FIND OUT HOW PAINTING ROBOTS ARE HELPING INDUSTRIES COMPLETE MORE TASKS.
Robotics has become a revolutionary force in the era of Industry 4.0, transforming operations in several areas. Painting robots have made a special place for themselves among the many uses of this technology, improving the accuracy and efficiency of coating and painting tasks.
In-depth discussion of the function, importance, and benefits of painting robots is provided in this article.
The Function of Painting Robots in Various Sectors
Robots that paint have been useful in many different sectors, mostly due to the demands of accuracy, speed, and consistency. They work mostly in the automobile sector, applying consistent paint layers to cars to provide a perfect finish that is hard to do by hand.
Similar to this, robotic painting is utilized in the aerospace industry to apply specialty coatings to aircraft components—a operation that requires a high degree of precision and consistency.
Regarding the P350iA paint robot, Larry Marino, a technical expert at FANUC America Corporation, states that it “actually has the highest kilogram payload of a Class 1 Division 1 hazardous environment robot at 45 kg.” These two are located in Boeing’s plant and are used for solvent spraying, sanding, and painting fuselage preparation.
The P350iA Paint Robot serves as only one illustration of the significant advancements in painting robot technology since its introduction. They are a multipurpose powerhouse for airplane makers, automating several phases in the painting process so they can:
- Reduce the amount of paint and solvents used.
- Shorten painting durations
- Lower the possibility of toxic paint ingredients posing a safety risk
In addition to these uses, painting robots are employed in the manufacturing industry, namely in the creation of consumer goods. These robots are adept at handling a variety of coatings, including water-based paints, powder coatings, and even specialist coatings like fire-retardant or corrosion-resistant paints. They may be used for everything from painting furniture to putting protective coatings to electrical gadgets.
Do More, Do it More Repeatably: Advantages of Using Painting Robots
Numerous benefits result from the employment of painting robots. The coating’s consistency is the most important of them. Painting robots provide a consistent application of paint, resulting in a higher-quality finish than hand painting, which might have imperfections. The robot’s ability to precisely manage the paint layer thickness is another example of this consistency.
Robots that paint can also work nonstop without becoming tired, which increases output. Additionally, they improve workplace safety by lowering the amount of potentially hazardous chemicals and vapors that employees are exposed to. procedure is more economical and ecologically beneficial since painting robots’ accuracy reduces paint waste.
Real-World Examples of Painting Robots
Painting robots are becoming more and more necessary in the field of industrial automation. In addition to being effective, several manufacturers have created integrated painting solutions that guarantee superior surface finishing.
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Improving Efficiency, Minimizing Waste in the Automotive Sector
Automotive painting automation is revolutionized by painting robots, such ABB‘s highly acclaimed PixelPaint technology. It simplifies painting by doing away with traditional spray valves, masking, and de-masking. It is outfitted with two 6-axis robots and novel inkjet painting heads.
Efficiency is further increased by the robot’s capacity to apply two-tone or bespoke paint patterns in a single pass. It also takes care of the recurring problem of overspray, which usually causes a 20%–30% paint loss.
With the PixelPaint robot, producers can precisely anticipate the amount of paint supplies needed and maximize resource usage since it guarantees that 100% of the coating is applied to the targeted surface.
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Powder Coating Self-Learning Robots
Powder coating, which makes up more than 15% of finishes worldwide, is a popular option for steel production because of its strength and ability to withstand harsh weather conditions and corrosion. DeGeest Steel Works understood that automation was necessary to remove process bottlenecks, especially in their painting division.
The firm collaborated with Lesta, an Italian robotics brand that offers self-learning devices that mimic human gestures, in order to get around the challenge of programming most automation systems. With these robots, a great deal less offline programming is required. Rather, the robotic arms are educated in a disengaged learning mode that renders them weightless, enabling a human operator to direct them in the intended painting motion.
In a matter of seconds, this technique qualifies the robots for autonomous operation, increasing efficiency without necessitating continual human interaction.
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Safer Paint Stripping in Aviation
Painting an aircraft is an essential part of maintaining an aircraft, since it may be required by fading colors or rebranding. Depainting, on the other hand, entails removing previous paint coats with abrasive or chemical processes, which may be hazardous to the environment and human health.
A robotic solution was presented by a Dutch business that not only lowers these dangers but also speeds up these processes by as much as 60%. The more than seventy-foot-long robot has wheels on its base that can be turned in any direction, making it simple to move about a hangar.
Precision paint removal off metal and composite surfaces is guaranteed by its sophisticated color identification and control technologies.
The Core of Painting Robots: Collision Detection and Spatial Awareness
Spatial awareness and collision detection are two important factors that industrial robotic painting systems must take into account.
Painting robots’ spatial awareness is comparable to humans’ sense of space. The robot is able to paint precisely and prevent needless overlaps or gaps by using this ability to comprehend its position inside the work envelope in relation to the items surrounding it.
On the other hand, collision detection is a safety function that keeps the robot from harming either the item it is painting or itself. Through obstacle detection, the robot may modify its actions to guarantee a seamless and continuous painting procedure.
Any potential creator should take note of these aspects as they are essential to the smooth functioning of painting robots.
Maximize Your Painting Robots’ Potential While Cutting Down on Time to Market
The SDKs offered by Spatial can offer a strong basis for the creation of painting robots, improving both their general efficiency and ability to detect collisions. How to do it is as follows:
- Boost Productivity and Lower Risk: Among many other features that allow application developers to save time and effort while creating an application, AGM, an application graphics manager, allows synchronization between object and visualization and significantly lowers project risk.
- Enhanced Collision Detection: To identify possible collisions between the robot and its surroundings, CGM Modeler may be utilized.
- Improved Visualization: HOOPS Visualize may be used to track the robot’s progress and pinpoint any potential blind spots. They are able to visualize the robot’s route and the region it has painted.
- Interoperability: 3D InterOp makes sure the robot can interact with other applications and systems in an efficient manner. In a manufacturing setting where the robot must cooperate with other devices and systems, this can be very helpful.
If you are interested in painting robots and automation or want to know more about how to improve production efficiency, please contact Robotnext today for advice and cost support. Details via hotline: 0909 914 837.
