United States. Coatings company Axalta has partnered with Xaar, a leading manufacturer of on-demand inkjet technologies, to introduce Axalta NextJet, a next-generation sustainable digital painting technology for the transport industry.
Digital painting, also known as non-overspray application, is an advanced paint application that will allow precise paint placement.
Through Axalta and Xaar's patented technology, Axalta NextJet enables design flexibility for two-tone vehicles and enables customers to create patterns, details and images sustainably.
Digital paint coating technology also eliminates masking and reduces labor, energy and waste, while increasing productivity and efficiency rates. This can contribute to a 30 percent reduction in CO2 emissions and significant cost savings for manufacturers of two-tone vehicles.
"We are excited to announce our partnership with Xaar and bring Axalta NextJet to market," said Hadi Awada, Senior Vice President, Mobility, Axalta.
"Our latest innovation is powered by Xaar's leading inkjet technology and combined with our patented paint designed for injection. This unique market offering builds on Axalta's investments in digital paint research and development," said Awada.
Graham Tweedale, Chief Operating Officer at Xaar, added: "Axalta quickly recognised the unique advantages of Xaar's technology for its innovation, making use of our printhead's ability to handle fluids with viscosities far beyond what has traditionally been possible with inkjet. Together we not only achieve the required productivity, but we significantly improve it."
Axalta NextJet would be the first partnership between an inkjet printhead manufacturer and a coatings manufacturer. The combined technology solution is being tested with customers and could be in production as early as 2024.
