Surface World June 2019 Surface World June 2019 | Page 56

PAINT ROBOTS & AUTOMATION
Five steps to automate your paint line
Robotic painting leads to
signifi cant cost and time
benefi ts, especially when
a rotary applicator is used
to generate the highest
possible transfer effi ciency.
There are many strong reasons to invest in
robotic painting equipment. Foremost on the
list is quality improvement. To stay
competitive, manufacturers can’t afford to
have variation in paint quality. Robots can
ensure that the spray gun parameters and
spraying motion are exactly the same every
time, thus ensuring consistency and precision
of painting each part. This translates into
higher throughput.
The accuracy of robotic painting also
reduces material consumption by up to 30%.
A plural component proportioner like
Graco’s ProMix PD2K, which mixes material
close to the gun, reduces paint and solvent
waste. Adding an electrostatic spray
applicator, designed to offer high spray
performance and quality, will increase
transfer efficiency, lowering costs even further.
Something often overlooked is flexibility.
Robots can easily be reprogrammed to do
new jobs, and can make adjustments on the
fly. Automation also provides flexibility to
change materials and colors more frequently,
which significantly simplifies production
planning.
Robots can remove people from dangerous
jobs, allowing them to focus on skilled labor
jobs that require decision-making and
judgment. Giving repetitive tasks to robots
reduces on-the-job injuries and job
dissatisfaction in the workforce.
Given the benefits of automating a paint line,
here are five steps to consider prior to
implementation.
Analyze the cost
Robotic painting technology is often
considered to be too expensive. The initial
investment can be large, but automating a
finishing process will increase output while
reducing costs and providing benefits for
years to come. Moreover, the cost of
automation is decreasing every year.
However, when considering moving into
robotic painting, it is vital to develop a
long-term plan so that the bottom-line
savings that can be expected are precisely
calculated and well understood. Operating
with the most energy-efficient equipment
available may provide the largest savings,
but no opportunity is too small, because it all
adds up.
Choose an applicator with
a high transfer effi ciency
A new product recently launched by Graco’s
Industrial Products Division is the ProBell
Rotary Applicator. Designed for automated
painting applications – for example in the
Industrial Paint Applications Industry, the
ProBell is a rotary atomizer that can be
mounted on a fixed position, reciprocating
arm or a robot.
Fluid is delivered to the ProBell with a low
pressure supply, and distributed by means of
a bell cup spinning up to max 60,000 rpm.
This high rotation speed subjects the paint to
a high centrifugal force, which pushes the
paint along the surface of the bell cup. When
the paint reaches the edge of the bell cup,
the centrifugal force breaks the paint into a
fine cloud of fluid particles. As the droplet
size is finer and more consistent than any
other atomization methods, the ProBell
delivers a high quality finish.
Furthermore, the cloud of paint droplets is
directed or shaped by dual shaping air cups,
which allow the pattern of the paint droplets
to be shaped and propelled towards the part.
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JUNE 2019
read online: www.surfaceworld.com