APS

Automotive Paintshop Solutions

2014
a supplement to

magazine

Compress the process

Innovative painting systems for
BMWs MINI & Fords Transit
OEM FOCUS

SPECIAL REPORTS

A new paintshop for

plastic parts at VWs
Wolfsburg plant

Porsche Leipzig
improving energy &
production efficiencies

Converting or repurposing
a paintshop a costeffective solution

www.automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com

ANALYSIS
Qoros building a stateof-the -art paintshop
at Changshu

New paint processes

environmental &
technical developments

an

ULTIMAMEDIA publication

Efficient body building

without the stress and strain.

Throughout the automotive sector ABBs extensive portfolio of drives, motors, PLCs
and robots provides the perfect combination to enhance productivity levels, while
economically using energy. Whatever the application, whether for powertrain assembly,
body-in-white, paint processes, press automation or automotive components, ABB
helps manufacturers improve productivity, product quality, energy efficiency and
worker safety. To discover more, visit www.abb.com/automotive

editors note

APS

a supplement to

magazine

Automotive Paintshop Solutions

Editor Mike Farish

Editor AMS magazine Nick Holt nick.holt@ultimamedia.com
Deputy Editor AMS magazine Joanne Perry joanne.perry@ultimamedia.com
Design Director Matt Crane matt.crane@ultimamedia.com
Senior Designer Kim Man kim.man@ultimamedia.com
Designer Steven Singh Bains steven.bains@ultimamedia.com
Circulation Manager George Waga george.waga@ultimamedia.com
Advertising Sales Support Kate German kate.german@ultimamedia.com
Head of Marketing
Publisher

Mali Cook mali.cook@ultimamedia.com

Andrew Fallon andrew.fallon@ultimamedia.com

Finance Manager Piers Marshall piers.marshall@ultimamedia.com

Managing Director Karen Parks karen.parks@ultimamedia.com
Chairman Simon Timm simon.timm@ultimamedia.com

Circulation enquiries
Ultima Media Circulation, PO Box 179, Ely CB7 4YN, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1353 665 576 Fax: +44 (0) 1353 669 030
e-mail: ultimacirculation@wyverndm.co.uk
ULTIMAMEDIA Ltd, Lamb House, Church Street, London W4 2PD
Tel: +44(0) 20 8987 0900 Fax: +44(0) 20 8987 0948
Copyright 2014. Ultima Media Ltd.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any
material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by
electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some
other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright
owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs &
Patents Act (UK) 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright
Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP UK.
Applications for the copyright owners permission to reproduce any part of
this publication should be forwarded in writing to Permissions Dept., Ultima
Media, Lamb House, London, W4 2PD, UK.
Periodicals postage paid at Middlesex New Jersey, 08846. Postmaster:
Please send address corrections for (title) c/o Pronto Mailers, PO Box 177
Middlesex, NJ 08846.
Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work
may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.

ULTIMAMEDIA

WWW.ULTIMAMEDIA.COM

ore from less those seem to the watchwords

for the design, construction and deployment
of paintshop systems in the automotive OEM
world today. Much more performance is being sought, in
terms of resilience and appearance of painted surfaces, and
even more in terms of savings in energy and water usage
including reducing emissions of CO2 and VOCs. All this
from less in terms of actual paint operations as carmakers
and paint system suppliers develop and implement compact
processes.
The most common way to accomplish this is through
the integration of primer and basecoat layers. To be more
precise what is involved is the complete removal of any
requirement for a primer layer through the provision in
the basecoat layer not just of colour but also of the anticorrosion properties that are the primary purpose of a
dedicated primer layer. But the really important thing about
this technique is not so much that it saves materials as that it
removes the need for the subsequent energy-intensive ovenbake session that a primer layer requires.
In itself this is not a new technique. It was introduced
at the BMW Mini plant in Oxford in the UK, for instance,
in 2006, but it does now appear that this approach to
automotive painting is becoming a de facto standard
throughout the car making industry worldwide. It is also the
basis of the painting process at the plant in China of Qoros
Automotive, in this instance not just one of the newest
car making factories the world but also one of the newest
companies.
The Qoros plant, though, is not just interesting in its
own right it is, arguably, emblematic in that apart from a
witty technique to reduce contamination of painting booth
structures none of the processes it contains are absolutely
new. Instead its innovation derives from its configuration
in other words the selection and integration of the
individual processes it deploys. Similarly Fords Kansas City
plant takes what appears to be a radically different approach
to the implementation of compact processes for painting
Transit vans. Here the layers that have been integrated are
basecoat and clearcoat, but as Ford admits that is actually an
old technique. What is new in this case is that the approach
has been reengineered to meet modern standards of process
efficiency and customer expectation.
In other words, as this issue of Automotive Paintshop
Solutions shows though there is little that is radically new
in the individual processes automotive paintshops are
currently deploying, there is a remorseless refinement
of their capabilities and genuine innovation in the way
theyre configured together. The consequence is levels of
performance in all aspects of performance efficiency that
are unprecedented.
Mike Farish Editor

2014 | APS

03

Contents
APS Automotive Paintshop Solutions 2014
Companies in this issue

06

NEWS AND INNOVATIONS

ANALYSIS

08

Paintshop benchmarks
APS looks at the implementation of new paint processes
and the environmental and technical drivers for paintshop
development

OEM FOCUS

12

Ford: compressed paint process

16

Integrated paint process

24
30

Application of innovative paintshop processes at the companys

Kansas City plant has delivered significant improvements in
efficiency, savings in materials and reduction of waste

Audi

06

BASF

06, 08

BMW

03, 08, 16

Chemetall

06

CRC Industries

28

Drr

06, 26

Eisenmann

20

Mike Farish looks at the integrated paint process BMW has

employed for MINI production at its plant in Oxford, UK

Ford

12

Think Blue to go green

Geico

28

APS reports on a new paintshop for plastic parts at VWs

Wolfsburg plant, which exemplifies the companys drive to
reduce the environmental impact of vehicle production

Henkel

06

Painting Jackals, Coyotes &

other big beasts

Jiangling Motors Co.

12

Specialist vehicle manufacturer Supacat discusses the coatings

it uses for harsh environments

Kremlin Rexson

34

Living Solids

32

Adjust to fit

Mercedes-Benz

20

Converting or repurposing a paintshop can be a more costeffective solution than simply building a new one, as this
example at Mercedes-Benz of Brazil illustrates

Porsche

26

PPG

08

Porsches new paintshop at Leipzig features new technologies

to improve both energy and production efficiencies

Qoros

28

Paintshop partnership

Renault

34

Working in close partnership with its OEM client, paintshop

builder Geico Taikisha has designed and constructed a state-of
the-art paintshop facility for Qoros

Sames

34

Sealing software

Sprimag

06

Livingsolids discusses the development of software to allow

accurate automated application of sealant to body-in-white
structures

Supacat

30

Smart solution

Taikisha

28

Kremlin Rexson and Sames Technologies, combined their

know-how and experience to propose a global solution for
painting Renaults third generation Twingo

Volkswagen

SPECIAL REPORTS

20
26
28
32
34
04

Painting the Macan

APS | 2014

06, 24

Drrs engineering excellence and extensive

product line focuses on all aspects consistent
with a sustainable, environmentally conscious
business model. Representing the highest
substantially
quality, our
reduces your energy, material and unit costs.

www.durr-paint.com

News

Anti-friction lacquers
Sprimag has introduced the latest version
of its Pico Electronic screen printing
system for coating engine pistons with
anti-friction lacquers, which act to
protect the piston surfaces when the oil
film breaks own. The update includes
the Simotion drive system which enables
the use of a synchronous rotary table
for pistons with the horizontal screen
movement underneath the fixed squeegee

section. The two squeegees that actually

apply the lacquer one each for the top
land and the piston shaft are designed
with new Festo slides and can now be
adapted to different piston types without
a tool.
The company says pressures in the
squeegee cylinders are set reproducibly
with proportional valves, while the
management system for recipes can save
the parameters of up to
150 different aluminium
pistons with diameters
in the range 53-150mm.
Reinforced bearings
have been developed
to cope with steel
pistons and can support
pistons weighing up
to 5kg. Loading takes
place either manually
or automatically via a
robot.
www.sprimag.com

New Audi
paintshop in
Mexico
Painting system supplier Drr is now
building what it claims will be one of the
worlds most environmentally friendly
paintshops in San Jos Chiapa, Mexico,
for Audi. The facility will rely heavily
on Drr technologies including the
Ecopaint RoDip rotational dip painting
system during pretreatment and EC,
while underbody and seam sealing will
be accomplished by ten EcoRS16 robots.
Further down the line 36 EcoRP L133
robots using EcoBell3 high-speed rotary
atomizers will be responsible for the
fully-automated interior and exterior
primer and topcoat painting.

New automotive coatings plant for

Shanghai
A new automotive coatings plant has
been opened in China by BASF Shanghai
Coatings, a joint venture between
BASF Group and Shanghai Huayi Fine
Chemical Company. The plant at the
Shanghai Chemical Industry Park
represents an investment of around
50m. It has
been specially
designed to have
closed handling of
ingredients, as well
as state-of-the-art
ventilation and offgas treatment. The
new automotive
coatings plant is
located next to
another new BASF resin and electrocoat
plant which will start operation in the
second half of 2015.
It is intended that the close proximity
of these two plants with access to
facilities of BASF Caojing site and the

06

APS | 2014

Shanghai Chemical Industry Park will

allow greater synergies and operational
efficiency. Commenting on the
opening of the new facility Dr. Albert
Heuser, president and chairman greater
China for BASF said: We plan our
investments according to the anticipated

market development and customer

demands. We will continue to invest in
strengthening our local production in
China and Asia to respond even faster to
our customers.
www.basf.com

A feature of the atomizers is their rapid

colour change capability less than ten
seconds, claims Drr. Overspray will be
separated using the companys water-free
EcoDryScrubber system. Meanwhile the
ovens have been specifically designed
for complex car body structures with
considerable aluminium add-ons. Energy
saving will involve their exhaust air
streams being subject to heat recovery
and used again for heating. Production is
scheduled to start in mid-2016.
www.durr.com

News

Paintshop for VW production

in Poland

New cleaner for

uncured paints

Drr is to build a
complete new paintshop
for Volkswagen in
Wreznia, Poland, to
support production
of the successor to the
VW Crafter commercial
vehicle. The project,
which Drr says will be
one of the biggest it has
ever tackled, will involve
the company providing the equipment
and also overseeing construction of the
building.
Altogether Drr will be providing
the dip tanks for the pre-treatment
and electro-deposiiton area as well as
a primer line, two basecoat and two
topcoat lines with the associated spray
booths, ovens, conveyor systems, exhaust
air purification and work stations.
Automation levels will be heavy with 18

Henkel says Bonderite C-MC 21130 is

an environmentally sound cleaner for
all uncured paints, and offers a 50%
reduction in volatile organic compounds
(VOC) compared to solvent-based
cleaners.
Henkel claims this product dissolves
both aqueous and solvent-containing
paints, lacquers, varnishes, latex, rubber,
resins, and electrophoretic deposits
(EPD). It will also remove adhesives such
as cyanoacrylates, silicones and other
bi-component polyurethanes, provided
they have not completely dried.
www.henkel.com

EcoRS16robots performing underbody

coating and seam sealing while 36 EcoRP
E and EcoRP L robots carrying out
interior and exterior painting further
down the line. In addition eight EcoRP
L053 swingarm robots will paint the
interior of the cargo space to help
increase the flexibility of the production
line. The whole facility is expected to
start production in the second half of
2016.
www.durr.com

End-to-end solutions.
From body

shop
p
to
t coatin
coating
and final assembly
... whatever your challenge, we have the answer.

