“We are very excited that this technology has been recognized as a game-changing innovation and we look forward to building on our successes in the application technology space with more cutting-edge solutions,” said Alex Weiten, Vice President Application Technology at Dürr in North America. “The topic of sustainability has reached a tipping point in the automotive industry, and the EcoPaintJet Pro will enable our customers to meet their environmental goals today and for years to come.”
EcoPaintJet Pro improves sustainability
The EcoPaintJet Pro’s innovative process shows its strengths not only in terms of possible design diversity and lower production costs but in sustainability improvements to individual paint shops. Among other things, the DXQ3D.onsite software provides support here: an initial measurement detects and compensates for any inaccuracies in the conveyor system or the body shop. A second sensor mounted on the robot measures the deviation of the car body to be painted from the reference pattern. The robot controller adjusts the painting paths in real-time. The speed and tilt angle of the applicator is controlled so that the paint is always applied evenly, and there is no overspray or need for masking. This saves more than 1.5 million square meters of film and 2.2 million meters of masking tape in a standard production line that paints 110,000 car bodies per year, plus a lot of manual work. Another advantage is that the new process requires up to 30% less energy than the conventional method. These benefits are attracting a great deal of attention from car manufacturers. As a result, Dürr has already won its first order for the EcoPaintJet Pro from a major American OEM.
The 28th annual PACE Awards were presented by Automotive News. The competition was open to suppliers that contribute products, processes, materials, or services directly to car or truck manufacturing. The Automotive News PACE Award is the global industry benchmark for innovation.
