Problem: A large OEM manufacturer was creating a large volume of new styles that required paint programming. The challenge was creating these styles, while minimizing downtime on the available cells.
Solution:
To complete this task with minimal downtime on the cell, offline programming was required. The customer had a complex arrangement of over 100 paint and dispensing robots to cater for five unique styles. During shift breaks, a unit was brought into each cell, and a touch point created, which allowed for the unit to be located in space for the offline programming. From that point, our team was able to create outlines of the units using the available CAD back in our office. The programs were then uploaded to the controller, and dry run before traversing over a unit. Downtime was kept to an absolute minimum, and the launch was a resounding success.
The prominent robot used was the FANUC P-200E, now superseded by the P250. The FANUC P-200E has a heavy payload capacity for the application, with 15kg available at the wrist, allowing electrostatic end of arm tooling to be used. The P-200E system from FANUC integrated the most cutting-edge process machinery available at the time to boost painting performance, while improving our client’s profitability. By integrating the colour changer and fluid control valves next to the applicator, paint waste, colour change time, and cycle time are all decreased. Short color change increases throughput by being able to put different units closer together.
Automated Solutions Australia (ASA), which works with major suppliers to create custom paint solutions to fit your needs for industrial manufacturing and painting. For twenty years, we have worked in the paint finishing and coating sector, to bring world’s best practice to Australia. Our automation experts are passionate about paint.