Complete paint shops

Body shop conveyors and final assembly lines
Factory planning
Production control systems
Solar thermal solutions
Environmental technology

www.eisenmann.com

Analysis

Paintshop
benchmarks
Mike Farish looks at the
implementation of new
paint processes and the
environmental and technical
drivers for paintshop
development

hatever the new

technologies or processes
that enter the world
of automotive paint
application five basic benchmarks
remain fixed. These are:
s4HEFINALAPPEARANCEOFTHEPAINTED
surface
s#OSTPERUNITFORTHEPAINTINGPROCESS
s&IRSTTIMECAPABILITYnINOTHER
words ease of processing in a plant
to facilitate high throughput with no
re-runs
s2EGULATORYCOMPLIANCE
s0ERFORMANCEINUSEnWILLTHEPAINTED
surface continue to look brand new
for a decade or more after the vehicle
FIRSTLEAVESTHEFACTORY
4HATLISTISPROVIDEDBY$ENNIS4ALJAN
global director of automotive coatings
TECHNOLOGYFORPAINTSYSTEMSSUPPLIER00'4HEYAREHESAYS
EMPHATICALLYh4HEMAINDRIVERSOFTHELASTYEARSANDWILL
BEFORTHENEXTASWELLv4HISWILLBEAGAINSTABACKGROUND
INWHICHABASIC@FIVE LAYERSYSTEMFORCOATINGVEHICLEPARTS
HASBECOMEFIRMLYESTABLISHEDOVERFOURDECADESOFINTENSIVE
DEVELOPMENTANDWHICHHASPROVENITSELFASHEPUTSIT
hAWESOMEvATPROVIDINGHIGH QUALITYDURABLEAUTOMOTIVE
PAINTSYSTEMS4HISFIVE LAYERSYSTEMCOMPRISES
s0RE TREATMENTUSUALLYWITHZINCPHOSPHATE
s!NTI CORROSIVEELECTROCOATING
s0RIMER
s"ASECOATTHATACTUALLYPROVIDESTHECOLOUR
s#LEARCOAT
Market demands & technical performance
The continuing challenge for vehicle OEMS and their

08

APS | 2014

SUPPLIERSSAYS4ALJANISTOACHIEVETHERIGHTBALANCE

BETWEENTHOSEBASICBENCHMARKSTOSATISFYCURRENTMARKET
DEMANDSWHILECONSTANTLYSEEKINGTOIMPROVETHETECHNICAL
PERFORMANCEOFTHEACTUALCOATINGLAYERSINTERMSOFTHE
AMOUNTOFMATERIALUSEDANDTHETIMEANDENERGYREQUIRED
TOAPPLYIT(ECITESDEVELOPMENTSOVERTHEPASTFIVETOSEVEN
YEARSINELECTROCOATINGMATERIALSASACASEINPOINTWITH
00'SOWN(YPERTHROWPRODUCTASASPECIFICEXAMPLE)N
this instance the crucial factor is that the material has what
HEDESCRIBESASAhSELF INSULATINGvCAPABILITYWHICHMEANS
that it permeates all the crevices in the surface of the metal
without the need for excessive material to be added to its
own outer surface.
4HECONSEQUENCESOFTHATFAIRLYSTRAIGHTFORWARDPROPERTY
THOUGHAREMULTIFARIOUS)TPRODUCESEFFICIENCIESNOTJUSTIN
IMMEDIATEMATERIALUSAGEBUTALSOINTHEREQUIREMENTFOR

Analysis

WATERFORPOST PROCESSOPERATIONS4HELATTERSTATES4ALJANIS

INCREASINGLYAMAJORDRIVEROFPROCESSIMPROVEMENT)NDEED
HESTATESTHATTHEABILITYTOSAVEWATERINMANUFACTURING
PROCESSESISBECOMINGJUSTASIMPORTANTMAYBEEVENMORE
IMPORTANTTHANTHEABILITYTOCUT#/ emissions.
Compact processes
Meanwhile another trend of fundamental importance is the
MOVETOWARDSTHEIMPLEMENTATIONOF@COMPACTPROCESSES
INWHICHAPREVIOUSREQUIREMENTFORATLEASTONEBAKING
CYCLEISCOMPLETELYOBVIATED!S4ALJANEXPLAINSWHENTHAT
OBJECTIVEISACHIEVEDTHENWHATISNEGATEDISTHENEEDFORAN
OPERATIONTHATINVOLVEDADEDICATEDOVENSYSTEMhTHELENGTH
OFAFOOTBALLFIELDv4HATPROCESSSTEPHASBEENREMOVED
FORINSTANCEBYTHEADVENTOF@# "OPERATIONSINWHICH
PRIMERBASECOATANDCLEARCOATAREAPPLIEDINAWET ON WET
ON WETSEQUENCEWITHOUTANYINTERVENINGBAKINGCYCLE
4ALJANDOESSTRESSTHOUGHTHATDEVELOPMENTSINPRIMER
FORMULATIONINPARTICULARHAVEMADETHISPOSSIBLE)NSUCH
CASESTHATLAYERISNOWTYPICALLYHESAYSONLYAROUND
MICRONSINTHICKNESSnABOUTHALFOFWHATWASPREVIOUSLY
THECASEnBUTWITHNODIMINUTIONINITSEFFECTIVENESS
$IFFERENTCOMPANIESNOTES4ALJANHAVEDIFFERENTNAMESFOR
THEPROCESSANDMAYALSODIFFERINDETAILSOFTHEIRPROCESS
PROCEDURESACCORDINGTOTHETYPEOFVEHICLEINVOLVEDBUT
the essential elements remain the same. What also remains
CONSTANTINSUCHASCENARIOHEADDSARETHEBENEFITSn
REDUCTIONSIN#/EMISSIONSANDBOTHENERGYANDSPACE
REQUIREMENTSWHENTHEAPPROACHISRETROFITTEDTOANEXISTING
operation and much lower costs right from the start for a
COMPLETELYNEWONE
Waterborne vs. solventborne
Meanwhile another trend with origins that go back to the
EARLYSCONTINUESTODEVELOP4HISMOVETOREPLACE
SOLVENTBORNEPAINTSWITHWATERBORNECOUNTERPARTSISLARGELY
ONACCOUNTOFTHEMUCHREDUCEDWASTEHANDLINGTASKTHEY
REQUIREnATLEASTFORPRIMERANDBASECOATAPPLICATIONS!S
4ALJANPOINTSOUTAWATERBORNECLEARCOATTECHNOLOGYhSIMPLY
DOESNOTEXISTv2IGHTNOWSTATES4ALJANTHESPLITBETWEENTHE
use of waterborne and solventborne paints throughout the
GLOBALINDUSTRYISPROBABLYINTHEORDEROF (EPOINTS
OUTTHOUGHTHATTHEREASONSWHYONETYPEOFMATERIALOR
THEOTHERMAYBEUSEDINAPARTICULARCIRCUMSTANCEMAY
NOTNECESSARILYBECONCERNEDWITHTHEPARTICULARVEHICLE
INVOLVEDORTHEIMMEDIATEENVIRONMENTALEFFICIENCYOFTHE
process.
)NSTEADAMUCHMOREINFLUENTIALFACTORISLIKELYTOBE
THELOCALENVIRONMENTINTHEMOSTLITERALSENSEnHOWHOT
ANDMOREIMPORTANTLYHUMIDITIS!S4ALJANEXPLAINSTHE
use of waterborne materials in a humid environment is
IMPRACTICABLEBECAUSEOFTHEENSUINGDIFFICULTYOFREMOVING
the water from the paint after it has been applied. The
SOLUTIONTOTHEPROBLEMISOFCOURSEEASYENOUGHTOIDENTIFY
nTHECREATIONOFANAPPROPRIATECONTROLLEDENVIRONMENT
ONTHEPAINTINGLINEITSELF"UTAS4ALJANPOINTSOUTBOTH
THECOSTANDTHEEXTRA#/ emissions involved in doing so
might negate other potential benefits on both economic

A basic five-layer system for coating vehicle parts has become

firmly established over four decades of intensive development

ANDENVIRONMENTALGROUNDS!SHEPUTSITh!IRCONDITIONING
NORTHERN'ERMANYISALOTEASIERTHANAIRCONDITIONING
)NDIAv
!NEXTERNALFACTORTHATMAKESTHESITUATIONRATHERMORE
COMPLEXTHOUGHISLEGISLATIVEDIKTAT)N#HINAFOREXAMPLE
there has been increasing official pressure for the last three
YEARSTHATALLNEWCAR PAINTINGLINESSHOULDUSEWATERBORNE
MATERIALS!SYETTHATREQUIREMENTHASNOTBEENIMPOSED
RETROSPECTIVELYTHOUGH4ALJANINDICATESTHATHEWOULDNOTBE
surprised to see the introduction of measures to encourage
the conversion of existing solventborne installations to
waterborne materials in the future.
!LITTLEIRONICALLYTHEREFORE4ALJANALSOSAYSTHATRISING
CUSTOMEREXPECTATIONSIN#HINACONCERNINGBOTHTHE
RESILIENCEANDAESTHETICQUALITIESOFVEHICLEAPPEARANCEMEAN
that clearcoat materials are a particular area of focus for a
PAINT RELATEDRESEARCHANDDEVELOPMENTCENTRETHAT00'
OPENEDIN4IANJININTHECOUNTRYJUSTLASTYEAR!PPEARANCE
STANDARDSIN#HINATODAYHESTATESEMPHATICALLYhARETHE
SAMEASTHOSEINWESTERN%UROPEv
Holistic approach
-EANWHILEACCORDINGTO$R#HRISTOPHER(ILGERPRODUCT
MANAGERBASECOATSANDTECHNOLOGYWITH'ERMAN BASED
PAINTINGMATERIALSANDTECHNOLOGIESSUPPLIER"!3&AN
ABSOLUTELYESSENTIALCHARACTERISTICOFANAUTOMOTIVEPAINT
SYSTEMISTHATITISJUSTTHATnASYSTEMTHATHASTOBETHOUGHT
OFINANAPPROPRIATELYhHOLISTICvMANNERh4HELAYERSDO
NOTWORKINDEPENDENTLYOFEACHOTHERvHEEXPLAINS!S$R
(ILGEROBSERVESCUSTOMERSTENDTOTHINKINTHATWAYQUITE
NATURALLY4HEYWANTTHEVISIBLESURFACEOFAVEHICLETHEYBUY
TOPROVIDEACOMBINATIONOFCHARACTERISTICSnSOMEPURELY
AESTHETICSOMEMOREOBJECTIVELYVERIFIABLEnhCORROSION
RESISTANCERESILIENCEAGAINSTCHIPPINGGOODCOLOURHIGH
GLOSSv
&ORVEHICLE/%-STHOUGHAGREATDRIVEROF
implementation practice at the moment is achieving all
THOSEPERFORMANCEOBJECTIVESWITHAREDUCEDNUMBEROF
PAINTINGLAYERSANDHENCEOFAPPLICATIONPROCESSESnMAKING
LESSTHANFIVELAYERSPROVIDEALLTHEFUNCTIONALITYOFTHE

