Recently, there have been many new capabilities added to paint booths to help improve productivity in body shops. Here are just a few that ABRN has been hearing from manufacturers.
1. Booths are getting larger
For some shops, one of those requirements is a larger booth to meet a growing clientele of fleet customers with oversize vehicles, such as Sprinter vans. There are now more requests for taller booths, from a traditional nine feet inside to 12', said Brandon Lowder, senior vice president of Automotive and Truck at Accudraft Paint Booths.
“At one time, 24' was the most popular length, and we have seen that shift to 28' to 30' to accommodate larger vehicles,” he said. “Painters are also trying to be more efficient with their booth cycles and be conscientious of how many refinish hours they can get in a cycle. Painting multiple ROs per booth cycle is getting to be commonplace.”
2. Controls can automate settings and provide insight to management
For most booth companies, control panel packages range from basic to complex, which allow pressure controls, temperatures, and modes to be automated, along with remote connectivity for diagnostics and data tracking.
“As repairing cars becomes more complex, choosing a paint booth should not be,” said Debbie Teter, director of sales and marketing at Garmat USA. “We offer controls from basic PLC [programmable logic controller] operations, to the more advanced touchscreens with data collection capabilities. When we first developed our touchscreen controls a few years back, we were the first to offer data retrieval capabilities, remote diagnostics, and built-in troubleshooting. Today, we look at ways to improve on that technology with shop-specific custom programming to adapt the controls to a customer’s process or unique specifications.”
Troy Volbrecht, senior territory manager for Global Finishing Solutions (GFS), said buyers increasingly look for advanced control panels for their reporting features.
“What was the total time the repair took?" Volbrecht said. "What was the average booth cycle time for the last month? What was the average cure time? These are critical areas that shops want to improve on to stay ahead of their competition and boost their bottom line.”
3. Variable Frequency Drives efficiently control fan motors
Variable Frequency Drives, or VFDs, electronically control the speed of an AC motor. By adjusting the frequency delivered to the motor, they can smoothly ramp up a motor or to prevent a heavy load from straining the motor on startup. Not all manufacturers ABRN talked with offer VFDs. For some, they are standard across the product lineup. For others, they are optional.
“Most body shops want energy-saving features in their next paint booth investment,” Volbrecht said. “This includes a variable frequency drive which gives the capabilities for soft start for your booth’s motors and recirculating during bake mode.”
4. Lighting options abound
Energy-saving LED lighting is a popular option, especially as the available color spectrums more closely resemble traditional booth lighting, Lowder said, although some buyers prefer fluorescent.
Blowtherm USA is the only spray booth company that offers premium LED lighting as standard equipment, Miller said.
Meanwhile, Garmat offers options including four, six, and eight-tube light fixtures, and a choice of T-8, LEDs, and reflectors.
“We build our own light fixtures in our ETL shop, which gives us the flexibility to offer the solution that best fits your needs,” Teter said. “We work with the customer to ensure they get what they need for their environment, and what works best for their process and team.”
5. Larger viewing options
Accudraft Paint Booths is releasing a new high-performance line of doors with larger viewing windows and wider openings, which allows for easier loading and unloading of the booth.
"This was predicated on users wanting to reduce turning radius and loading times,” said Lowder.
Blowtherm offers glass door panels, glass walls, and wider vehicle entrances.
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