Budnick Converting ^®

Customer Need

A former customer contact took a new position with an industrial fluid thermal management and equipment protection company. He called us to see if we could consult with them on their masking of metal cabinets for electrical enclosures. The customer needed a tape that could withstand a wash cycle, baking cycle, and another wash cycle. Process improvements were needed as well. The time spent preparing and masking the cabinets before the wash cycles required significant reduction.

The Budnick Solution

We decided to perform a process review. To gain a better understanding of the customer's process, we made the call with one of our trusted tape manufacturers and watched how they were masking off the cabinets. The customer was using two different tapes; one for powder coating and one for painting. The previously used tape would not withstand both applications. The desired single tape solution would need to perform for both applications, withstanding temperatures over 400°F for over 40 minutes.

Recommendations & Process Improvements

After testing numerous tapes, we found an answer. A polyester silicone masking tape withstood the high temperature inside the oven and both wash cycles. The PET masking tape is easy to apply and does not leave any residue behind after removal. Budnick was also able to offer butt-cut strips in roll form which allowed production to save time from having to hand-cut the adhesive. Budnick will be moving the customer to die cut parts in the future to drastically reduce the 60-90 minutes spent on masking.