Why Powder Coating Guns & Powder Coating Units Vary so Much in Price
Powder Coating Guns are offered in a variety of price points from hobbyist up to high end Industrial solutions like Wagner Powder Coating units. There are significant differences in the prices of these units and performance. This article will cover why prices in Powder Coating Guns and Powder Coating Units vary so much.
Why Powder Coating Units Vary in Price Factor 1 – The Powder Coating Gun
The first factor that differs between hobbyist and high end powder guns is the powder coating gun itself. High end powder coating guns will be rebuildable. This allows you to continue with the same powder coating gun for years to come. Additionally, a high-end powder coating gun will offer adjustable powder patterns. This can be helpful if you have a variety of product shapes or need to reduce the fan down at times to overcome challenges with corners or small areas. Additionally, high end powder units will offer tribo or corona style powder coating guns and can even allow control of the electrostatic settings on the powder gun. Tribo guns offer better powder application with products that are difficult due to corners and similar challenges compared to Corona powder coating guns. You can learn more about tribo vs corona style powder coating guns here.
Why Powder Coating Units Vary in Price Factor 2 – The Powder Unit Controller
A second major factor why powder coating units vary in price a lot is the controller for the powder coating unit. When it comes to how much wrapping your powder will achieve one of the biggest factors is the kilovolts of power that your powder coating gun provides. High Kilovolts are what allow for powder to attract better to a grounded part. Hobbyist powder coating equipment often has limits of 25 KV or so, industrial powder coating equipment is often rated for up to 100 KV. The extra kilovolts allows for greater wrap and allows for effective recoating of a previously powder coated part and can help reduce powder waste when powder coating. Additionally higher end industrial powder equipment will allow you to significantly reduce kilovolts and microamps. Kilovolts are important to control the wrap of powder and microamps help with issues related to grounding. High end industrial powder units will allow for control of both Kilovolts and microamps, controlling microamps & kilovolts can allow you to powder coat difficult to reach areas like corners more effectively. Specifically limiting the microamps will cause kilovolts to drop when the microamp limit is reached which can help reduce issues with corner areas. Finally, industrial powder units will offer options to program settings into the unit to accommodate your challenges whether its overcoming issues due to far a day cage or issues with recoating a powder coated part.
Why Powder Coating Units Vary in Price Factor 3 – How the Powder is Fluidized & Control over How Much Powder You Apply
A third factor that influences the cost of high priced and low priced powder equipment is how the powder coating is delivered to the powder coating gun. High end powder units fluidize powder through one of two primary ways. One is what is called a vibratory box where the powder is vibrated causing it to suspend and is then conveyed to the powder gun through a siphon tube. The second is a fluidized bed where air actually suspends the powder into a mixture. Box Feed units are well suited for smaller batches or more frequent color changes while fluidized bed units provide better quality finishes. You can learn more about each type of unit here. High end units will allow control of how much powder is delivered and the amount of fluidization of the powder, these settings allow you to achieve greater control over the powder finish and amount of powder you use. Lower end powder units will not allow for control of the volume or fluidization of powder.
Ultimately it can be an investment buying an industrial powder unit that can cost $4000 dollars or more compared to an inexpensive hobbyist powder coating gun. However inexpensive powder units will also lack the varying options in settings, kilovolts they can supply, and powder delivery control. Not being able to manipulate these settings on your powder coating unit can limit your ability to deal with difficulties like corners or with recoating a powder coated part and similar issues. Industrial powder coating units will allow you to overcome these issues.