Plastic material processing and finishing solutions

Plastic is everywhere. You can find it in the building industry, window frames and architectural elements, in the automotive sector, where many interior components are made of plastic. There is also a widespread use of plastic for consumer goods and plastic is also part of many domestic appliances.

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plastic finishing solutions

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What is meant by the industrial surface finishing of plastic substrates?

To start with, there are many different materials that are classified as plastic, from thermoplastic polymers such as polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene (PET), ABS and PVC to PMMA and these can be found in moulded or extruded form and used for several products. According to size, shape, production volumes and what they are used for, plastic elements can be finished using different industrial processes. Spray coating, wrapping, industrial digital printing, as well as drying and curing are a few examples of the finishing processes they may undergo.

Why is plastic finishing so important in key industrial sectors?

In people’s minds, plastic is a cheap material, often associated with disposable items. Where it is used for furniture or in the construction industry or the automotive sector, the finishing process has, among others, the aim of embellishing the plastic elements to make them attractive and enhance their perceived value. There are different ways to decorate plastic substrates and even ways to customise the end product. These processes include:

Plastic Windows wrapping

Wrapping

PVC profiles that may be a part of a window frame can be wrapped on high-tech, automatic machinery to improve their look and feel.
Plastic coating

Coating

Principally carried out using spray coating technologies and equipment, this technique is an efficient way of decorating plastic products.
Plastic Excimer matting

Excimer matting

A sustainable way to generate a deep matt finish and turn a plastic element into an attractive product with a resistant surface finish.
Plastic Industrial digital printing

Industrial digital printing

Enables an exceptionally high degree of customisation and batch one management to personalise plastic products on demand.

In which industries are plastic finishing solutions used?

Integrated finishing lines for plastic elements feature different technologies and can be found in diverse sectors:

Sectors

Technologies

Application fields

Here is a selection of plastic finished specific products

APPLICATIONS

01

Flower pots

Special floor-mounted lines using spraying robots can be designed especially for flower pots, enabling the efficient decoration of the product in many different colours.
02

Sunglasses

High-speed spray coaters developed especially for products such as eyewear will guarantee quality coating and production efficiency.
03

Motorcycle helmets

Spherical objects such as helmets can be decorated using spray coating technology and rotating helmet supports on a floor-mounted line with robots.
04

Panels

As a flat surface, most panels will be processed on roller coating machines applying basecoats and topcoats with intermediate drying/curing stages and sanding operations.
05

Windows

Windows can be coated as assembled or non-assembled elements. Depending on this condition, we advise overhead spray-coating lines or vacuum coaters and impregnation solutions for non-assembled parts.
06

Interior components

Interior components are made of a variety of substrate materials, from wood to plastic, metal or ceramics. According to shape and size, they can be coated on complete lines implementing combinations of roller coating equipment, curtain coaters, industrial digital printers, vacuum coaters and spray coaters.
07

Chairs

Chairs have complex geometries, making it easier to coat them on an overhead line, possibly with a 3D reading barrier to optimise spraying trajectories for an anthropomorphic robot.
08

Pots

Non-stick surface treatments and other heat-resistant coatings are applied to pots and pans on a roller coater, while still in their flat form, or on a spraying line, if already formed.
09

Thermoplastic panels

Even when the substrate thickness in PVC is as thin as 1 mm, industrial digital printing technologies will embellish a thermoplastic panel and turn it into an element of interior design.
10

Plastic components

Plastic is used more and more often in many sectors, but as an economic substrate, it needs to be decorated in a way that increases its perceived quality. This can be achieved with the correct, bespoke finishing technology.

Focus On

Plastic excimer matting

Excimer matting

Plastic panels can be given a deep matt finish using excimer matting technology as a sustainable solution featuring exclusive patents which reduce nitrogen consumption and relative costs.

Technologies for plastic material processing and finishing

Plastic finishing is quite varied and the technologies used to complete the process are different according to the product or the desired effect. These are a selection of the most common technologies:

For excellent transfer efficiency, this coating technique can be used on flat panels and panels with shallow grooves, performed on specially equipped roller coaters. For ultra-high-gloss surface finishing, a Laser roller is the perfect solution. 

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A flexible solution which ensures coating consistency applying lacquer to all sides of a 3D product. Spray coating is accomplished on flatbed lines or overhead lines with special spraying robots.

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The ideal solution for customisation or batch one requirements, this technology transforms a unique digital image into a printed decoration and can be integrated into lines using other coating technologies.

