CCAI System Design Online Course

Course start date: February 2, 2026

Course length: 6 weeks

Course cost: $750 for member; $975 for non-members

CCAI Individual Membership is $125.  If you are interested in becoming a member to take advantage of the member discount for this course and other CCAI events and products, please CLICK HERE for more information and to join online.

GROUP DISCOUNT AVAILABLE - Register 2 or more people from the same company at the same time to receive discounted registration! The first person will receive the regular rate and each additional attendee will receive a $100 discount!

Space is limited!

This self-paced course will provide a thorough understanding of designing a finishing system. Weekly quizzes and a final exam will be administered and graded by a CCAI instructor.  Course cost includes the CCAI System Design for Industrial Finishing Applications training manual ($65 value), provided prior to the commencement of the course (students must register at least ten days prior to the start of the course to receive manual in advance).  You will receive 15 PDHs upon successful completion of the course.

Students can expect to spend approximately 3-4 hours per week reviewing the course material, reading the chapters, participating in the forum and taking the quiz, depending on the pace of the student. Materials for the upcoming week will be provided in advance and the conclusion of the course quiz must be submitted by the Sunday night following the week.

Who should attend:

• Production, quality and  environmental engineers and technicians
• Operators
• Plant management
• Others interested in learning the basics of how to design a new finishing system.
  

This course covers the most common types of industrial finishing processes including the following:

• Powder coating
• Liquid
• Autodeposition
• Electrodeposition
  
• Each step of the finishing operations, proper design, and sizing of equipment
• Different curing technologies
• Air pollution control equipment which may be required to meet environmental regulations
• Different pretreatment technologies
• How to handle wastewater with wastewater treatment systems
• Material handling equipment for large systems
• Batch processing for large product and small volumes

What will you take away from the course:

• Basics of designing a new system
• Determining the best coating process based on the substrate, volume, size, and performance requirements
• The student will also have the knowledge to support an existing finishing operation and make recommendations for process improvements.

Qualifications/Prerequisites

• Basic understanding of industrial manufacturing and computer technology
• Students will be required to complete online quizzes, participate in online forum discussions and should have experience with basic spreadsheet software.
   

Course Instructor:  Rich Saddler

Rich has over 35 years of experience in manufacturing including positions as Finishing Engineer, Manufacturing Engineering Manager, and Operations Manager in small as well as large billion dollar-a-year companies. Academically, he holds an associate’s degree in Finishing Technology, a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology, a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a master’s degree in Manufacturing Management which provide him with a broad educational background that allows him to approach and solve problems with creative solutions.

During his career he has installed multiple new finishing lines for both metal and wood products, worked on existing finishing lines to improve capacity & efficiency and lower costs. Rich has also implemented new technology in other manufacturing processes to solve problems, reduce lead times and improve product flow. He founded Industrial Finishing Solutions LLC in 2009 as an independent finishing consultant to assist companies who are seeking additional resources in their finishing operations. During his 35 years in the industry he has served on local and national boards to help improve the industry. Rich has presented technical papers on finishing technology at local and national conferences. He received Project Management Certification in 2013.

Space is limited

*Note - You may only take 1 online course at a time.