Medium Voltage Busbar Coating
Epoxy Coating powders for medium voltage busbar applications up to 36kV.
Epoxy Coating Powders for Medium Voltage Busbars and Switchgear Equipment
Medium Voltage Busbar Basics
Medium voltage busbars are used in primary switchgear equipment used to conduct electrical power from the grid to the end user. The switchgear equipment may contain single busbar or double busbars, and the types of switchgear may be solid-, air-, or gas-insulated. In most cases, the rated voltage of medium voltage switchgear is between 12kV and 38kV, which for coating purposes is considered pretty high voltage, since the effect of using the wrong insulation material could be disastrous, and in some cases even fatal. The goal of the coating powder is to insulate the busbars from each other and to prevent dangerous arcing faults.
What is critical with medium voltage busbar coating is to ensure that:
- The epoxy coating powder has the correct dielectric properties including dielectric strength and arc resistance
- The epoxy coating powder coats the busbar to the correct thickness
Epoxy coating powder thickness of medium voltage busbars typically always needs to be in excess of 2.8mm (110 mils). This is not an easy task. Some suppliers may supply epoxy coating powders, but when applied to the medium voltage busbar, they do not build up to the required thickness, or if they do, the epoxy sags, compromising both the ability to closely position the busbars as well as to provide the sufficent level of electrical insulation. It is imperative therefore to make sure that the epoxy powder you select has the ability to build to more than 2.8mm without sagging.
CAPLINQ Epoxy Coating Powders for Medium Voltage Busbars and Switchgear Equipment
For many years, CAPLINQ, Inc. has supplied a range of epoxy coating powders developed for medium voltage (600V – 38,000V) bus bar and switch gear applications. In the USA, CAPLINQ is one of the few epoxy coating powder suppliers qualified for use in Power Distribution Switch Boards. Given the critical nature of the application, the time and costs involved to pass UL-certification, major Power Management Companies reply on CAPLINQ and their family of UL-listed epoxy coating powders. All the products offered by CAPLINQ for busbar applications are UL-listed.
Three products stand out in the CAPLINQ product line for medium voltage busbar applications: DK15-0606, DK15-0907 and DK19.
The "One Powder Solutions": DK15-0606 Tan and DK15-0907 Red
Changing equipment and changing epoxy coating powders is not a trivial task. If you are manufacturing both low voltage and medium voltage busbars, wouldn't it be great to only have to use one product for both? This is exactly the purpose of these two epoxy coating powders. DK15-0907 Red for Low and Medium Voltage Busbars is a one powder solution in red and DK15-0606 Tan for Low and Medium Voltage Busbars is a tan-colored (some people call it dark beige) powder that is likewise suitable for both low voltage and medium voltage busbars.
Fast, thick-building DK19 Red for Medium Voltage Bus Bar Applications
If you are only manufacturing medium voltage busbars, or you have a dedicated line specifically for medium voltage busbars, then DK19 Red for Medium Voltage Busbars is an excellent example of an industry standard epoxy coating powder for medium voltage busbars. It is impressive to see not only how thick this material can build on a busbar, but the speed and uniformity at which it does this. DK19 Red can build in excess of 5mm thickness and it builds the thickness at a rate in excess of 175 microns per second. This speed puts the DK19 Red in a class of it's own and no other epoxy coating powder even comes close.
DK19 Red also has the best-in-class arc resistance greater than 170s and is another reason why it has been used for years by major power management companies busbars and switchgear applications that pass up to 38,000 Volts. Colored in red, the DK19 meets UL94 class V-0 and can be dipped multiple times to achieve the desired coating thickness. It is also available with longer gel times if needed for larger busbars that need a longer time to achieve a uniform coating thickness.
What makes the DK19 Red so great for medium voltage busbars is its downfall with low voltage busbars. The thick builds needed for medium voltage busbars are not needed and not wanted for low-volatge busbars as it impacts the stacking density in low-voltage switchgear.
Compare the Epoxy Coating Powders you Need
Epoxy Coating Powders vary widely in their composition and application. Whether it be color, build rate, arc resistance or maximum thickness, you can use our busbar coating comparison tool to find the right epoxy coating powder for your application.
Product Overview and Selector Guides
Take a look at the product overview page where you can compare the products side-by-side in a product selector table. This will help you find the right epoxy coating powder for your busbar application.
Read our Blog on Epoxy Coating Powders
Everyday, people just like you have questions about epoxy coating powders. At CAPLINQ, we try to help people just like you by blogging about epoxy coating powders. From epoxy coating powder prices to harmonization codes to product part numbers and leadtimes. We try to post as much information as we can on our blogs, to help you find more relevant information about epoxy coating powders.