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Part of automatic equipment providing solutions for a complete process including an adhesive coater unit, wrapping is performed on profiles and window frames in PVC.

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Different ovens implementing IR or UV technologies are available to dry the lacquers used to coat the plastic substrate.

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Thin sheets

What special finishing technologies can be used for thin PMMA sheets?

Specially adapted roller coating equipment that handles thin plastic sheets is a consolidated solution which we configure to suit your requirement.

Firstly, coating must be performed in a controlled environment, pressurised to avoid contamination from dust, and special pumps are fitted to the coating equipment to eliminate the risk of air bubbles, the two most common defects of a coated PMMA sheet.

To keep the substrate rigid during coating, an upper application roller works in unison with a lower support roller that features a cleaning device to keep the bottom side of the sheet free from lacquer.

Fibrous plastic sheets for gaskets can also be coated in a similar way, involving a simpler and equally effective process.

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PMMA sheets

Discover the machines for industrial finishing of plastics

Machines

iGiotto

Materials:

  • Plastic
  • Metal
  • Wood

Machine Type:

  • Spray coating

iBotic

Materials:

  • Plastic
  • Metal
  • Wood

Machine Type:

  • Spray coating

Mito

Materials:

  • Plastic
  • Metal
  • Ceramic
  • Wood
  • Fibre Cement
  • Glass

Machine Type:

  • Spray coating

Ecogel

Materials:

  • Plastic
  • Metal
  • Ceramic
  • Wood
  • Fibre Cement
  • Mineral Fibre

Machine Type:

  • Ovens

Smartcoater PRO

Materials:

  • Plastic
  • Metal
  • Ceramic
  • Wood
  • Paper
  • Fibre Cement
  • Glass

Machine Type:

  • Curtain and Roller Application

J-Print SP

Materials:

  • Plastic
  • Metal
  • Ceramic
  • Wood
  • Paper
  • Fibre Cement

Machine Type:

  • Digital Printing

EasyWrap Window

Materials:

  • Plastic
  • Metal

Machine Type:

  • Wrapping

Exydry

Materials:

  • Plastic
  • Ceramic
  • Wood

Machine Type:

  • Ovens

Case studies

Case study

We have helped hundreds of companies around the world achieve their quality, efficiency, and productivity goals. Here are their stories.
We have helped hundreds of companies around the world achieve their quality, efficiency, and productivity goals. Here are their stories.
01

Acerplastica and the potential of industrial digital printing technologies

02

Understanding Vestel’s needs for domestic appliance finishing

03

Technical expertise and a great working relationship with Tryba

WHITEPAPER

Industrial digital printing has unlimited potential

Discover all the potential effects that you can obtain on different substrates thanks to digital printing. 

Downoload the White Paper
Mockup-DigitalPrint-ENG

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MAGAZINE

Explore the topic on our blog. You can find articles on technologies, innovative techniques, and tips to improve the efficiency of your finishing line.
Explore the topic on our blog. You can find articles on technologies, innovative techniques, and tips to improve the efficiency of your finishing line.
01
    3D spray coating

How to make the pots look good when the flowers have faded

02
    Automotive

Flatbed lines: the future of auto component coating

03
    3D spray coating

Why we have TV sets, washing machines and other appliances in our Finishing Laboratory

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Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

01 What are the advantages of roller coating?

High flexibility in terms of output rate and choice of cycles/processes according to the line make-up.

Zero solvent emissions thanks to 95% use of products with high dry residue (UV) content.

Possibility of using the roller technique for any application on all flat surfaces.

02 What are the advantages of spray coating?
Firstly, spray coating ensures all sides of the piece are covered. Secondly, the product shape is unimportant and, since it is not a contact-type coating, different tolerances between products are compensated for automatically.
03 What are the disadvantages of industrial digital printing?
  1. Handling large volumes. This technique is not for mass production.
  2. Economies of scale. Unit cost does not drop in line with higher volumes.
  3. Learning curve. Many end-users are at the start of the learning curve and need to develop some skills and knowledge to exploit the technologies. We can support you.
04 What are the advantages of drying?
Let's talk about the advantages of the whole finishing process, which includes lacquer application and drying. The "finished" item ends up with improved resistance and protection from external agents, as well as a better aesthetic presentation.
05 What technology do I need to coat edges?
To coat edges correctly, vacuum and roller technologies are required. It all depends on the shape of the edge and the product type, which might be MDF, veneered, reconstituted veneered or wood.