Before lacquering or laminating in the press, the workpieces must be prepared. In any case, the fronts are first cleaned e.g. with a brushing machine. Then the primer or adhesive is applied with a spraying device or roller coater. The primer must then dry. The adhesive is later activated by heating in the press. If self-adhesive foils are used, the adhesive is not applied to the workpiece.
Brushing machine
Brushing machines are used for cleaning workpieces. The fronts are cleaned of adhering dust, chips and other impurities by means of a non-abrasive brush in the form of a roller or belt as they pass through the brushing machine.
Spraying machine
The core component of a spray machine is the spray booth (or paint booth). In the spray booth, lacquers or coating materials are applied to the workpieces using a wide variety of application techniques. All movements of the workpiece or the spraying device required for the spraying process are performed by the machine.
In high-pressure air spraying, the most important spraying method, the material to be applied is atomised at a high air pressure of approx. 2 to 8 bar, whereby an air volume of approx. 300-400 l/min is required. The required amount of air is produced by a compressor. The paint mist produced during spray painting is sucked off and cleaned by wet or dry filtration systems. In high-pressure air spraying, the applied material is atomized very finely, resulting in a very good surface quality. However, a high degree of overspray is achieved, i.e. the sprayed material bounces off the surface to be coated, the material utilization (transfer rate) is a maximum of 30 %.
Roller coater
In roller coating machines, the liquid coating material is first fed to two rollers ( applicator and dosing roller), whereby the material is distributed evenly through the gap between the two rollers. The application quantity is adjusted by changing the gap width. The coating material adhering to the applicator roller is applied to the workpiece passing through the machine. Roller coating combines good surface quality with good material utilization, but with less flexibility compared to high pressure spraying.
Manual spray gun
In the case of craft-based production, the application of lacquers and other coating materials in the spray booth is usually done by hand using a manual spray gun.
