How to Extend the Life of Your Spray Guns Fluid Needle and Nozzle
Do you find that you have to replace your fluid needle and/or nozzle more often than you think should be necessary to maintain a quality finish? If this is an issue your dealing with consider the following root causes and potential solutions.
1. Fluid needle position – if the fluid needle is not in the wide open position it places additional strain on your needle and fluid nozzle. The end result is that the noozle and needle wear quicker leading to needing replacement sooner
2. Nozzle and needle material construction – nozzles and needles on many guns come in stainless steel and tungsten carbide. The initial cost of tungsten carbide is quite a bit more, however, it will last approximately twice as long as stainless steel components. This is especially important when working with abrasive material such as ceramics.
3. Are the fluid nozzle and needle sized appropriately – Ultimately this point is related to the first point, the needle should be backed out fully during operation when possible. If the needle is adjusted in all the time to achieve the desired pattern and fluid volume necessary evaluate the fluid nozzle and needle combination. You may need to downsize the fluid nozzle and needle to a smaller size so their is less material released from the nozzle, allowing you to maintain the needle in the backed out position.
4. Excessive Fluid Pressure – If your using a fluid gauge to adjust fluid pressure to the gun evaluate the amount of pot pressure you are using. If you require more than 12 – 20 lbs of pressure this will cause premature wear of fluid nozzles and needles. The solution is to increase your fluid nozzle to the next size up so you can get the extra production without placing additional stress on your spray gun components.
With these four areas in mind you should be able to help deduce and resolve an issue that is causing your spray gun nozzles/ needles to wear out early.
