Torque Painting: It’s the Extra Details That Count
We’ve always had colorful panels at UCEC, but now we have a little bit more paint inside our electrical control panels.
Throughout 2017, we have been using torque paint in different colors that are assigned to members of the Assembly team.
Every panel component and screw have a torque rating. As we go through quality control, we torque with a screwdriver and then we add a drop of paint on the screw or bolt. It makes for a visual representation that the bolt or screw has been torqued and checked. The different color paint makes it easy to see who on our team did the work.
Torquing is very important work. Arc Flash can be very dangerous. It’s important to torque every component correctly, but it's very critical to torque anything 480 volt to reduce the risk of Arc Flash. If not torqued to its specifications, there could be massive damage to the component.
Why Torque Painting Matters in Electrical Control Panels
Using the torque paint in this manner gives our panels an extra level of quality control. It offers our customers that extra assurance that the electrical control panels have been checked and they are good to go. We also take pictures of the final project, so we have a record that everything checked out on our end along with the ability to reference things in the future. When we pack everything up and ship the project, we know that the panel is safe and ready to be installed in its final destination.
UCEC definitely takes the extra step in many of the things we do. Torque painting is one of those extras that we do that sets our work apart from others.