2014 | APS

09

Analysis

CLASSICFIVE LAYERMODELDESCRIBEDBY$ENNIS4ALJAN4O
THISEND"!3&ITSELFISNOWPROMOTINGAPAINTINGCONCEPT
ITTERMS@INTEGRATEDPROCESS))OR@)0))FORSHORT!CORE
DISTINGUISHINGFEATUREOFTHISPROCESSEXPLAINS$R(ILGER
ISTHATITINTEGRATESTHEFUNCTIONALITYPROVIDEDBYSEPARATE
CONVENTIONALPRIMERANDBASECOATLAYERSINTOASINGLE
EFFECTIVELYDUAL PURPOSEWATERBORNEBASECOAT
!SSUCHTHEGREATADVANTAGE)0))OFFERSFORTHE/%-ISTHAT
ABOLISHESTHEPREVIOUSREQUIREMENTFORANEXTENDEDENERGY
INTENSIVE@OVEN BAKESESSIONAFTERTHEAPPLICATIONOFTHE
PRIMER4HEPRECEDING@)0)BYTHEWAYWHICHWASDEVELOPED
BACKINTHESWASANINTERMEDIATEPROCESSTHATRETAINED

The advantage IPII offers is that it abolishes the requirement for

an extended oven-bake session following primer application

ADISTINCTPRIMERLAYERBUTREQUIREDTHATITBESUBSEQUENTLY
SUBJECTEDONLYTOARELATIVELYBRIEF@FLASH OFF )0))WAS
developed over the first half of the last decade and made its
DEBUTINAREALINDUSTRIALCONTEXTATTHE"-7/XFORDPLANT
IN
Open process
"UT$R(ILGERALSOCONFIRMSANOTHEROFTHETRAITSOFTHE
AUTOMOTIVESECTORnTHEFACTTHATITSPAINTINGPROCESSES
THOUGHHIGHLYSPECIALISEDAREALSO@OPENINTHESENSETHAT
THEIRFUNDAMENTALCHARACTERISTICSARENOTSUBJECTTOANY
form of intellectual protection and can therefore be adopted
BYANYCOMPANYTHATSOWISHESh4HEREISNOINTELLECTUAL
COPYRIGHTONTHEPROCESSITSELFvHESTATESOF)0))THOUGHHE
adds that more microscopic details such as the chemical
COMPOSITIONOFAPARTICULARLAYERMAYBEPROTECTEDINTHAT
WAY
7HYTHISSHOULDBETHECASESEEMSTODERIVEINPARTFROM
THEAUTOMOTIVE/%-SFREQUENTPREFERENCEFORWORKING
WITHMORETHANONEPAINTINGSYSTEMSUPPLIERINTHESAME
PROJECTWHICHWASTHECASEAT"-7/XFORDANDWHICH
OBVIOUSLYMILITATESAGAINSTAPARTICULARPROCESSBECOMING
THEINTELLECTUALPROPERTYOFASINGLESUPPLIER4HEREALITY
THEREFOREISTHATTHEREISNOSINGLESTANDARDISED)0))PROCESS
BUTASERIESOFVARIATIONSTHATMAYBEDICTATEDBYANUMBER
OFFACTORSBUTWHICHULTIMATELYDERIVEFROMCUSTOMER
PREFERENCE4HATISWHY$R(ILGERNOTESTHEMOREGENERIC
SOUNDINGTERM@COMPACTPROCESSISOFTENEMPLOYED
"UTIFTHEDEFININGFEATUREOF)0))ISITSDUAL PURPOSE
BASECOATTHEREARESTILLSOMESPECIFICREQUIREMENTSMADE
OFOTHERPARTSOFTHEOVERALLPAINTINGSYSTEM$R(ILGER
STATESFORINSTANCETHATTHOUGH)0))MAKESNOPARTICULAR
demands as far as the chemical composition of the e-coat is

10

APS | 2014

CONCERNEDITDOESREQUIRETHATTHEE COATBESMOOTHERTHAN
INACONVENTIONALLAYERSYSTEM)NADDITIONTHEACTUALSTEELOF
THEVEHICLEBODYALSONEEDSTOMEETANAPPROPRIATEQUALITY
LEVEL4HEACTUALAPPLICATIONPROCESSITSELFTHOUGHREMAINS
UNCHANGEDnANIMPORTANTIMPLICATIONOFTHATFACTISTHAT
where an existing paintshop might undergo conversion
TO)0))ITSINITIALE COATINGEQUIPMENTANDINFRASTRUCTURE
SHOULDREQUIRELITTLEMODIFICATION
!SFORTHEBASECOATLAYERITSELF$R(ILGERCONFIRMSTHATAS
FARAS"!3&ISCONCERNEDITISANESSENTIALFEATUREOF)0))THAT
THATLAYERISAWATERBORNEMATERIALh)NOURTERMINOLOGYTHAT
ISTHECASEvHESTATES.EVERTHELESSTHEREARECERTAINLYALSO
compact processes that use solventborne basecoat materials.
$R(ILGERSTATESUNEQUIVOCALLYTHATSOLVENTBORNEMATERIALS
CANCERTAINLYALSOBEUSEDINANECO EFFICIENTMANNER"UT
WHICHTYPEOFMATERIALWILLBEUSEDINAPARTICULARINSTANCE
WILLULTIMATELYBEAMATTEROF/%-PREFERENCETHOUGHTHERE
ARECERTAINLYPARTSOFTHEWORLDn#HINAMOSTOBVIOUSLY
nWHEREREGULATORYPRESSURETOREDUCE6/#EMISSIONSIS
MILITATINGVERYSTRONGLYONFAVOUROFWATERBORNEMATERIALS
Co-operative research
-EANWHILEnASWITHTHEE COATn)0))ALSOMAKESSOME
DEMANDSOFTHEFINALCLEARCOATLAYERh7EDEFINITELYPREFER
THEUSEOFTWO COMPONENTCLEARCOATSFORBOTHTECHNOLOGY
REASONSANDAPPEARANCEvSTATES$R(ILGER!KEYREASON
HEINDICATESISTOENSUREAPPROPRIATECOMPATIBILITYWITH
THEBASECOATWHICHINAN)0))PROCESSWILLBEABIThWETTERv

We definitely prefer the use of twocomponent clearcoats for both technology

reasons and appearance
Dr Christopher Hilger, BASF

than it would be otherwise. The benefits of all this seem

INCONTROVERTIBLE"!3&HASPUBLISHEDAN%CO %FFICIENCY
!NALYSISnPERHAPSARAREEXAMPLEOFDIRECTCOOPERATION
BETWEENDIFFERENTPAINTINGSYSTEMSUPPLIERSSINCETHE
RESEARCHWASCARRIEDOUTJOINTLYWITHFELLOW'ERMAN
COMPANY$RRnTHATENUMERATESTHELIKELYADVANTAGESQUITE
PRECISELY4HESTUDYSHOWEDTHATCOMPAREDTOCONVENTIONAL
PROCESSES)0))COUNTERPARTSARECLEARLYMOREEFFICIENTIN
TERMSOFENERGYCONSUMPTION#/BALANCEAND6/#
EMISSIONS%NERGYCONSUMPTIONAND#/FIGURESFOR
INSTANCEAREEACHREDUCEDBYASMUCHAS
)NABSOLUTENUMERICALTERMS$R(ILGERRECKONSTHATTHERE
ARECURRENTLYABOUTAUTOMOTIVEPAINTINGLINESINTHE
WORLDTHATCONFORMTOTHE)0))FORMAT"UTHEADDSTHAT
that number is bound to increase as it can be assumed that
almost all new automotive painting lines worldwide will use
SOMESORTOFCOMPACTPROCESSANDTHAT)0))REPRESENTSADE
facto standard for such processes.

PAINT FINISHING SOLUTIONS

LASD SOLUTIONS

SEALING SOLUTIONS

BONDING
& ANTIFLUTTER SOLUTIONS

POWERTRAIN
GASKETING SOLUTIONS

From pump to applicator

Heavy duty pumping technology
Innovative robotic system
Paint atomizer

Sealant / Adhesive
Shotmeter

Sealant / LASD / Adhesive / Paint

Pumps

Experts in Finishing & Dispensing Solutions

Contact: marketing@sames.com

OEM focus

Ford Kansas City

Ford: compressed
paint process
A
pril this year saw the start of production of the
new Ford Transit van at the companys Kansas
City Assembly Plant. As far their paint finishes are
concerned most of them will look pretty much
as such vans normally do about 80-90% of them will be
white all over, the colour scheme that commercial vehicle
users overwhelmingly prefer.
But the way those paint schemes will be applied and
the formulation of the paint materials involved, are not at
all conventional. The paintshop contains, for example, an
ingenious new way of handling vehicle bodies that slashes
the length of the phosphating and e-coating section by as
much as 320ft. But even more dramatically the painting
process itself is claimed by Ford to be a world-first for
the company a two-wet monocoat procedure in which
a single coat combining both basecoat and clearcoat
properties is applied to a primer that has undergone just
a few minutes of air-drying. Hence it is another form of
compressed process, which dispenses with both a layer

12

APS | 2014

Application of innovative
paintshop processes at the
companys Kansas City plant
has delivered significant
improvements in efficiency,
savings in materials and
reduction of waste. Report by
Mike Farish

of material and an oven-bake procedure that would be

involved in a conventional painting procedure.
Back-to-the-future
Nevertheless both the paintshop and the process it contains
also have a back-to-the-future element about them.
That much is confirmed by Dennis Havlin, global paint
engineering development and launch supervisor for Ford.
On the first of those counts, says Havlin, the paintshop
building at Kansas is not new though what it contains
certainly is. We have stripped out all the old booths and so
it is a brand new line, he confirms.
But it is on the second that the really revolutionary and

