Dürr EcoPaintJet system
Dürr Systems AG has introduced the EcoPaintJet system to automate two-tone painting of cars.
Dürr Systems AG is known for plans and implementation of turnkey paint shops, final assembly systems and machine and robot technology. Claimed to be a quantum leap in automotive painting technology, the company recently introduced the ‘EcoPaintJet’ system to automate two-tone paint process of cars. Positioned as the first system to efficiently combine customised product design with automated production, the EcoPaintJet is said to offer an unprecedented level of precision when it comes to applying sharp paint lines. The new system addresses the automotive industry’s void in two-tone painting which previously translated to higher operational cost’s and an effort according to Dr Jochen Weyrauch, CEO of Dürr Systems AG. “Not only does two-tone painting require more time and energy, but it also creates a lot of wastage,” he quipped. Dürr publicly introduced the EcoPaintJet solution at an Open House which recently took place at the company’s headquarters in Bietigheim-Bissingen, in Germany. Opined Weyrauch that the new system holds immense potential given the emobility drive in cars too where it is expected to be a gamechanger.
Custom-made and automated
Aimed at the trend towards customisation, with customers increasingly ordering contrasting and accent colours and heavily influencing the purchase decision, Dürr India has been offering on-thejob as well as classroom training in paint and application systems to customers at its new training centre. Claim reports that even the small car buyers have joined the ‘custom-made’ bandwagon too as they believe it would help them stand out in a crowd. While the efficiency of modern, automotive paint shops is said to be unrivalled with the application of just one type of paint, Dürr’s large plants are expected to manage the painting process of 300,000 car bodies per annum owing to the automated solutions offered by the company. It is also believed to help in maintaining a consistently high level of quality.
The paint process
In the case of conventional twotone car painting, there is a need to mask. Dürr’s new system, EcoPaintJet, is said to be efficient enough to overcome the need for masking altogether. With the help of its new applicator, the EcoPaintJet applies precisely to the intended areas. Fixed to a robotic arm, the new applicator moves over the target area and applies paint with razor-sharp lines. In comparison, in the erstwhile process, basic colour is applied to the entire car body and then a masking tape is applied manually on the dried colour coat. This is known to leave the areas left to be painted in a different colour. The car then goes back to the painting line for the second colour
and then the tape gets removed. As a result, the process incurs high labour costs and energy consumption. It also results in valuable man hours being lost. The EcoPaintJet’s applicator, on the other hand, takes one cycle time of 120 seconds for applying a contrast colour to a car body roof for instance in comparison to a cycle time of 50 minutes recorded in the manual process of masking. Expressed Dr Lars Friedrich, responsible for Application Technology on the Dürr Systems AG Board of Management, “This hightech process enables the automotive industry to fulfil customers’ specific requirements faster while ensuring top quality.” “There is great interest in the market, as we are offering real added value with this new technology,” he added.
Apt for EVs
Catering to the need of customers for a sporty and good looking EV, the EcoPaintJet aids OEMs to add a dark contrast tone to the car give it a flatter appearance. The contrast paint coat is applied precisely without compromising on the existing finish. In case of EVs with a
relatively higher ground clearance owing to the battery installation underneath the floor assembly, the system ensures a low-slung and sporty look for the cars. This precision is achieved with an intricately machined nozzle plate, measuring only a few square centimetres preventing an overspray formation. The nozzle plate, which forms the underside of the rectangular applicator, has about 50 tiny holes (with a diameter of approximately onetenth of a millimetre). The paint is applied to the car body surface using parallel jets from a distance of 30 millimetres. The applicator is the centrepiece of the EcoPaintJet system. Using the EcoRPL 133i painting robot, the applicator is moved without any vibration. A measuring system, equipped with sensors, provides maximum precision. A 3D measurement of the surface to be painted is sent to the control software. It is a repetitive process such that the path of the applicator is calculated on a recurring basis in a bid to attain an optimum paint finish. The process is called automatic path generation.
EcoPaintJet Pro version
Even as the EcoPaintJet is being tested by several OEMs, Dürr is known to be already working on the further development of its first-generation technology. The next generation can be expected to paint on more complex geometries. This enhanced version, known as EcoPaintJet Pro, works such that it enables each hole in the nozzle plate to be opened and closed individually offering far greater possibilities for product customisation. Auto-applicators for lettering and logos in the near future are a possibility too.