Proper Sizing of Continuous, Industrial Spray Washers and Tanks
paint finishing system In a continuous finishing system, parts travel in the following sequence: pre treatment, dry, coat and cure. In order to properly pre-treat a part prior to coating, the cleaning sequence needs to be defined. Once done, the pre-treatment parts washer can be properly sized with the appropriate ware opening, tank sizes, washer length, etc.

In order to properly design and optimize the performance of the industrial spray washer, the product length, width, height, weight, hanging centers and line speed are all required. The opening of the pre-treatment washer is sized to provide clearance around the part while allowing the efficiencies to be maximized.

The overall size of the continuous spray washer is determined by the requirements of the desired pre-treatment process and the size of the parts. The first step is to determine the number and sequence of the industrial parts washer stages. Once this is established, the desired time in each stage is defined. The length of each stage is then determined using the desired time and the conveyor speed.

For instance, if 30 seconds is required in a particular stage and the conveyor speed is five (5) feet per minute (FPM), the length of the stage is (5 FPM x 0.5 min) = 2.5 feet ((.025 MPS x 30 seconds) = .75 meters).

The time required between each stage is defined similarly using the desired drain time, maximum part length, and conveyor speed. The entrance and exit times are generally defined by the length of the part in order to reclaim the drain water.

The size of a particular pre-treatment washer tank is defined partially by the amount of gallons required for the spray zone. The amount of gallons required is defined by the amount of nozzles needed, pressure required, and GPM of each nozzle. The GPM of the industrial spray washer tank defines the tank size in gallons with a typical tank requiring three times as many gallons and the GPM of the tank.