Batch Coating Mixing With In-Transfer Composition Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing batch-based production methods for free-flowing coating materials, such as water-based or solvent-based paints, face inefficiencies due to limited accuracy in weighing liquid components, leading to time-consuming offline sampling and interruption of the mixing process, which occupies equipment and reduces production efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A method that involves feeding components into a process mixing vessel, mixing, and transferring the preliminary mixture to a receiving container while continuously determining its state and adjusting the composition online to match a target state, allowing for real-time adjustments and uninterrupted production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If offline sampling and evaluation is performed after mixing, then product quality can be checked, but production time increases and equipment utilization decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces offline mechanical sampling with online optical/near-infrared measurement systems that continuously monitor composition during transfer, eliminating the need to stop production for quality checks
Solution Approach 2:
The measurement and adjustment processes occur continuously during the transfer operation without interrupting the mixing or production flow, maintaining constant productivity while ensuring quality
2Manufacturing precision
If mixing process is interrupted for sampling, then composition can be verified, but production efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The composition measurement is performed during the transfer operation itself rather than after mixing completes, utilizing the transfer time for quality verification without extending total production time
3Manufacturing precision
If weighing equipment is occupied for entire adjustment period, then accurate composition control is achieved, but equipment availability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The weighing and adjustment operations occur continuously during the transfer process rather than in separate occupied phases, allowing the mixing vessel to be immediately reused after transfer completes
Solution Approach 2:
The transfer operation serves as an intermediary process that enables both quality verification and composition adjustment without requiring the mixing vessel to remain occupied, as measurements and adjustments happen during transit
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for the batch-based production of a flowable coating material, particularly paint that is water-based or contains a solvent, from a plurality of components, said comprising the following steps: feeding components for a batch into a process mixing container, substantially in a volume predetermined for the batch in each case, mixing the components in the process mixing container to form a mixture of provisional composition, transferring at least a part of the mixture of provisional composition from the process mixing container to a receiving container, determining an actual status of the mixture of provisional composition during the transfer into the receiving container, determining a deviation of the actual status of the mixture of provisional composition from a predefined target status, determining an adjustment volume for the components necessary to achieve the target status, and adding the adjustment volume of the components to the provisional mixture while the provisional mixture is being transferred from the process mixing container into the receiving container. The invention further proposes a mixing installation for carrying out the method.