Special water-based wet paint: Free of bubbling, reliable processing and quickly packable
When Demag Cranes & Components GmbH from Wetter (Ruhr) in western Germany configures hoists or drive technology from a comprehensive modular program for its customers, the results are astonishing. Every product is unique. The water-based 2K wet paint system for Demag geared motors and wheel blocks is just as individualized. Brillux Industrial Coatings adapted the paint system to optimally match the requirements of Demag, one of the world's leading manufacturers of crane systems, crane components and drive technology.
In industrial drive solutions, one quickly thinks of industrial platforms, moving vehicles for logistical purposes or mobility solutions in mechanical engineering. But the possibilities are even more spectacular. “Demag Antriebstechnik provides the tailor-made answers for our mostly start-stop applications, where high payloads have to be moved precisely and reliably – from the geared motor to the appropriate wheel block system and control,” says Christoph Kreutzenbeck, Senior Manager Global Marketing at Demag Cranes & Components GmbH. A landing pad for helicopters that can be wheeled into a hanger, a 66-ton radiation protection door for a research facility and a convertible roof for a recreational pool in Hagen or an arena in Madrid populate the impressively long list of projects that Demag Antriebstechnik has moved that are usually considered immovable. At the Wetter site, where the company has been continuously shaping industrial history since 1819, they rely on safe, reliable and, above all, innovative technology. More than 1,100 staff members are employed there in production and logistics on the company’s 70,000 m² site. Among other things, gearboxes, motors and wheel blocks are assembled in Wetter, coated in their own paint shop and the products are distributed directly to customers.
Not only industrial applications – Demag lifting equipment also sets architecture in motion: A recreational swimming pool in Hagen
A helipad that can be wheeled into a hanger
Convertible roofs for an arena in Madrid
A one-ton radiation protection door
Lean production for delivery performance and efficiency. Motor assembly in weather therefore also places special lean…
Only a few hours pass from assembly and painting of Demag geared motors on the continuous production line to their…
Correspondingly fast drying times are mandatory for the wet paint used.
Lean production – not possible without high-performance paint
Demag combines its tech expertise with strong lean skills – for example in the production of geared motors and wheel blocks. “It takes less than a day at our location in Wetter from the arrival of an order to the assembly of the components from our modular system to the ready-to-ship product,” says Alexander Sattler, responsible for drive technology and painting at Demag. This optimized timeline affects the requirements for the top coat of the pre-primed motors: The wet coating must cure sufficiently within a very short time to allow the product to be packaged. This is because the fully assembled drive is moved fully automatically into the manual low-pressure coating system and coated there. It then runs through three additional automated stations with the evaporation zone, the drying oven and the cooling zone, before arriving in the waiting area for dispatch. When we wanted to strengthen and expand our collaboration with Brillux, we knew we wanted to trust Brillux’s sustainable, water-based 2K wet coating system.
The fast drying times of the topcoat, the smooth processes and thus our good delivery performance had to be guaranteed. In addition, we always wanted to ensure that the surface quality of the product is guaranteed by the prompt packaging after painting,” says Patrik Möller, Team lead for drive technology and painting at Demag.
A 2K water-based enamel paint is customized
The company started the conversion project together with a long-term supplier. Based on a standard product, Brillux Industrial Coatings developed the new Hydro-2K-PUR-Paint 5492 precisely to Demag’s requirements profile. In addition to the fast drying time, the focus was also on the process reliability of the coating with regard to bubbling tendency – namely on the cooling fins of the motors – even at high wet layer thicknesses. “The Hydro-2K-PUR Paint 5492 has the required good flow and, due to its high zinc content, a very good corrosion resistance,” says Marvin Dropmann Technical Consultant at Brillux Industrial Coatings. “This allowed us to concentrate entirely on optimizing the special specifications." Within half a year, the coating product was brought to painting maturity. Brillux's research and development department formulated the water-based 2K wet paint for Demag in several steps to achieve the result we desired. Tests carried out in the laboratory were transferred to the Demag painting system, the results were fed back and adjusted accordingly – always in short distances and in personal exchange. Brillux Industrial Coatings was always present on site in Wetter. Marvin Dropmann: “With the customized Hydro-2K PUR Paint 5492 for Demag, we have developed a special solution for our partner, which in turn enables Demag to continue producing custom products for its customers just as efficiently as before.”
When converting the wet paint system to a water-based paint, Demag found the right contact in Brillux Industrial Coatings.
A high-performance standard product – Hydro-2K-PUR Paint 5492 – has been adapted precisely to suit Demag’s needs.
At the top of the list of requirements was the fast drying of the top coat and its process reliability in terms of bubbling tendency
Collaboration as partners: Demag and Brillux Industrial Coatings jointly developed and implemented the “Lean-Lack” within half a year in a smooth series painting process.
Collaboration that works
Since December 2023, the conversion to Demag's tailor-made Hydro-2K PUR Paint 5492 has been completed and the geared motors and wheel blocks are painted in series without any problems and with reliable process. Another plus: the temperature in the drying oven could be reduced by 10 degrees to 50 degrees – an enormous energy saving in terms of throughput times throughout the year. If any questions arise, the Brillux external sales staff are available quickly at any time. “This on-site support and the proximity to Brillux Industrial Coatings in Unna have measurable advantages for us – not only in the case of a coating system conversion, but also during ongoing operations,” says Alexander Sattler. “In addition to Brillux product quality for wet and powder coatings, we also benefit from the quick delivery service. If we realize that we are missing a coating product by 11 a.m., it is dispatched on the same day.”
Demag Cranes & Components GmbH
Quality without compromises: Demag stands for this. As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-performance and reliable industrial crane systems, crane components and drive technology, we offer our customers a comprehensive portfolio of intelligent solutions for material flow and logistics. Our name is synonymous with maximum reliability, innovation and security. We ensure smooth processes, maximum efficiency and optimal results for our customers. And have done so since 1819!