Magnetic Masking Improves Powder-Coating Efficiency

To reduce waste-disposal concerns and save time and money during powder coating of metal parts, Advanced Finishing, Fairview, PA, switched from using masking tape to incorporating magnetic shielding.

The company eliminated the time formerly spent taping each part and then removing the tape after curing. Applying a magnetic mask saves the company an average of 30 sec./part, which compounds significantly on production runs that range from hundreds to 1000 parts or more.

Assuming a run size of 2000 parts per month at standard labor rates, Greg Yahn, Advanced Finishing president and owner, estimates a cost savings of 20 percent per part when using magnets. Another significant benefit to using magnets: They are reusable—Yahn figures that the magnets can be used 30 to 40 times, eliminating a lot of wasted tape.

Advanced Finishing purchases high-energy Plastalloy magnets as sheet stock from magnet manufacturer The Electrodyne Co., Batavia, OH. Sheets available as large as 9 in. wide by 100 ft. long allow employees to cut the magnets to size to suit the production run. The magnets can be bent, twisted and flexed without losing magnetic energy.