ABB's new Compact Interior Paint station combines twelve robots and is a space-saving alternative to conventional robotic interior paint stations. It helps car manufacturers to reduce the footprint of their paint booths by up to 33 %. At the same time, it covers a wide range of vehicle types - from conventional passenger cars to SUVs and large vans. Four IRB 5350 robots are responsible for opening the doors, while two IRB 5500-22 robots are responsible for opening the bonnet and boot. Decisive for the compactness of the solution are the six seven-axis robots of type IRB 5500-27, which can be mounted standing, hanging or on the wall. Thanks to a reach of 3.8 m, a larger working area can be covered on a car body than with other robot solutions in this class. In addition, the optimised machining angle reduces the number of robots required to perform a given task. The increased reach also allows the robot to ideally reach all painting surfaces without relying on an external traversing axis. In addition, paint mist is minimised and ultimately less paint is used. The space savings achieved with the compact indoor painting station reduces the need for ventilation and lighting on the factory floor, contributing to a more sustainable and cost-effective painting operation. The robot is also able to temporarily take over the tasks of a robot standing next to it to maintain productivity. In the event of a malfunction, the remaining robot goes into emergency mode. In doing so, it either increases its speed or its cycle time to compensate for the inactive robot until it can be put back into operation. The use of ABB's SafeMove software ensures that the robots can work in close proximity to each other. The workspace of each robot can be defined as a safety zone and speed and movement can be controlled accordingly to minimise the risk of collisions.
Autor(en): ABB