Ford Kansas City

yet in one way slightly retrospective character of the

installation is most marked. As Havlin concedes there is
nothing particularly new about the idea of a monocoat
automotive paint that combines basecoat and clearcoat
properties. Ford has used the approach in the past.
But previously the technique has essentially involved a
basecoat with some clearcoat properties which, in effect,
meant that though initial colour quality might be good the
paint finish lacked resilience and was subject to quite rapid
degradation.
In this case, though, that previous combination of
properties has been inverted so that the coating applied to
the primer is essentially a clearcoat type of material but one
that also provides the required colour to the vehicle surface.
The consequence of that, Havlin states, is that the coating
will still retain 90% of its gloss after four years of service.
We dont have the sort of drop-off that you saw in the past,
he confirms.
Solvent-borne materials
An obvious concomitant of that fact is that the crucial
colour-carrying clearcoat layer is a solvent-borne and not
water-borne material the same also being true for the
primer coating as well. Havlin indicates that this is very
much the result of a distinct indeed distinctive Ford
policy in favour of solvent-borne materials wherever
possible.
Havlin explains that some ten years ago Ford carried out
a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of current and
near-future painting technologies in the context of a range
of different factors including existing infrastructure, costs,
quality and environmental impact. Altogether 51 different
scenarios were evaluated and the continuing commitment
to solvent-borne materials was a fundamental consequence.
We found that the best overall solution was to stay with
solvent-borne materials, he confirms. He adds that a crucial
factor in Fords thinking that has been continuous since then
has been to take into account not just the performance of
individual layers but the synergy between the primer and
succeeding layers.
Innovative transport
But despite the fact that, as Havlin confirms, the chemical
processes used for the initial phosphating and e-coating
procedures at Kansas are entirely conventional those
preliminary sections of the painting line are nevertheless
still highly innovative. In this case it is the way that the
physical transport of the truck bodies is effected that
is unprecedented. A key innovation is that the truck
body is fitted to a skid that remains fastened to it right
throughout the painting process and which provides the
attachment points that enable it to be lowered into and
then retrieved from each of the immersion baths involved
by four pendulums. Everything that happens at this point
in the process, notes Havlin, is fully automated so that all
of the manual chaining and dechaining operations that
previously characterised such procedures have been
entirely obviated.

OEM focus

Two-wet monocoat process applied to Fords new Transit van

But the most significant benefit derives from the fact that
this handling methodology enables the angles at which
the bodies are lowered and retrieved to be much steeper
than previously. In fact in each case, reports Havlin, this
seemingly simple expedient enables the footprint of each
bath to be reduced by between 48 to 60ft. In consequence
this enables the overall length of the phosphating and
e-coating line to be reduced by as much as 320ft, though
since the line is U-shaped the corresponding requirement
for the dimensions of the surrounding building are reduced
proportionately rather than by the same absolute amount.
The painting sequence that follows involves first of all a
single primer application in a continuously flowing booth,
followed by a sequence of three further stop-station booths
which may or may not apply paint to vehicle body according
to requirements. Basically, says Havlin, the options are either
that the bodies are painted with the new monocoat in a
single booth or are painted with a conventional basecoat
and clearcoat in order to provide metallic finishes in
succession in the two other booths. He also notes that Fords
commitment to solvent-borne materials is essential to the
short air-drying period that is all the primer requires before
the monocoat is applied. Total process time from the point a
vehicle body enters the paintshop to start phosphating and
e-coating until it exits after the final oven-bake is, Havlin
reports, about four hours.
Colour options
At present the overwhelming market demand for just one
colour white means that is the only one available in the
monocoat format. Developing new colours is, Havlin notes,
is always an expensive business and in this instance simply
would not be economically feasible given the likely low
demand. But at the same time he indicates that in technical
terms there would be no particular problems involved in
producing other monocoat hues if there were sufficient
demand. There would be nothing involved that we wouldnt
go through with a normal colour development, he states.
But technical rather than economic factors do militate
against the process being used to produce metallic finishes.
Havlin explains that in a conventional basecoat-clearcoat
sequence the inclusions used to provide the required

2014 | APS

13

OEM focus

Ford Kansas City

Using this two-wet monocoat process will deliver reductions in

CO2 and particulate emissions, and water usage)

appearance are confined to the basecoat so that there is no

danger of them protruding from the clearcoat and thereby
compromising surface finish quality. But this would not be
the case with just the single layer of the monocoat and hence
the technique is not used to produce such finishes. Having
metallic flake in a clearcoat might be challenging from an
appearance standpoint, he observes.
Colour options
This pragmatic approach on Fords part is also evident in
Havlins explanation of why the technique was developed
in the first place. He says simply that Ford saw it as a logical
progression from its previous three-wet compact process
and that the complete refurbishment of the Kansas paintshop
for the new Transit offered an appropriate opportunity. We
saw the opportunity and we took it, he states. An interesting
point, though, and one that appears to be common amongst
practitioners of compact painting processes is that the
specific procedure involved is not patented or subject to any
other form intellectual property protection, though Havlin
is emphatic that Ford is currently the only practitioner of
the technique. Nevertheless this is the result of a deliberate
policy on the car-makers part. Havlin explains that the
process at the plant was developed by Ford in cooperation
with three major painting system suppliers simultaneously
though only one of them is involved at Kansas. The new
paintshop is single sourced, he confirms. But, he adds, the
great advantage for Ford of having such a range of potential
suppliers is that the company has the ability to expand its
use of the procedure on a global basis as required.
Moreover that global applicability of the process is further
enhanced by the fact that there is nothing about the process
that makes it more difficult to apply than more conventional
counterparts. When asked if the process requires any more
stringent levels of control either of application techniques
or immediate environmental conditions Havlins answer is
straight to the point: No.
In fact that wider applicability of the process is already
being demonstrated in the most direct fashion. In parallel
with Kansas Ford has implemented two-wet monocoat
painting at Jiangling Motors Co. in Jiangxi, China, a joint
venture that is also producing Transit vehicles. A point
to note in that instance is that it has done so despite the

14

APS | 2014

Chinese governments now quite explicit preference for new

automotive painting plants to use water-borne materials.
On that count Havlin says that the facility was planned and
approved before Chinese policy adopted its present stance.
As far as the future is concerned Havlin indicates
that there are no obvious limitations to the further
implementation of the process other than its unsuitability
for metallic finishes though he does caution that it is perhaps
less suitable for retrofitting than to a paintshop that is
specifically designed to house it. But, he states emphatically,
the process meets all our requirements for appearance,
performance and durability.
In fact, Havlin continues, from a manufacturing
standpoint the process has not only met expectations
but also generated at least one unforeseen benefit. This
concerns the buffing process involving sanding and
polishing that is sometimes required to rectify minor
blemishes that are discovered on inspection after the final
oven-bake. He explains that with a conventional basecoatclearcoat combination there is a possibility that this
apparently minor operation can compromise the paint finish
by entirely removing the clearcoat from an affected area
thereby exposing the underlying basecoat. But with the new
process this danger is nullified by the fact that the monocoat
is in effect a monolithic clearcoat. It gives you a lot more
flexibility to sand and polish without having to do a spot
repair, he confirms.
At a more general level Ford is also keen to stress that
compared with conventional counterparts the new paint
process uses less energy and water and also reduces carbon
dioxide and particulate emissions. The figures involved
are certainly enticing to look at. The official Ford figures
are a 44% reduction in CO2 emissions, 75% in water
consumption and 99% in particulate emissions. Admittedly
Havlin adds the rider that those are estimates extrapolated
from the ramp-up period for the process rather than precise
figures derived from continuous production but he gives
no indication that Ford expects reality to differ much from
them.
Saving water
The savings for water consumption, by the way, are in large
part a consequence of the fact that the Kansas paintshop also
uses dry scrubbing rather than a water-based technique.
Though not new in global automotive terms its use by
Ford in this instance is, Havlin confirms, a first for the
company. The paintbooths themselves, he says, are entirely
water-free. The actual amounts of emissions saved should
therefore be in the order of 9,500 tons of CO2 and 35 tons
of particulates particulate emissions on an annual basis.
Water consumption on the same basis should be 10.5 million
gallons less than it would have been otherwise. Meanwhile
overall energy savings should amount to 48,000 megawatt
hours of electrical power. Overall, therefore, it seems more
than likely that the ability to implement the system wherever
it wants in the world that was a fundamental principle in its
development is one that Ford will seek to exercise wherever
it sees an opportunity.

Closing the Gaps

in the Digital Process Chain

LIVINGSOLIDS provides solutions, services

and consulting for:
- Dedicated 3D Modeling Tools for Sealing Seams
and Coatings
- Assembly Process Simulation
- Digital Mock-Up
- 3D in Planning Processes
- Assistance Systems for Assembly and Inspection Tasks
- Virtual Worker Training
- Training Simulators
- Augmented & Mixed Reality
Your partner for Integrated Digital Processes
info@livingsolids.com
www.livingsolids.com
+49 (0)391 25192-0

OEM focus

BMW Mini Oxford

Integrated paint
process

Mike Farish looks at the innovative painting process

BMW has employed at its plant in Oxford, UK

ince its debut back in the 1960s the Mini has been
regarded as an iconic and quintessentially British
car. Although rebranded as the MINI, and now part
of the German-owned BMW Group, the car is still
manufactured in the UK, an operation that involves three
of the companys sites in the country. These are Swindon
where most of the cars body pressings and sub-assemblies
are made, the Hams Hall engine plant in Birmingham and
Oxford, where painting and then final assembly take place.
Production of the new 2014 MINI, which effectively got
underway late last year with a potential capacity of 900
vehicles a day, is taking place in the context of a 750m
investment programme spread across all three sites but
concentrated mainly on Swindon and Oxford. One of the
major themes of that investment is automation there are,
for instance, no less than 1,000 new robots in the body shop
at Oxford.
Another is environmental efficiency and this is where
the paintshop boasts some impressive statistics. Enhanced
control of airflow through the facility is claimed to save
730 tonnes of CO2 produced a year as a consequence of

16

APS | 2014

diminished gas usage, whilst an even greater reduction

1,130 tonnes results from reduced electricity consumption.
Similar close attention to the humidity in the paintshop is
yielding annual savings of 420 tonnes of CO2.
Integrated Paint Process
But the paintshop at Oxford is not just an example of
localised environmental efficiency the painting process it
houses is also highly innovative. Known within the company
as the Integrated Paint Process (IPP) it is an early example of
the increasing trend within the automotive industry to find
ways of compressing the established multi-layer model of
painting procedures. In this instance a crucial factor and
arguably the most striking is the elimination from the
whole process of the application of a primer layer, and as a
consequence the associated oven-based drying operation is
also removed.
Oxford was the pioneering plant for the IPP within the
whole of the BMW Group worldwide. It was introduced
there back in 2005. But BMW says that the paintshop at
Oxford has now received additional enhancements to help

BMW Mini Oxford

OEM focus

support production of the new MINI models. One involves

further automation of the seam-sealing process for welded
joints in the cars interior, engine bay, roof and tailgate
aperture so that a flexible mastic material is now applied by a
set of twelve robots. Another involves further robotisation of
the painting process itself.
Innovation along the line
But BMW claims innovation all along the line quite
literally for the modernised paintshop. At the start there
is now a new electro-coating facility that it describes as
particularly ingenious. In contrast to the previous system,
which featured a three-stage bath, the new set-up quadruples
the number of separate operations in a 12-stage bath system
that applies the e-coat paint to each area of the body with
high precision. BMW says that this approach allows the
process to cater more exactly for the different shapes of each
MINI body variant of which there are five respectively the
Hatch, Convertible, Clubman, Coup and Roadster models.
Someone who watches over this and all the other processes
on the painting line at Oxford is paintshop planner Ian
Whiting, whose own association with the site goes back
three decades. He confirms that bodies-in-white arrive at
the site from Swindon and go straight onto the painting
line for e-coating. The multiple processes involved include
initial cleaning and phosphating. An interesting point is
that the vehicles are delivered and go though painting with
their doors and other closures attached though the doors are
removed when the vehicle shells reach the assembly stage in
order to facilitate ease-of-access to the interiors for assembly
before final reattachment.

