Dürr Systems AG won the German Innovation Award in the "Large Enterprise" category for its EcoPaintJet robotic painting system. This revolutionary innovation for the razor-sharp painting of cars and other products has several benefits such as 100% of the paint is applied on the surface without waste, easier and faster two-tone paint application process, more energy-efficient and resource-friendly way than before.
The robotic painting system combines know-how and high-tech components from the paint application, robotics and software sector. The heart of the system is an innovative applicator mounted on a robot which - unlike a conventional rotating atomizer - applies the paint using a complex nozzle plate. This boasts 50 hardly visible holes with a diameter of approx. one tenth of a millimeter, which apply the paint through parallel jets from a distance of 30 millimeters - a process similar to that of an ink-jet printer. Before this process, a surface measurement system is carried out using a camera. Based on the data obtained from this phase, a software calculates the path that the applicator must take to paint the components. The speed and tilt angle of the applicator are controlled in such a way that the paint is applied uniformly at all times. Surface contours are also taken into consideration, which is important, for example, for painting car roofs.
With EcoPaintJet, car manufacturers can customize their products in a simple way and with an automatic process. If required, it is possible, for example, to apply decorative stripes or contrasting colours on the roof of the bodywork completely automatically. "In this way we support car manufacturers to meet this trend which sees an increasing number of car buyers who want a customized vehicle. Our innovative system offers completely new possibilities: cost-efficient and fully integrated into series production", explains Dr. Lars Friedrich, member of the Dürr Systems AG
Board of Management and CEO of the Application Technology division.
EcoPaintJet is free of overspray as the paint never misses its target and lands only on the intended surfaces. As a result, the rest of the bodywork no longer needs to be masked with a film when a second paint colour is applied. For this reason, about 15 square meters of masking film are saved for each car body.
As for timing, this innovative system takes just 120 seconds to paint the roof of a car. In the past, the application and removal of the masking film alone took 50 minutes. Other benefits include better capacity utilization in paint shops and energy savings of up to 25% during the paint drying process.
EcoPaintJet is also suitable for products where the application of paint has so far been highly labor-intensive such as wheels, furniture and two-wheeled vehicles, cardboard packaging, garage doors and decorations for aircrafts and railway wagons.
All these benefits impressed the jury and led Dürr to win the German Innovation Award, one of the most renowned awards for innovations "made in Germany" and presented by the main global professional services company Accenture, the energy supply company EnBW and the business magazine WirtschaftsWoche.