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Benefits of Lean Manufacturing and Related Blogs

Lean manufacturing is the process of cutting back on certain materials or speeding up certain processes to lower the overall cost of manufacturing. There can be key benefits to this approach to manufacturing, but it's important to move forward with a balanced view of lowering costs without compromising quality. This blog looks at that concept, but it also delves into other information related to the manufacturing and industrial fields. Ultimately, this blog is designed to help manufacturing professionals as well as B2B clients who purchase products or outsource processes to this field. If you have questions, I hope that you find the answers you need here.

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Benefits of Lean Manufacturing and Related Blogs

5 Ways Powder Coating Is Better for the Environment

by Mark Peters

Powder coating is a modern metal coating option applied with a special electrostatic technique that bonds coloured powder to the surface of steel, aluminium, and more. While painting has traditionally been the most common way to surface metal projects, powder coating offers many benefits over paint — including eco-friendliness. Here are five of the ways powder coating helps to protect the environment. 

1. Powder coating produces less waste

One of the biggest environmental benefits of powder coating is how little waste it produces. While discarded paint is hazardous to the environment, powder coating is applied efficiently, which means very little powder is wasted. Combined with its application process, which doesn't require excess materials like water, powder coating doesn't produce harmful byproducts to deal with afterwards.

2. Powder coating can be recycled

Powder reclamation is the process of taking unused or unneeded powder coating and recycling it. Overspray powder that doesn't adhere to the metal part in question can be filtered or caught in a spray booth, then reused just as if it was new. Paint drips, on the other hand, generally must be thrown away because they're no longer usable. On top of this, all forms of unused powder coating (from expired powder to overspray) can be segregated and re-manufactured as new coating products in a specialist plant, completely eliminating landfill waste.

3. Powder coating is free from toxins

Another huge environmental benefit of powder coating is that it's free from airborne toxins. While you may think a spray powder would pollute the air more than paint, this couldn't be further from the truth. Many paints contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and HAPs (hazardous air pollutants) that emit into the air when they're used. Powder coatings, however, don't contain any solvents. As such, they emit next to no toxins during application.

4. Powder coating uses less HVAC power

Since powder coating is relatively toxin-free, you won't need to run your HVAC system so heavily. Ventilation systems are often used to remove paint fumes from the air, making it safe for manufacturing workers, but this isn't necessary when it comes to powder coating. Not only will you save money on your electricity usage, but that reduced powder need will also support the environment in turn.

5. Powder coating complies with environmental regulations

If you're still on the fence, just take a look at your local environmental regulations. Since powder coating is made and applied in a sustainable way, it already meets the safety codes and the eco recommendations of most national authorities.

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