Optimizing Finishing Systems: Smarter Process, Flow, and Control
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
At FABTECH 2026, three Therma-Tron-X, Inc. (TTX) experts will bring those elements together during “Optimizing Finishing Systems: Smarter Process, Flow, and Control.”
The educational session will be held October 22, 2026, from 1:00–2:30 p.m. in Room S114 and will feature TTX's Don, Brian, and Corey, each bringing expertise from a different area of finishing system development.
A successful industrial finishing system begins long before equipment is selected. It starts with understanding the process: what is being finished, what coating will be applied, how parts need to move through the system, and how production will be monitored and controlled.
Start With the Process
Coating selection is one of the fundamental decisions influencing finishing system design. Whether a manufacturer chooses powder coating, liquid coating, or e-coat affects much more than the application equipment. It can influence pretreatment requirements, material handling, curing, system layout, throughput, controls, and overall production strategy.
During the session, attendees will explore how looking at the complete process first can help manufacturers make better decisions about the equipment that follows.
Don brings more than 35 years of finishing industry experience, including coatings development and testing laboratories, application, process engineering, sales, and system design. His background spans liquid, e-coat, and powder coating technologies serving automotive, industrial, agricultural, and other manufacturing markets. He holds a bachelor's degree in Economics.
Finding the Right Way to Move Product
Once the finishing process is established, another important question follows:
How should the product move through it?
There is no single material handling solution that fits every finishing operation. Part size and weight, production volume, process time, flexibility, available floor space, loading and unloading requirements, and future production needs can all influence conveyor selection.
The FABTECH session will examine both traditional and emerging material handling strategies and the importance of matching the conveyance method to the application rather than designing the process around a predetermined conveyor.
Brian will bring the system-design perspective to this discussion. He holds a degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Bradley University and an MBA from Roosevelt University. With more than 25 years in the finishing industry, including eight years at TTX, Brian specializes in the design and development of powder, e-coat, and liquid coating systems. His work focuses on developing efficient layouts and detailed system concepts that help manufacturers achieve reliable, high-quality finishing operations.
Bringing It Together With Smarter Controls
Modern controls provide another layer of opportunity.
Today's finishing systems can generate and use significantly more information than systems of the past. Automation, connected equipment, data collection, and Industry 4.0 technologies are giving manufacturers greater visibility into their processes and providing new ways to improve flexibility and decision-making.
Corey brings the controls and software perspective to the presentation with eight years of experience in software development and embedded systems, concentrating on industrial controls and line-of-business applications. His experience includes developing AGV control systems using CAN, MQTT, and Wi-Fi technologies and creating full-stack solutions using C#, .NET, and SQL Server to connect shop-floor systems with enterprise applications. He also uses 3D printing and rapid prototyping to address mechanical and integration challenges.
One System, Not Three Separate Decisions
Coating process, material handling, and controls are often discussed individually, but their interaction can ultimately determine how well a finishing system performs.
“Optimizing Finishing Systems: Smarter Process, Flow, and Control” will give FABTECH attendees a broader look at how these decisions work together—and how integrated, process-driven thinking can help manufacturers improve performance, increase flexibility, and maximize operational efficiency.
Attend the Session at FABTECH 2026
Optimizing Finishing Systems: Smarter Process, Flow, and Control
Date: October 22, 2026
Time: 1:00–2:30 p.m.
Location: Room S114
Join the TTX team at FABTECH to explore how smarter decisions about process, product movement, and controls can help shape the next generation of industrial finishing systems.
Comments