure oven lane the carrier of parts will enter to achieve optimal cure time but avoid slower curing items that can bottleneck the system. And while traditional monorail systems convey parts at the same feet per minute speed for the entire system and with limited abilities to adjust speed without negative consequences, an IntelliFinishing system can change blast, wash, cure, and non-process area conveyor speeds, settings, and times per carrier. An IntelliFinishing system also enables the adjustment of component variables, like wash sequence or pressure, oven temperatures, air turns, and timing—depending on the recipe. The system can run very dissimilar products back-to-back for a “Lean” product flow that can greatly reduce system WIP.

Of course, one of the key features of the smart system is the ability to track and record part data for product validation and analysis. The IntelliFinishing industrial software provides a view of your entire finish facility, part processes, and productivity from any HMI station or networked computer, with insights that enhance quality and increase throughput while facilitating production scaling as needed.

A Cost-Effective Finishing Solution

IntelliFinishing is a cost-effective, revenue-boosting finishing solution. It uses a friction-driven tube conveyor with extremely high uptime ratings, low maintenance requirements, and which eliminates chain-based part finish contaminations. The system also greatly reduces utility and overall costs to operate since there’s no need to heat up a chain conveyor continuously as it flows through ovens and our systems feature the most energy-efficient washers and ovens in the business.

Further, due to modular construction and recipe control, an IntelliFinishing system more easily adapts to future changes in processes, finishes, throughput requirements, or part profiles, ensuring facilities are ready for whatever comes next! To learn more, check out our video on smart controls.

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