Grooved Rods Performance Case Study: Metering Rod Trial

How Buschman Grooved Rods Achieve Outstanding Performance

CHALLENGE:

Test the performance of Buschman’s custom-designed grooved rods against a competitor’s rod.

OBJECTIVES:

1. Save coating consumption.
2. Apply a smoother, more uniform coating coverage and keep a minimum of 76 Bright White.
3. Increase rod life.

KEY APPLICATION PARAMETERS:

1. Base paper was 69 lb/MSF and was very rough and grainy. Solids were 65%. Viscosity unknown, but nothing unusual. White clay coating included TiO2 & Calcium Carbonate (highly abrasive). Coating also included poly binders. Web speed was 300-350 FPM.
2. After analyzing the coating application parameters, Buschman custom-engineered a metering rod with special threads to optimize uniformity and coating coverage.
3. Buschman No. 6 rods were compared to the competitor’s No. 8 rods.
4. Typically, the competitor’s No. 8 rods last three (3) rolls before losing brightness and creating a blotchy, mottled effect. The rods are then thrown away.
5. The customer uses approximately 1.5 million pounds of white clay coating/year at a cost of approximately $0.55/pound.
6. The Buschman No. 6 rod consumed 5 lbs/MSF, and the competitor’s No. 8 rod consumes 6.6 lbs/MSF on average.

RESULTS:

Buschman grooved rods achieved all three objectives with outstanding results.

The Buschman No. 6 rod saved the customer 24.3% of their coating, a potential savings of approximately $200,475.00 / year for bright white coating alone. (The customer uses many other colors as well.)

The Buschman No. 6 ran for 5 rolls, which resulted in a 66.7% increase in rod life.

1. Roll 1:81 Brightness, with Excellent Opacity
2. Roll 2:79.8 Brightness, with Very Good Opacity
3. Roll 3:79.2 Brightness, with Very Good Opacity
4. Roll 4:78.2 Brightness, with Very Good Opacity Roll 5:79.8 Brightness, with Acceptable Opacity. Delta (DE) color reading was 1.12, which is very good.