A crucial factor of the IPP process is the elimination of applying

a primer layer

Another point of note is that though all vehicles

produced at Oxford are made to order a specific customer
order number is only assigned to a particular vehicle at
the assembly stage. Before then each assembly has only a
notional customer. As Whiting observes: We need to know
if it has to be white with a red roof. But he also makes the
point that the assigned colours be changed even after an
assembly has started down the painting line right up to
topcoat application, in fact.

Each car body is mated with a 'bodybar' at the body-in-white

stage

Dealing with the options

In practice, therefore, what happens is that as far as possible
assemblies are sent down the painting line in batches to
receive identical paint treatments before customisation to
meet a particular order occurs at assembly stage. Currently
available options comprise 14 body colours and four roof
colours. Batch sizes are variable and may be as high as
eleven or twelve vehicles, though Whiting indicates that a
lower figure tends to be the norm. Nevertheless the painting
process is flexible enough to handle a batch-of-one or smart
painting as it is termed within the plant.
The transport system through the line is by means of a
floor-level conveyor. Each car body, says Whiting, is mated
with a bodybar at the body-in-white stage, which remains
attached to it all the way through the paintshop, and is only
removed during final assembly. That bodybar then provides
the means by which the body is attached to skids that that
carry it through the paintshop and from which it may be
removed as required.
No faults forward ethos
But before any colours are applied the cars go through a
PVC sealing line that is highly automated. Robots apply
sealing material in turn to the front end, main exterior and
then back end of each car. Then, though, they pass through
a manned section of the line where some manual finessing
of the previous process is carried out if it is required,
as Whiting cautions. The personnel on the line, he says,
make the necessary evaluation of whether any such work is
needed. In fact, he adds, they are empowered to stop the
line if need be. The fundamental ethos is no faults forward.
The opportunity is also taken at this stage to insert some
acoustic pads into the assemblies as well.
After this there is an oven-bake to cure the PVC and then
the start of painting, which takes place quite literally at a
different level one floor above. Before any paint is applied,
though, the vehicle assemblies go through a two-stage
cleaning process to removed any dust or other particles that
may have settled on their surfaces as they have made their
way along the line. The first is a de-ionised air blow. The
second is a side and roof roller system made from female

2014 | APS

17

OEM focus

BMW Mini Oxford

Before any paint is applied the vehicle assemblies go through a

two-stage cleaning process

ostrich feathers (their gender-specific nature determined by

the fact that male equivalents would very likely be damaged
and therefore possibly abrasive because of their tendency to
fight each other) though it is referred to as the emu.
From this point also the car bodies are in a controlled
environment that is effectively sealed off from the general
factory area, as are the personnel located along one side
of the painting line who monitor its operation. Like the
car bodies they also go through a clean-down procedure
before getting to the work locations. The other side of the
line, though, is outside of the controlled environment and is
available for general observation of operations.
Given that there is no primer coat all involved in the
process painting proceeds straight away to basecoat
application to a thickness of 25 microns. As Whiting explains
one or two coats will be applied depending on whether
or not a metallic finish is involved. If not then the whole
coating will be applied in a single layer. If so then there
will be two layers the first the colour layer of 15 microns
and the second that containing the metallic particles which

All new BMW plants and major

refurbishments will use the IPPIt is a
universally applicable painting technology
with no restrictions Alwin Giftthaler,
BMW
impart the required finish of ten microns. If that metallic
layer is required it is applied in a separate application area
immediately after the main basecoat application area. There
is also a third application booth if it is necessary to create
one of the contrast roofs that provide one of the distinctive
features of the MINI family.
The water-borne paint itself is all stored in reservoirs
below the line and each robot is fed by a collection of feeder
tubes, each of which is dedicated to a specific colour. Colour
change takes place within the robots as close as possible
to the point of application, notes Whiting and requires
absolutely no manual intervention. Then follows a flash-off

18

APS | 2014

bake at 180C to get rid of the water content in the paint and
clearcoat application.
The latter, obviously, remains a solvent-borne process. On
that score BMWs basic premise is that IPP is a high tech
paint system with high environmental resistance properties
that are only achievable with 2K solvent-borne clearcoat. Nor
is there any possibility that this situation might change in
the foreseeable future. The company says that there is simply
no available waterborne clearcoat which fulfils current levels
of customer expectation for appearance and durability.
Nevertheless it also emphasises that in order to avoid solvent
emissions all IPP paint lines are equipped with appropriate
incineration technologies.
Meanwhile one thing that is certain across the whole
of the BMW Group is that the IPP represents the future
of the organisations painting processes worldwide. That
much is confirmed by Alwin Giftthaler, head of decorative
material and process planning. Gifthaler says that the IPP is
currently in use in four of the organisations plants Oxford,
Spartanburg in the US, Tiexi in China and Dingolfing in
Germany. In the latter case the use of the IPP has only just
got underway on a single line but it is intended that the
whole plant will be converted during 2016.
Apart from the five MINI variants at Oxford, therefore, the
full list of BMW vehicles likely to be painted using the IPP
by then will be:
s3PARTANBURG"-78"-78"-78"-78
s4IEXI"-78"-7 3ERIES,ONG7HEELBASEAND
Sedan
s$INGOLFING"-7 3ERIES'RAN4URISMO"-7
Series Gran Coup, BMW 5-Series Sedan, Touring and
Gran Turismo, BMW 6-Series Coup, Convertible and
Gran Coup, BMW 7-Series Sedan, Active Hybrid, Long
Wheelbase and High Security
Moreover this number will certainly continue to grow. All
new BMW plants and major refurbishments will use the IPP,
Giftthaler confirms. It is a universally applicable painting
technology with no restrictions.
Giftthaler indicates that BMW itself was very much to
the forefront in the inception of the whole process, though
other parties have been involved in its development. IPP
development was intensively driven by BMW Group in
cooperation with the paint suppliers PPG and BASF, he
states.
Moreover Giftthaler also makes it clear that BMW
regards the process as setting the current benchmark for
OEM automotive painting. BMW Group has set some
major standards in this technology, he says. The parallel
development of other compact processes of other OEMs
did not turn out to be the future technology standard.
Interestingly Giftthaler reveals that nothing about the
process is any way confined to BMW alone no aspects
of it are patented and so any other OEM would be free to
implement an identical process if they chose to do so. IPP
is an open painting technology with no patent restrictions,
he states. BMW Group envisages IPP become the world
wide painting standard process for OEM car painting and is
actively supporting IPP technology in the OEM market.

2015

India regional supplement

knowledge : insight : learning : opinion
Advertise alongside Tata, Fiat, VW, Mahindra, Ford, Hyundai, Honda, Maruti Suzuki...
Wide and deep exploration into the India region focussed on their

growing automotive market and plants

Distributed with ams January/February magazine - read by

61,800 senior managers at OEMs and Tier suppliers worldwide

Published online and included in fortnightlyglobal

newsletters

Plant visits reviews

Technology focuses
Market intelligence

Including interviews with key OEMs and

Tier Suppliers:

From the

Industry

TATA - Dileep Naik, Head (Auto Projects & PE)

Opportunity to provide content for From The

Industry section with deep, technical content

from suppliers
Suppliers describe their own capabilities
using case study material
Content can be a mix of text/links/

VW - Andreas Lauenroth, Executive Director,

Technical Member of the Board
Mahindra - Sairam Vedapudi, Senior General Manager
Manufacturing
Ford - Tom Chackalackal, Vice President Manufacturing

images/ video
Technology-specic provided by you or

written by us

Fiat - Gurpratap Boparai, Chief Executive Ofcer

Hyundai - T Sarangarajan, Vice President Production

Honda - Rajeev Wasan, Senior Vice President Manufacturing
Maruti Suzuki - MM Singh, Executive Director Production

Andrew Fallon, Publisher

+44 1634 362826
andrew.fallon@ultimamedia.com

automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com

Special report

Mercedes-Benz Brazil Eisenmann

Adjust to fit
Converting or repurposing a paintshop
can be a more cost-effective solution than
simply building a new one, as this example
at Mercedes-Benz of Brazil illustrates

new paintshop need not necessarily be totally new.

That is the case, for instance, at the Juiz de Fora
production plant operated by Mercedes-Benz of
Brazil. Since the first half of last year the site has
been painting truck cabs for its Actros MP3 and Accelo
vehicles in what is an unprecedented facility the first ever
paintshop for large commercial vehicles to be converted
from its previous use for painting passenger cars.
Ordinarily converting a paintshop for new vehicle
models is a routine undertaking at least when the vehicles
involved are roughly comparable in size and shape. But a
radical change in requirements, most obviously a significant
change in the size of the vehicles, has previously made it
necessary to build a completely new plant. While this can
have an upside in that it can create an opportunity to utilise
new technologies it can also entail substantial disadvantages,
such as an average project duration of three years and high
costs.
Meeting demand
In Brazil, demand for trucks is rising all the time. So in
order to meet this burgeoning demand faster and more fully,
Mercedes-Benz decided to adapt an existing passenger car

20

APS | 2014

paintshop at its Juiz de Fora production plant in the Federal

State of Minas Gerais , rather than build a new one. The
carmaker chose Eisenmann of Brazil to convert the plant to
truck cabs.
The decision is explained by Fabio Dalla, manager
production planning, for Mercedes-Benz of Brazil. He says:
We analysed many scenarios before making the decision
considering costs, implementation time, quality targets and
technology level and the best option from a cost x benefits
point of view.
According to Dalla the original installation began
operation in 1996 and continued in production for 14 years
until December 2010. During that time the installation
produced vehicles in A Class, C Class and in the last years
CLC.
Continuing investment
Dalla says that the the chosen strategy enabled the
conversion of the Juiz de Fora plant to be carried out in a
time of just 22 months. He explains that Brazil is one of the
most important sales markets for Mercedes-Benz Trucks,
and that parent company Daimler Trucks has a continuing
programme of investment in its Brazilian facilities. In
fact around one billion Brazilian real (roughly 300m) is
scheduled for investment in the country over the period
2014-15. The money is targeted at research and development
of new products and innovative technologies, as well as
in process optimisation and modernisation of its two
production plants So Bernardo do Camp in the Federal
State of So Paulo and Juiz de Fora.

