International. Dürr launched a new automated application system that ensures an unprecedented level of accuracy when applying sharp paint lines. EcoPaintJet also offers significant benefits when painting electric cars. Dürr presented the solution to the public for the first time at the public exhibition, which recently took place at the company's headquarters in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany.
Dr. Jochen Weyrauch, CEO of Dürr Systems AG, says: "The EcoPaintJet is a quantum leap on the road to efficient two-tone car painting. It is the first system that efficiently combines product customization with automated production."
When only one type of paint is applied, the efficiency of modern automotive paint lines is unparalleled. Thanks to their highly automated processes, large plants paint 300,000 bodies a year while maintaining a high level of quality. However, adding an intense or contrasting color, for example on the roof or as a decorative strip, means a lot of additional work: once the entire body of the car was painted with the basic color, which was then cured and cooled, the masking of the painted area must be applied manually, except for the areas that will be painted a different color. The body then returns to the paint line where the second color is applied. After cooling and drying further, the masking must be removed again manually. Not only is this associated with high labor costs, but the energy consumption for drying paints increases by at least 25% compared to single-color paints. In addition, 6 to 15 square meters of masking should be placed by the body. In addition, the second paint application blocks the paint line, which takes valuable time.
No masking required
Dürr's new process is much more efficient as it completely eliminates the need to mask the car body. This is thanks to a brand new applicator. Attached to a robotic arm, it moves around the target area and applies paint with sharp lines. Painting is done exactly in the desired areas and nowhere, not even a little. As a result, the rest of the body no longer needs to be masked. It only takes a cycle time of 120 seconds to apply a contrasting color to the roof of a car's body. For comparison: When masking is used, the time required to manually load and remove the tape takes approximately 50 minutes.
EcoPaintJet achieves its high level of precision because the applicator does not generate excess paint. Excess paint is small droplets of paint, which are produced by other atomizers and fall outside the target area. The system has a very complex machined nozzle plate that measures only a few square centimeters, which prevents excess paint from forming. The nozzle plate, which forms the bottom of the rectangular applicator, has about 50 barely visible holes with a diameter of about a tenth of a millimeter. They are used to apply paint to the surface of the car body in parallel jets from a distance of 30 millimeters.
