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Pilot Coating Methods: What type and when?


In the coating industry, a standard question that comes up is, “What is the best way to coat this material?”


The answer is easy: It depends.


It depends on several key factors related to the rheology of the coating, the amount of coating sample, the thickness and accuracy of the final product, and the coating equipment at hand. The final coating requirements are typically a target coatweight +/- 10%, free of defects such as bubbles and streaks, and dried to less than 2% volatiles.


Below is a table that may guide you in your next coating decision.


Coating Methods

Range of Applicability

Coating Process

Viscosity Cp

Wet Thickness um

Coating Accuracy %

Maximum Speed m/min

Reverse Roll

50-100K

12-1200

5

400

Forward Roll

20-1000K

10-200

8

200

Calendar

50-5000K

100-2000

10

200

Gravure

10-5K

2-50

2

700

Knife over Roll

100-50K

25-750

10

150

Slot Die

5-20K

15-250

2

400

Extrusion

50-5000K

15-750

5

700

Curtain

50-125K

2-500

2

500


All ranges in the table are good places to start, but many factors lead to a successful coating run. It just depends.


Our blend of new product development expertise and custom coating capabilities can streamline your development of web-coated products.


Utilize Chemsultants’ innovative product development and pilot coating services to develop your products, improve production processes and ultimately grow your market position. We can develop coating and laminating solutions as well as adhesive or sealant bonding products, and specialty coatings tailored to your end-use applications.https://www.chemsultants.com/pilot-coating

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