Eisenmann, the international plant engineering specialist, has been given overall responsibility for expanding the paint shop at BMW Group's plant in Leipzig. Within the scope of the contract, Eisenmann will convert the top coat line and perform reengineering work on pretreatment and electrocoating.
This large-scale project includes a new pretreatment/electrocoating system equipped with E-Shuttle 200 conveyors and e-coat dryers. The E-Shuttle 200 conveyor system moves the car bodies through the process tanks on individual shuttles. Its compact design and low height make it particularly suitable for retrofitting to existing facilities.
"Furthermore, we recommend E Shuttle 200 to our customers when high throughputs are required, as is the case here," explains Thomas Berger, Vice President, Sales, Automotive Systems, at Eisenmann. In addition, the flexible dip-coating conveyor is not only an excellent basis for achieving high finish quality, but also enables a variety of vehicle models to be treated on a single production line. "In light of the trend towards ever-greater customization, E-Shuttle 200 is an outstanding investment in the future. Moreover, the system's intelligent control unit means that it is easily integrated into Industry 4.0 production environments. This underscores the suitability of E-Shuttle 200 as a component of a smart factory," adds Berger.
Eisenmann will also convert an existing top coat line at BMW Group's Leipzig plant to a primerless painting process, and reengineer the finishing line. Primer is conventionally applied to car bodies as a second layer. The specially formulated water-based base coat, a component of the integrated paint solution, performs the traditional functions of a primer: to protect against UV radiation and smooth out any surface unevenness. "As there is no need for a solvent-based primer, there is a significant improvement in the paint shop's eco-efficiency. Furthermore, the primerless process is more cost-effective and cuts the time required to paint each body. This makes it possible to increase capacity considerably," explains Berger. Installation work will commence in December 2018 and the project is scheduled to be completed by early 2020.