Mercedes-Benz Brazil Eisenmann

But the task that faced Eisenmann was far from

straightforward for two major reasons. Firstly truck cabs
have substantially different dimensions and shapes to those
of passenger car bodies. Secondly they come in a huge
number of variants.
As a core element of its solution Eisenmann therefore
devised a versatile conveyor system featuring the use of
standard skids in combination with crossbeams. Dalla says
that in contrast to conventional systems a key element of
this new implementation is that the supports for the truck
cabs are not mounted on the skids themselves but on the
crossbeams. In consequence a standard skid can be used for
all the various types of cab. Moreover a data chip on every
cross beam contains information on what models it can
carry.
This approach makes it possible to transport all truck
bodies through the painting line without any requirement
for the usual skid changes. In turn that means that when
a new model is introduced, all that is required is the
introduction of a new crossbeam. Just as importantly and
cleverly cross beams can be used for other components
such as doors, hoods, bumpers and fuel caps, enabling them
to be incorporated into the material flow. In total, says Dalla,
there are currently five beam types for truck cab and six for
spare parts.
Different approach to conveying
Dalla says that the established approach is to use skids
to carry a car body through the paint processes and that
each different type of car body will have its own dedicated
type of skid. In this instance, though, five different types of
car body were involved and therefore without a change of
thinking the company would have needed five types of skids
with a consequent maximisation of the space requirements

The VarioLoc system enables the buffer zone between the paint
shop and body shop to be adapted to varying throughputs

for their storage and management. Moroever, adds Dalla,

without this innovation the operation would have faced
additional difficulties reconciling this number of variants
with the fixturing in the shuttle car of the conveyor system.
So in order to solve these two problems Dalla says
that Eisenmann came with up with the idea of a system

Special report

involving a new element the crossbeam that is dedicated

to a specific car body type and which can only be fixed
in one way onto shuttle car. These crossbeams are stored
and managed in a special conveyor system, known as
VarioLoc, but the fundamental fact is that in this set-up the

We analysed many scenarios before

making the decision considering costs,
implementation time, quality targets and
technology level and the best option from
a cost x benefits point of view
Fabio Dalla, Mercedes-Benz of Brazil
skids become a simple frame to carry the set car body and
crossbeam. The different elements are mated together one
step before the transfer station of car body from body shop
to paint shop.
Optimising material flow
Nevertheless a number of changes had to be made to the
building to optimise the flow of materials. Dalla says that
those involving a central area spread over six levels were
particularly important. He explains that this central area is
linked via three bridges directly to the bodyshop, paintshop
and trim line buildings respectively. Crossbeams are stored
in this area and managed by Eisenmanns VarioLoc system,
which was originally developed to integrate production
processes and for buffer and storage zones.
In detail the VarioLoc shuttle moves along a rail installed
at floor level, with fixtures at each side of the rail to support
the various types of crossbeam. Interestingly the rail has
no control components only the shuttle unit is equipped
with a travel drive and lifting element. Dalla explains that
this reduction in the number of mechanical and control
components minimises maintenance and downtime.
Moreover the buffer zone can be flexibly adapted to cope
with varying throughputs.
The initial step in the whole process is for the bodyshop
to request a crossbeam something it does five workpieces
in advance. The VarioLoc shuttle then transports the correct
crossbeam for the vehicle model involved from the central
area to the transfer point between the body shop and paint
shop where the truck bodies are then loaded on to the
crossbeams.
Vehicle data & pretreatment
In addition at the point when the VarioLoc system takes
over handling of the truck bodies a set of corresponding
vehicle data are entered on the cross beams data chip. Dalla
says these include production number, truck cab model and
cab colour, though other relevant data used by automated
system are loaded as well.
The next step is for the mated assemblies to be transferred

2014 | APS

21

Special report

Mercedes-Benz Brazil Eisenmann

to the pretreatment line where the body is removed from its

skid in order to prevent the skids from being contaminated.
As Dalla explains the cross beam continues on its way and is
collected by an Eisenmann E-Shuttle 300 specially modified
for commercial vehicles. In fact, this is the very first practical
application of this modified version.

The skids are removed before the pretreatment line to prevent

them being contaminated

Each shuttle features three freely programmable

axes (horizontal, vertical and rotational) and its own
separate control unit. The movement of each axis can be
programmed very quickly and easily. As a result, dip curves
and process time can be individually defined and monitored
for each body type. Furthermore a combination of lifting
and rotation allows any conceivable position to be realized,
including full vertical. Movement sequences tailored to each
individual body geometry ensure easy access to modelspecific details such as cavities and indentations. In addition,
drip and flow-off is faster and more efficient than with
facilities that use conventional, rigid pendulum conveyors.
Dalla says that the advantages that accrue include a perfectly
even coating with few inclusions, less force exerted on the
bonded surfaces and minimisation of carry-over.
The fixed installations at this front-end of the line are also,
for the most part, new, though some older equipment has
been retained. Dalla says that the previous pre-treatment
and e-coat lines were completely disassembled and new
ones installed in their place. Nevertheless he adds that the
pre-treatment process and e-coat oven are similar to those
used on the previous car line, the main difference being
the length of the tanks used in pre-treatment. He explains
that the rotational conveyor system of the E-Shuttle means
they can be more compact. But a new A-lock oven was
installed to dry the workpieces after electrocoating, while
primer and top coat dryers were equipped with new tunnels.
Nevertheless the electrocoat oven is also very similar to
the previous one and, in fact, uses the same gas-powered
heating system. One piece of equipment that has been
carried over from the old installation to the new one is the
thermal oxidizer, which has remained in place.
Special hanger
Following electrocoating, the cross beam is again placed on

22

APS | 2014

a skid and transported through the geometrically modified

PVC line to the underbody sealing line. A special hanger
removes the body from the cross beam, holding it at the
front and back via four process holes in the cab through the
hanger. As a result, the underbody is totally exposed and
easily accessible both to robots and for manual application
of coatings. The hanger then replaces the truck cabs on the
cross beam.
At a more general level Dalla says that the width and
zone layout of the existing spray booths were adapted to
the new workpieces. Trucks come in a huge variety of
colors and this made it necessary to implement a new paint
supply system to support new solvent born paint material,
he confirms. A decision was made to employ the standard
system for six high-runners and install three separate
painting systems for special colors. The painting robots and
application equipment were also replaced in their entirety.
He adds that a further element of the conversion project
involved a major refurbishment of the waste water treatment
equipment though without any modification to its chemical
process.
In addition to the conversion project, Mercedes-Benz
has contracted Eisenmann of Brazil to provide technical
maintenance and process cleaning services for the
paintshop. One reason for doing so was that Eisenmann
operates and maintains two other paintshops in the country
and so has an appropriate depth of expertise. The services
involved encompass preventive and corrective maintenance
and production monitoring.

The crossbeams can be adapted to hold attachment parts such

as doors. This makes it easy to include these components in the
flow of workpieces

Cost effective conversion

In conclusion, says Dalla, the plant has been effectively
converted from painting one type of vehicle body to a
completely different type in a highly economical fashion
through a targeted mixing of new and existing facilities.
As he explains: We installed a complete new pretreatment
line, electrocoat line and ovens tunnels as well as the paint
machines for the paint robots. At the same time all working
decks, paint booths and air houses were retained.

DIRECTORY



2015

A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE WORLDS

AUTO MANUFACTURING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Targeted at senior manufacturing representatives

automotive manufacturing solutions

An information reference for automotive manufacturing executives

Distributed to 60 countries worldwide

At your customers ngertips for 12 months - online and in print

Company listings

Company proles

Online access
automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com

Assembly & testing

CALDAN Denmark

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

Roeddikvej 91
DK-8464 Galten
Denmark

Henkelstrasse 67
D-40589 Duesseldorf
Germany

Tel: +45 8694 7071

Fax. +45 8694 7026
e-mail: cc@caldan.dk

Tel: +49 211 797 2998

www.caldan.dk

www.henkel.com/automotive

auto body parts

Our overhead conveyors

We offer an extensive range of overhead
conveyor systems ranging from simple
manual systems, through powered single
line (mono rail) to complex Power & Free
systems. A total of seven different systems
have been developed for unit load weights
from a few grams to 10,000kg. All the
systems have been developed first and
foremost for the extremes of the surface
finishing industry, and are designed
for operating at high efficiencies with
minimum maintenance.

i Caldan P&F100, power & free floor

conveyor, operating in the UK; surface

treatment of plastic components,
automotive industry

i Caldan P&F100, power & free floor

ISRA VISION AG

Proceco Ltd.

www.comau.com

www.isravision.com

www.proceco.co

CRF

Keyence Corporation of America

ProMation Engineering Ltd.

Aamstech Solutions
AB Precision (Poole) Ltd
www.abprecision.co.uk

ABB Inc.

Dengensha America Corporation

www.dengensha.com

www.acro.com

Adept Technology Inc

Our experts collaborate

closely with you, worldwide.
We partner with engineers
and designers from car design over
manufacturing until after sales service.
Henkels solutions for car manufacturers,
as well as tier one and tier two suppliers
include:
s,/#4)4%nENGINEEREDHIGH
performance adhesives, sealants and
coating solutions
s"/.$%2)4%nSURFACETECHNOLOGYAND
process solutions
s4%2/3/.nBONDINGSEALINGCOATING
and reinforcing for automotive body,
vehicle repair and maintenance
s4%#(./-%,4nLEADINGCHOICEFOR
hot melt adhesives
s!15%.#% WATER BASEDADHESIVES
"ACKEDBY(ENKELSBEST IN CLASS
TECHNOLOGIESAPPLICATIONKNOW HOW
technical and design expertise our

Friction and wear reduction in

powertrains with Loctite Electro
Ceramic Coatings

Enabling Lightweight CFK design with

paintable surface in automated serial
production. Loctite Max 3 Composite
Matrix Resin in roof segment of the
Roding Roadster R1

DIRECTORY 2014 www.automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com

14

AP&T AB, Automation, Press and

Tooling

www.edstechnologies.com

www.aptgroup.com

EISENMANN

EDS Technologies Pvt Ltd

www.eisenmann.de

EMCC DR. RASEK

www.arobotics.com

www.emcc.de

ArcelorMittal

Emuge-Franken

Marketing Midwest Inc

www.ranal.com

Maschinenfabrik Spaichingen
GmbH

Rockwell Automation
see profile page 21

microsyst Systemelectronic
GmbH

www.sailrail.com

www.microsyst.de

Schneider Electric

Mitsubishi Electric EUROPE B.V.

www.schneider-electric.com

www.mitsubishi-automation.com

Schuler

see profile page 22

MLR System GmbH

Epson Deutschland GmbH

www.mlr.de

www.epson.de

Motoman Inc.

www.asa-gmbh.de

Euchner GmbH + Co. KG

www.motoman.com

Atlas Technologies

www.euchner.com

Norstat, Inc.

