Automotive sector: top quality paint finishing
and enhanced productivity

Lacquer sprayed onto parts in an overhead line tends to be affected by gravity, flowing towards one extremity of the component. Using a flatbed spray coater, this is no longer an issue. Furthermore, coating consistency is superior over time, especially in a better isolated environment which is easier to achieve using a line made up of flatbed coaters and UV curing and/or a vertical oven.

Before coating starts, we strongly advise uncoated parts are processed on one of our machines equipped with automatic, solvent-free and dry CO2 snow-cleaning capability to prepare the surface, which is then deionised to prevent dust accumulation.

These operations are a pre-requisite to optimum surface finishing quality.

It is true that an overhead line is a general purpose solution, but our technologies combine the same flexibility with better quality and greater production efficiency.

Our high-capacity, twin-arm, Cartesian spraying robot, iBotic, capable of working simultaneously on pieces of different shape and thickness, with a non-stop steel strip conveyor, ensures superb productivity.

Fitted with our real-time monitoring software, cTracker, the integrated line tracks components requiring more than one coating process (e.g. primer, metallic paint, transparent top coat) automatically regulating coating operations and setting correct temperatures for subsequent drying. Moreover, the tool can track pieces on the line recording data to analyse productivity, so as to implement production changeovers without emptying the line. Flexibly exploiting the full conveyor width, even with different parts, which is simpler on a flatbed machine compared to a vertical spray coater, means there are no gaps in production and experience has proved that we can boost productivity by a good 20%, making ROI fast and worthwhile.