How PPG’s Innovations are Improving Key-to-key Productivity and Shop Profitability
In today’s competitive marketplace, the high production collision repair center must be relentless in improving key-to-key productivity. That holds especially true in the paint operation, where color accuracy and throughput performance play a key role in a shop’s overall performance.
Taking advantage of emerging digital color tools is one area where significant gains can be achieved. For example, marrying the innovative PPG MoonWalk® automated mixing system with the Envirobase® High Performance waterborne system is proof of what can be accomplished.
With over 40,000 users worldwide, the Envirobase® High Performance system is well known for easy blending, color match performance and overall efficiency. The MoonWalk® system was designed specifically to take the Envirobase® system to the next level of color accuracy and performance.
The process of creating an automated paint mix is simple. After retrieving the matching formula, the technician loads the required toners on a dispensing rack. With one click, the MoonWalk® system takes it from there. It automatically dispenses the exact amount of each toner -- at an accuracy ten times more precise than the standard. To further eliminate waste, the system is designed to ensure all of the toner is used, down to the last drop.
“It mixes to the hundredth -- not to the tenth -- so it’s much more accurate with color match,” explains Frank McClosky, owner, McClosky’s Collision Repair, Baytown, Texas. “Knowing that the color is going to match the first time, there’s no need to mix extra paint that you might need to tint.”
“This is a great advantage for us,” adds Carl Garcia, owner of Carl’s Collision Center, Fall River, Mass. “It’s 100% accurate. No waste. And it has increased our efficiency by at least 15%.”
Going all in With Digital Tools
The MoonWalk® mixing system is just one of PPG’s recent efforts to advance color-matching performance beyond paint. Recently it introduced the PPG LINQ™ ecosystem to help painters improve repair processes using an innovative cloud-based platform and interconnected digital tools:
• DigiMatch™ spectrophotometer, with a compact, multi-angle color camera for reading the actual vehicle color
• VisualizID™ digital color visualization tool enabling the technician to compare 3D “virtual sprayouts” to determine the best color variant formula
• PPG LINQ™ Color cloud-based software for easily identifying the best color from PPG’s extensive formula database
• MagicBox™ wireless device connects the software to the scale, enabling the technician to complete the mix quickly without the need for a separate PC
The Envirobase® High Performance paint system is compatible with every tool in the PPG LINQ™ digital ecosystem, making it the perfect solution for modern collision centers.
Learn more at ppgrefinish.com.