Factory Automation Systems

www.norstat.com

FATA Automation
www.fataautomation.it

Beckhoff

Festo AG & Co. KG

www.beckhoff.co.uk

www.festo.com

Belcom Cables Ltd

Festo Corporation

www.belcom.co.uk

www.festo.com/usa

Fraunhofer IOSB
www.iosb.fraunhofer.de

Bosch Rexroth Corporation

FRIMO Group GmbH

www.boschrexroth-us.com

www.frimo.com

Bosch Rexroth Ltd

Graco

www.boschrexroth.co.uk

www.graco.com

Cal-Comp USA

HighTech Gertebau GmbH

www.calcompusa.com/

www.htg-gmbh.de

Cellbond Composites Ltd

www.rockwellautomation.com

www.ms-spaichingen.de

www.emuge-franken.com

www.factoryautomation.com

www.radtech.org

www.marketingmidwest.com

ASA GmbH Anlagen- und SystemAutomation

www.boconline.co.uk

DIRECTORY 2014 www.automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com

Ranal Engineering Services Pvt

Ltd

www.aerotech.com

see profile page 19

BOC

CUSTOMERSACHIEVECOST EFFECTIVEAND
environmentally friendly production
processes.
Our solutions provide significant
economic and environmental advantages
for todays vehicles making them lighter,
quieter and more durable, while increasing
comfort, strength and safety.
4EAMUPWITH(ENKELTOFINDOUTHOWTO
reduce total costs per body up to a quarter
WITHOURCOMBINEDSOLUTIONSnFROM
CHASSISPOWERTRAINANDBODY IN WHITETO
ELECTRICALELECTRONICS(6!#EXTERIORAND
interior.

RAMPF Group, Inc

www.moeller.net

www.atsautomation.com

RadTech - The Association for UV

& EB Curing

www.rampf-group.com

Eaton

Aerotech Inc

ATS

PSM Instrumetation Ltd

www.psmmarine.com

Magna International Inc.

www.magna.com

www.aps-plus.com

www.atlastechnologies.com

Prudhomme Tranmissions

www.mhaltd.co.uk

Dynalog, Inc.

see profile page 48

www.prosoft-technology.com
www.prudhomme-trans.com

Drr Systems GmbH

www.dynalog-us.com

www.arcelormittal.com

www.metrology.leica-geosystems.com

www.durr.com

Advanced Production System

Applied Robotics Inc.

see profile page 18

Leica Geosystems AG, Metrology

Division
MacDonald Humfrey
(Automation) Ltd

see profile page 60

see profile page 68

As a global leader in automotive

adhesive, sealant and functional coating
solutions, Henkel can be everywhere
in car manufacturing. Our innovative
technologies create competitive advantage
for all leading automotive brands across
the entire value chain.

www.die-media.de

www.adept.com

Omni ID

SailRail Automated Systems Inc.

www.schulergroup.com/automation

SCHUNK GmbH & Co. KG

www.schunk.com

Sensor Developments Inc.

www.sendev.com

Sensor Products LLC USA

www.sensorprod.com

www.omni-id.com

Sick AG

see profile page 20

www.sick.com

Omron Europe B.V.

SICK, Inc

www.omron.eu

www.sickusa.com

Omron Scientific Technologies, Inc

Siemens AG Automation & Drives

www.sti.com

www.industry.siemens.com

Oracle

see profile page 24

www.oracle.com

SMSI International

Oxford Vision & Sensor

Technology ltd

www.smsinternational.com

www.oxfordvst.com/

www.sturm-gruppe.com

Sturm Gruppe

Parker Hannifin

Supremesoft Corporation

www.parker.com

www.supremesoft.ca

Pepperl+Fuchs, Inc.
www.am.pepperl-fuchs.com

TAL Manufacturing Solutions

Limited

PHD, Inc

www.tal.co.in

www.cellbond.com

Hirtenberger Automotive Safety

Cincinnati Machine Limited &

Lamb Technicon Limited

www.hirtenberger.at/automotive

www.phdinc.com

TATA Consultancy Services

Identec Solutions

Pilz Automation Technology

www.tcs.com

www.cincinnatimachines.com

www.identecsolutions.com

CNC Engineering, Inc.

igus UK

www.pilz.co.uk
see profile page 26

Thermotek International Inc

www.thermatek.com

www.cnc1.com

www.igus.eu

Pilz GmbH & Co. KG

CogniTens

Industrial Technology Systems

Limited (ITS)

www.pilz.com

Plakoni Engineering nv

www.drauznothelfer.co.uk

www.its-ltd.co.uk

www.plakoni.be

Ingemat, S.A.

Precision Varionics International

TMS Transport- und

Montagesysteme GmbH

www.ingemat.com

www.pvi.co.uk

www.tms-at.com

www.cognitens.com

Coherix, Inc.
www.coherix.com

32

Die Media GmbH Stuttgart

see profile page 30

Sound Deadener
solution replacing
bitumen pads
enabling automated
application, reducing
weight and lowering
VOC levels

ProSoft Technology

KUKA Systems
www.kuka-systems.com

ABB Robotics
www.abb.com/robotics

i Teroson Sprayable

www.promation.com

KMT Group
www.kmtgroup.com/

Danaher Motion
www.danahermotion.com

www.abb.com

ACRO Automation Systems, Inc.

Henkel solutions for the

automotive industry

www.Keyence.com

D&D Automation Inc.

www.ddauto.com

www.crf.it

www.aamstech.com

conveyor, operating in USA; surface

treatment of plastic components,
automotive industry

COMAU S.p.A.

www.3dcad-global.com
see profile page 35

Our floor conveyors

We believe that we offer the most
comprehensive range of chain-based floor
conveyor systems available in the market.
A total of ten different systems have been
developed for unit load
weights from a few grams to 2,000kg. All
the systems have been developed for the
extremes of the surface finishing industry
and are designed for high accuracy of
presentation of product to process along
with excellent stability characteristics.

3DCAD India Pvt Ltd

ThyysenKrupp Drauz Nothelfer

GmbH

DIRECTORY 2014 www.automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com

Automation systems & controls

i Caldan P&F400, power & free overhead conveyor, operating in Europe; transportation of

e-mail: transport_and_metal
@henkel.com

aldan Conveyor A/S is a well

established company with 40
years experience in designing,
manufacturing and installing overhead
and floor conveyors. We have gradually
earned our good reputation and are today
one of the leading suppliers of conveyor
systems in the world. Throughout the
years, Caldan has successfully installed
more than 4,000 conveyor systems
worldwide. We operate in a wide range
of industries and the materials handling
challenges we meet are numerous.
Caldan Conveyor has a long history of
working together with sub-suppliers to the
automotive industry and also directly with
the car manufacturers. The high standards
and requirements of the automotive
industry are well known to us. Among our
customers you will find renowned brands
like: Honda, Skoda, BMW, Volvo, Renault,
Ford, Fiat, Audi and Volkswagen.

Assembly & testing

Conveyors, handling & robotics

Converyors, handling & robotics

17

Dedicated Sections
Assembly & Testing

Conveyors, Handling & Robotics

Automation, Control & Safety

Measurement & Quality

Digital Manufacturing

Paintshop

Lasers & Visions

Pressing & Stamping

Machining & Powertrain

Welding

Materials

To book your company prole or advertisement contact:

Andrew Fallon Publisher t: +44 (0)20 8987 0931 e: andrew.fallon@ultimamedia.com

automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com

an

ULTIMAMEDIA publication

OEM focus

Volkswagen Wolfsburg

Think Blue
to go green
T
he commitment of Volkswagen to improving the
environmental efficiency of its manufacturing
processes is enshrined in a global initiative it calls
Think Blue. Factory. The fundamental objective is
to reduce the environmental impact of each of its vehicles
and associated production processes by 25% over the period
2010-2018.
In August last year the company opened a new facility that
it regards as a major milestone along the way to achieving
that objective one that reduces energy consumption
by 50% compared with previous similar operations and
emissions, specifically particulates and VOCs, by a massive
90%. The facility in question is a paintshop for plastic parts
at its plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, in which 120 employees
are now involved in producing 4,000 bumpers each day for
the Golf 7 vehicle as well as various other smaller parts and
attachments.
Process effectiveness
The basic facts and figures for the facility, which took 18
months to construct, are certainly impressive. The new
paintshop is spread over four levels and covers an area of
36x120m (4,320m). The application level itself is equipped

24

APS | 2014

Mike Farish reports on a new paintshop

for plastic parts at VWs Wolfsburg plant,
which exemplifies the companys drive
to reduce the environmental impact of
vehicle production

with a total of 24 robots. But as Thomas Hegel Gunter, head

of VWs plastics business unit, confirms, the company sees
the real significance of the facility as the way it has brought
together painting technologies from different Volkswagen
plants and developed them to set new benchmarks in terms
of procedures and process effectiveness. "The operation of
the new paintshop combines advanced processes with low
environmental impact and high efficiency," he states.
Nevertheless the new paintshop at Wolfsburg is still
just one element within a much wider corporate strategy.
Gunter points out that in March 2012 Volkswagen gave the
go-ahead for a fundamental environmental transformation
of the entire Group. In total the company committed itself
to invest 84.2 billion in its Automotive Division in pursuit
of this objective. Moreover more than two thirds of the total
investment is slated to be used to develop more efficient
vehicles, powertrains and technologies, as well as ecofriendly production processes.
In the case of the Wolfsburg plastics paintshop the facilitys
key characteristic, says Gunter, is that it applies newly
developed advanced processes to conventional materials.
At present, he confirms, conventional plastics suitable for
injection molding are used. But in contrast the painting

Volkswagen Wolfsburg

process is a future-oriented process.

A crucial factor underpinning this claim, for instance, is
that that facility does not use water for parts cleaning but
instead employs carbon dioxide. As Gunter explains: This
is a byproduct from various manufacturing processes and
therefore helps in conserving resources. Meanwhile another
contributory factor is the use of new spray heads which
ensure highly efficient application of the paint and therefore
avoid excessive paint use.

The Wolfsburg plastics paintshop will

be taken as a benchmark as this facility
uses the greatest number of innovative
technologies Thomas Hegel Gunter,
Volkswagen
The innovatory aspects of the facility, though, start
appropriately right at the beginning of the process in that
initial part cleaning procedure. At this first stage the plastic
parts are cleaned using dry ice in other words CO2 snow
blasting and compressed air. The cleaned surfaces are
then activated by flaming to ensure better paint absorption.
After that the parts are primed using a two-component
water-based paint. The subsequent basecoat consists of a
single-component water-based paint, which is followed by
a two-component solvent-based clearcoat. Gunter confirms
that as far as Volkswagen is concerned this is a new painting
process.
Moreover greatly diminished use of water is also a major
element in the overall environmental efficiency of the
installation. A key enabling factor in this respect is the use
of a stone material to capture overspray. As Gunter explains:
The stone powder functions as a natural binder for the
paint residues created in the painting process and the
saturated stone powder can then be recycled and reused.
In addition, the use of stone powder means that no water is
needed for binding the paint. He adds that this extraction
process is also used at the Groups new vehicle plants.
The context for all this, of course, is the Think Blue.
Factory. Initiative. Gunter provides reminder that the targets
set for 2018 involve five key environmental indicators
energy use, water consumption, waste production and CO2
and solvent emissions and are global in their ambition.
They apply to all the Volkswagen brands plants throughout
the world. Nevertheless another essential point about the
specific technologies that Volkswagen is employing in the
facility is that they have a mutually reinforcing effect on each
other in order to maximise overall efficiencies. As Gunter
notes: CO2 snow blasting is a water-free, chemical-free
cleaning method that only uses carbon dioxide gas and
compressed air. As liquid CO2 is produced as a byproduct of
chemical manufacturing processes, the use of the substance
has no environmental impact. Moreover a separate dryer is
not needed during the process, which means that energy can
be saved.

