BRAND-NEW
SPECIAL ON AUTOMOTIVE & TRANSPORTATION
Product Customization: Dürr Enables Fully Automated Painting of Cars in Two Colors for the First Time
T
he more customized, the better
car body has been painted in the basic
No masking tape required
– this motto governs more and
colour, which has then dried and cooled,
Dürr’s new process, known as
more purchasing decisions. When
masking tape must be applied by hand
EcoPaintJet, is much more efficient, as
it comes to the colour of cars, the trend
– except for the areas due to be painted
it dispenses altogether with the need
toward customization is also on the rise.
in a different colour. Then the car body
for masking the car body. This is thanks
Buyers of small cars, in particular, are
goes back to the painting line, where
to a totally new applicator. Fixed to a
increasingly ordering contrasting and
the second colour is applied. After more
robot arm, it moves over the target area and applies paint with
for the roof, to stand out from
razor sharp lines. The
© Dürr
accent colours, for example the crowd. For the automotive
paint lands exactly on
industry, two-tone painting
the intended areas
means considerably more
and nowhere else –
cost and effort. Not only
not even the tiniest
does it require more time
amounts. As a result,
and energy, it also creates
the rest of the car
a lot of wastage. Thanks
body no longer has
to a pioneering innovation
to be masked. It only
offered by Dürr, this is now
takes a cycle time of
changing. With its EcoPaintJet
120 seconds to apply
system, the world market
a contrasting colour
leader in automotive painting
to a car body roof. By
technology presents an
comparison: when
automated application solution that ensures an unprecedented level of precision in applying sharp paint lines. The EcoPaintJet
using masking tape,
1
the time required to
Figure 1: The applicator of the EcoPaintJet does not generate any overspray at all, so that it dispenses altogether with the need for masking the car body.
also offers important benefits
put on and remove the masking tape alone is about 50 minutes.
in the painting of electric cars.
cooling and drying, the tape must be
Electric cars seem flatter
When only one type of paint is applied,
removed, once again by hand. This is
EcoPaintJet helps electric car
the efficiency of modern automotive
not only associated with high labour
manufacturers to fulfill an important
paint shops is unrivaled. Thanks to their
costs, but the energy consumption for
customer requirement. Some e-cars are
highly automated processes, large plants
the curing of paint increases by at least
built slightly higher than conventional
paint 300,000 car bodies per year while
25 % compared to single-color painting.
models, since the battery is installed in
maintaining a consistently high level of
In addition, 6 to 15 square meters of
the floor assembly, under the passenger
quality. However, adding a contrasting or
masking tape must be disposed of per
compartment. Many buyers, however,
accent colour, for example on the roof or
car body. Moreover, the painting line is
would like their cars to look low-slung
as a design strip, means a considerable
blocked by the second paint application,
and sporty. To get this effect, a dark
amount of extra work: Once the entire
which wastes valuable time.
contrasting colour is used to paint a strip
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N. 57 - MAY/JUNE 2019 - international PAINT&COATING magazine