Dispensing technology is not your typical topic of discussion when sitting at the dinner table, of course, but it is a technology that's changing the world we live in, in ways you never even thought about. It's really interesting if you actually think about Coating and Dispensing Technology. We have all these things in our home, the components of our cars, and just different little things we use on a regular basis all have a start. They were first some kind of solvent or component before becoming the finished product we know and love today.

Again, it's not something that too many people think about but when you do think about how something is created, and do the research on it, you'll quickly find out that it wasn't a quick and speedy process, especially in the world of dispensing technologies. In the world of dispensing, there have been several environmental concerns that actually made companies step away from protective coating products that contain solvents and replace those with 100% epoxies and urethanes.

Was it a pain to have to switch from their old way of doing things and switch to solvents? Possibly, but these new materials set and cure faster… the only issue was that it wasn't easy to apply. Even with that challenge, there are still dispensing technologies available that put the ease back in it all while reducing waste, improving efficiency, and limiting disposal costs… especially cartridge-based dispensing technologies.

How It's Efficient

When it comes to standard protective coating technologies, inefficiency is almost always the ending result. Things like human error, health and safety, waste, and speed are all things to take into consideration as to just how efficient dispensing technologies can be. In fact, if you're in an industry where dispensing technologies can benefit you, https://www.bdtronic.com/dispensing/dispensing-technology/ is a great resource for your dispensing solutions. Take a look at where dispensing technologies provide the most value.

Human Error

We're all human and prone to make mistakes, granted some mistakes are more costly than others. Doctors make the mistake of misdiagnosing patients sometimes… there was even a big snafu made by internet.org that looked to be the website's fault but it was really a mistake made by an engineer that wreaked havoc within the social networking giant Facebook. So, regardless of what industry you're in, it's very clear that you're bound to make a mistake. But in the world of dispensing technologies, human error is out of the picture.

With manual metering and mixing processes, human error is the biggest cause of human error. You can use measuring cups to try and be more accurate but even with that, the measurements can still be off by 10%. Applicators even have a hard time with those trick ratios and end up having to eyeball it. All in all, with dispensing technologies, the likelihood of accuracy is at an all-time high, making human error a nonfactor.

Waste

Another issue taking a toll on efficiency is waste. With coating, one of the standard practices is to mix a coating kit, in its entirety (a coating kit has everything you need, resin and catalyst). The only issue with coating kits is that the kit sizes don't give an accurate reflection of the size of your project, meaning that there's a high chance that metering won't be accurate and coating will be wasted.

The thing about coating is that you're on a time clock. If you're applying a two-component coating after a kit is mixed, your application time is limited. If you mix too much coating, the pot life will get too old and end up expiring before all of it can be used, which is a huge waste. The majority of coatings are used for maintenance, touchups, and repairs and for all of those things it's used for, almost 40% of it gets wasted. So the coating is not only wasted but you're also looking at costly disposal and environmental fees as well.

Speed

As mentioned above, time is limited and speed is one of the biggest issues you will face with manual mixing. Let's say you're stripe coating; with that particular task, you have to meter the product, mix it, and then get it to the site of the project. With dispensing technology that is cartridge-based, there's no time wasted and the setup and clean up time is drastically reduced, making getting from the site of the job to the coating mixing station a lot more efficient.

Health and Safety

In this industry, you're probably going to be working out of an open bucket and that could cause potential health and safety issues for workers. Now, with closed-loop cartridge systems the materials are actually contained until they're actually dispensed… this will cut back on exposure to fumes and solvents. Exposure to fumes and solvents can lead to acute inhalation injuries.

According to the Center for Biotechnology Information, those who are at risk for acute inhalation injuries are individuals who are exposed to:

• Chemical irritants
• Asphyxiants
• Toxic metals
• Products of fires

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With the new coating dispensing systems that are available now, the coating material isn't as atomized, reducing the health risks associated with exposure to certain fumes.