Beautiful film, minimal loss and no occupational illness with the Xcite™ gun

When choosing a machine there are expectations from both the person who invests in the machine - in this case the furniture manufacturer - and the person who will actually work with it. The former wants increased productivity or a quick return on investment, while the latter wants the machine to make his work easier and to protect him. Manufacturers of professional equipment try to combine these criteria as much as possible and consider them equally important. The Xcite™ gun from Sames Kremlin is such a machine. With it material loss is greatly reduced and the ergonomic design eliminates the possibility of occupational diseases. But let's take a closer look at this spray gun.

When I spoke to Gabi Mănoiu from Falk Consulting, the Romanian distributor of the products Sames Kremlin, told me that the Xcite™ is their best selling gun to date. Customers are very satisfied and sprayers say it is one of the best balanced spray guns.

What are the strengths of the Xcite™ gun

The Xcite™ gun has convinced a lot of furniture and wood product manufacturers:

• material transfer rate per object up to 86%
• very good atomization quality thanks to perfectly calibrated nozzles
• ergonomic design

Reducing losses, but also some spraying faults

Xcite™ is a spray gun based on airmix technology, considered the most efficient non-electrostatic technology (at electrostatic technologies transfer is higher, but we are talking about a very different system). Hence the considerable reduction in losses and the efficiency of material transfer.  AIRMIX is a combination of low-pressure and high-pressure spraying first developed by Kremlin in 1975. Incidentally, Airmix is a registered trademark of Sames Kremlin.

The combination of the 2 technologies results in a high material transfer rate and very good film quality. How is this achieved? In the spray gun the atomization of the material is done in 2 steps:

1. The lake is passed with medium-high pressure through a nozzle that atomizes it (no air pressure)
2. A low jet of air picks up the atomized slurry and atomizes it once more, forming the correct spray pattern and defining the application angle and amount transferred.

By going through these atomization steps, much better transfer of the finishing material can be achieved and the misting that usually occurs with conventional spraying is reduced. Hence other advantages such as the elimination of spray defects such as film with holes or orange peel. Another advantage is the low diluent consumption compared to conventional spraying.

It is good to know that airmix technology has the disadvantage of a lower working speed. If the main requirement is very high productivity, with material losses or finish quality being secondary, then you should choose a gun airless.

Very good atomization quality

This is due to nozzles that are calibrated by special robots so that the orifice through which the material comes out is very close to perfection. When the lake is transformed into tiny droplets that together form the jet, no defect diverts part of the jet or makes the droplets different sizes.

The result is a uniform spray which will result in a very nice finished surface, uniform in lay, uniform in thickness and well spread. It is the way to remove one of the disadvantages of the airmix system, namely the inferior quality film compared to conventional spraying.

Ergonomic design

It is the quality for which I appreciate this pistol the most. It is an ergonomically designed pistol so that it is easy to use, light and "handy" as a friend of mine would say. By using it, the risk of occupational diseases due to repetitive movements is eliminated.

At first glance it sounds like something said more to attract attention, but it's not. The ergonomics of the pistol have been studied and are proven by tests, not by visual observations. The way the pistol is held in the hand, its weight, how it locks and unlocks, everything has been studied so that the sprayer feels as comfortable as possible and its use does not affect health.

The way we hold the gun in our hand, its shape and weight, influences the final result

I don't know if I've told you before, I learned how to properly hold the spray gun in my hand from a very experienced Italian technician. No one until him told me what I needed to do in order to be well, not to get tired and to work safely. Until then the advice was all about what to do to make the film look its best, not to gas, or to make it look glazed.

He was the first one to tell me that the hand holding the pistol should be in line with the arm, not at an angle to the arm. This way blood circulates normally, the hand is oxygenated and can work normally, without numbness or feeling marked fatigue. Simple information with considerable long-term benefits.

The Xcite™ is all about the same thing. At first glance, the fact that it's in one shape or another seems unimportant. But in the long term there are important benefits:

• better film quality
• increased productivity
• lack of occupational diseases

More technical information about Xcite™ spray gun and the versions in which it is marketed can be found at Falk Consulting or on the website Sames Kremlin.