When you think about potential dangers to your industrial machinery, what comes to mind? Most people are worried about damage caused by frequent manufacturing processes, things like chemicals or high temperatures, and similar industrial dangers. But there’s actually something that can be equally as problematic for industrial machinery: winter. The winter season can be quite impactful on equipment, which can be surprising to many organizations who might be running into issues when it’s colder. But why does this happen? Here’s why winter weather increases the need for protective coatings and how Sun Coating Company can help you protect your equipment.
It Introduces Moisture and Harsh Conditions
The winter brings with it severe weather conditions. Some who live in regions where the weather is near-constant year-round may see occasional rain or minor temperature drops, but many others encounter snow and rain (or sleet), blizzards, freezing temperatures, and more. When your equipment encounters this severe weather, it can introduce moisture and other harsh conditions to the substrate, causing corrosion and a host of other issues for the various components in your equipment. Protective coatings prevent moisture from affecting the substrate and keep other harsh winter conditions out as well.
It Causes Machines to Become More Sluggish and Struggle to Work
Have you noticed that your machines have begun to slow down? Some noise and squeak reduction coatings might improve things, but not for the reasons that you think. Winter weather hampers the whole of manufacturing equipment, affecting motors, batteries, and all the individual parts of your machinery. In the case of machinery with lubricants and fluids, winter weather will also slow things down by affecting these aspects of your machinery (in which case, you can not only apply the right coating to your tubing but also look for winter-grade fluids that will hold up against the weather too). During winter, things just run slower, much like we do. But just like we do, adding protective coatings and additional layers helps us to keep the cold at bay, ensuring that we’re able to function relatively normally with fewer issues when the cold weather makes an appearance. If your manufacturing equipment acts just like you do during the winter, now’s the time to apply protective coatings to your equipment.
It Increases Wear and Tear and Thermal Stress
The winter weather wreaks havoc on substrates. Given that most of your substrates will likely be metal or rubber, you’ll find that these materials can begin breaking down and flaking when winter arrives, damaging them and potentially ruining machinery altogether. But brittleness is just one of the major problems substrates face without protective coatings. Another major problem is thermal stress. Extremely cold temperatures can cause substrates like metal to contract, which can damage the metal and other components nearby. Protective coatings are a great way to shield substrates from wear and tear and thermal stress. The only thing to remember is that not every coating is going to be suitable for all the components in your workplace. Some are designed for substrates like metal and will offer additional benefits like reduced friction that you need to keep everything moving smoothly during the winter and throughout the year. But these wouldn’t work for the tubing that you need to keep safe. In that case, you would need a separate coating for these components. As long as you have coatings specifically designed for all of your machinery, you’ll be able to see a massive improvement come next winter.
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Whether you’re shopping for Excalibur coating or industrial custom coating, you can find the custom coating options and services you need right here at Sun Coating Company. Request a quote from us now to get started!