OEM focus

But in addition, states Gunter, the use of a heat pump

and the fact that gas heating is not required for the cold
intermediate drying process also allow energy to be saved.
Nor do the beneficial consequences stop there. With dry
extraction, water is not needed and direct recirculation of
the painting cabin air is therefore possible as no moisture
is accumulated, he explains. Air recirculation also
considerably reduces the energy demand for air treatment
compared with conventional painting cabins.
Gunter adds that another factor in the equation is the
implementation of continuous on-line measurements of
temperature, humidity and other values ensures reliable
parameters for the painting process. In turn this means
that ventilation systems can also be operated in line with
demand, which once again reduces energy consumption.
More fundamentally Gunter also makes it clear that
though the new Wolfsburg facility is currently leading
the way in terms of environmental efficiency with the
Volkswagen Group, the company has no intention that it
should be an isolated showpiece. Instead the objective is very
much that it should become a benchmark-setting example
to be followed. He states emphatically that the targeted
selection of plant systems, for instance the application and
spent air treatment systems, and the use of low-emission

The cleaned surfaces are activated by flaming to ensure better

paint absorption

materials, most obviously water-based paints, have now

become basic requirements for all projects involving the
construction of new paintshops or the modification of
existing paintshops within the Group.
Gunter does not, though, forget the people element. He
says that relevant employee development started in May
2011 and continued for well over two years up to the start
of operations for new paintshop. It involved a variety of
seminars, information events and workshops, which aimed
to ensure that the employees concerned received systematic
training and were familiarised with the new equipment.
All the work and investment, though, is now paying off.
Gunter states unambiguously: The quality level that has
been reached at Wolfsburg is exemplary in the field of
plastics paintshops within the Volkswagen Group. For the
implementation of new projects, the Wolfsburg plastics
paintshop will be taken as a benchmark as this facility uses
the greatest number of innovative technologies.

2014 | APS

25

Special report

Porsche Durr

Painting the Macan

Porsches new paintshop at Leipzig features new technologies to improve both energy
and production efficiencies. Report by Mike Farish

peed is something strongly associated with

Porsche. So its perhaps appropriate that one of
the notable features of the new paintshop (built
for production of the companys Macan SUV at
its Leipzig plant) is the speed with which it has come into
existence. The order to supply it was signed in March 2012
and by the middle of this year it was well down the ramp up
track towards full production.
That rate of progression, reports Dirk Gorges, derived
directly from Porsches decision to give all responsibility for
the design and kitting out of the facility to just one major
supplier Drr. Gorges is senior vice-president sales and
marketing with the paint system supplier. He explains that
it enabled decision making to take place within a highly
compact team using a single project information tool.
But Gorges also says that the whole facility is significant
for more than just the speed with which it progressed from
concept to reality. It has also provided the opportunity
for Drr to introduce several innovations of its own in
particular its highly compact and modular EcoReBooth
painting booth and the EcoBell3 Ci painting bell, both
of which were only formally unveiled to the wider world
as recently as May this year. As such, says Gorges, the
combination of the rapidity with which the 60,000m2
facility has been commissioned and the level of automation
involved represents a benchmark for the automotive
industry.

26

APS | 2014

Energy efficiency
The facility also boasts a number of other world-class levels
of performance. Porsche, in fact, claims that the facility is
one of the most energy-efficient in the world. For instance
80% of its heat requirements are met by a biomass power
plant located nearby. In addition it uses 90% re-circulated
air through its employment of Drrs EcoDryScrubber
dry separation technique, which utilises limestone powder
instead of water to bind with excess paint particles.
Elsewhere the light tunnel uses LEDs which are both more
effective for defect detection and 30% more energy-efficient
than neon tubes.
At first sight the sequence of operations in the facility
seems fairly conventional. When they reach the entry to
the paintshop, the Macan bodies pass through two stations
in which the door hinges, engine bonnet and boot lid are
securely fixed in place. They are also transferred from
bodyshop skids to cathodic dip coating counterparts
known as KTL skids from the German name for the
process Kathodische Tauchlackieurung. The bodies
then undergo a pretreatment in a dipping tank heated
to 60C to remove grease from the presses, welding dust
and other contaminants. This is followed by zinc
phosphating to ensure optimal adhesion for a later
corrosion protection coating in which the bodies are
dipped but also rotated through 360 so that all cavities
are flooded.

Porsche Durr

Immersive experience
The cathodic dip coating itself involves immersion in a
primer at 33C with the paint solids evenly deposited via
electrophoresis. Up to four bodies can be immersed at any
one time, rotating both as they move along to ensure good
coverage and again as they are lifted out of the tank so that
excess fluid drains away before the next phase.
Then after travelling for 280 metres during this initial
phase, the bodies are turned to progress back down the
360-metre length of the hall for a drying sequence in which
the first of four dryers they encounter is the cathodic dip
coating dryer, which reaches a peak temperature of 185C.
Automated sealing
Next comes the automated sealing of the seams and flanges
and the application of underbody protection with PVC
materials. During this procedure the body is temporarily
placed on a hanger before being returned to a skid for the
robotic application of the primer, basecoat and clearcoat
using electrostatic paint charging. But though the paintshop
has 81 robots, the first station is a manual wiping shop
where workers clean the bodies with cloths taking around
six minutes per vehicle and focusing on specific areas such
as the doors.
The bodies then progress through an air gate to blow
off any remaining particles before reaching the first robot
station, where Drr robots with saturated brush heads
cleanse them thoroughly. In the following stations, small
robots hook open the doors, bonnet and boot before larger
units with spray heads move in to perform the coating.
The primer, which is matched to the final colour, is applied
to a thickness of 30-35m; the water-borne basecoat to
12-18m and the clearcoat to 40-45m. Drying phases at
respective temperatures of 160C, 80C and 140C follow
each application, the last taking 45 minutes.
Light tunnel
Finally, the bodies reach two Wenker light tunnels which are
used to check the finish quality. The bodies are split into two
streams, half being checked in one tunnel, half in the other.
A combination of LEDs and adjustable mirrors is used to
simulate strong daylight, enabling workers to detect even
tiny imperfections on the surface, which are ground down
and polished away. All of this takes some 15 hours before
each body makes its way to an inline measuring station to
be checked before heading to the assembly hall. According
to Marcel Frster, a paintshop planner with Porsche, the
objective is to paint 30 bodies per hour although attaining
this rate necessarily depends on the output of the bodyshop,
which is also currently getting up to speed. In fact paintshop
capacity is currently ahead of the bodyshop that feeds it,
but Porsche indicates that it plans to bring more bodyshop
capacity on-line in future.
Meanwhile Dirk Gorges has no reservations about the
paintshops ability to meet the demands that Porsche may
ultimately place on it in part at least because the new
EcoReBooths that are at the heart of it neatly combine
proven process technology with innovation in overall

Special report

configuration. The former is represented by the fact that

they incorporate the EcoDryScrubber process in which
the paint separation takes place directly underneath the
paintbooths. The latter derives from their literal physical
format which, as Gorges explains, abolishes the old
configuration in which the process air equipment is housed
in a penthouse above the painting booth and is instead now
located alongside the scrubber area underneath it.
A matter of scale
Gorges explains that the new concept derives from Drrs
perception that an older style installation as much as
24-27 metres in height is obviously grossly out of scale for
painting a vehicle body perhaps just metre and a half in
height. Why such a monster for such a tiny car, he queries.
As such the twin watchwords for the new concept are, he
notes, compactness and modularity. On the first count,
especially, the contrast is particularly marked Drr states
that depending on the application an EcoReBooth could as
little as just 12 metres in height. But both attributes reinforce
each other, he adds, to produce enhanced flexibility
of installation the booth should fit easily into existing
buildings and ease of maintenance through the enhanced

A combination of LEDs and adjustable mirrors are used in the

light tunnel to simulate strong daylight

accessibility of the process air equipment.

Interestingly Gorges says that the fact that the Porsche
paintshop is a completely new facility probably makes it
atypical of likely future application sites for the EcoReBooth
since Drr expects that its attributes not least the ability
to introduce dry separation to sites where a wet process has
been used previously will make it particularly suitable for
retrofitting to existing buildings.
Smart software
The painting booths also feature the companys new
EcoSmart AC software system for controlling temperature
and humidity, and EcoC-IC ovens. These ovens shield the
conveyor system that carries the car bodies so that it does
not enter the heated zone, reducing energy usage. Gorges
says, from Drrs point-of-view the new Porsche Leipzig
installation is: possibly the best installation for which the
company has so far been responsible.

2014 | APS

27

Special report

Qoros Geico Taikisha

Paintshop
partnership
L
ate in 2012 Qoros Automotive a joint venture
between existing Chinese carmaker Chery and
Israeli conglomerate Israel Corporation started
operations at its new manufacturing plant at
Changshu in Jiangsu province. Its initial aim is to produce
sedan and hatchback vehicles at a plant that is deliberately
intended to set new standards for environmental efficiency.
There will, for instance, be zero emissions of nitrogen and
phosphates.
A number of reasons lie behind that objective. One is
regulatory the Jiangsu region is known for having one of
the toughest environmental protection regimes in the China.
Another is business related it is a quite deliberate aim of
the company to be seen as meeting the highest standards
in its production processes in order to provide its products
with a premium-level market identity and, as such, the
challenge of meeting those local standards was very much an
incentive rather than a deterrent.
State-of-the-art coatings
Moreover as far as painting is concerned the plant is
employing a set of processes which though not new in
themselves are not only state-of-the-art individually but also
unprecedented in the fact that they have been combined in a

28

APS | 2014

Working in close partnership with its

OEM client, paintshop builder Geico
Taikisha has designed and constructed
a state-of the-art paintshop facility for
Qoros

continuous process on a single site. They include a cleaning

and thin film pre-treatment based on zirconium oxide
rather than phosphating, a waterborne B1:B2 basecoat paint
formulation and an innovative system in the paintbooths
themselves that greatly reduces the contamination of their
physical structure by waste paint.
The basic business strategy underlying the venture
is confirmed by Dr Friedrich Major, executive director
manufacturing and logistics for Qoros. Dr Major says that
right from the start of the venture it was a firm intention to
avoid the typical joint venture scenario in which individuals
from different companies with different corporate cultures
work in parallel.
Working to a tight budget
An initial core team of managers and engineers, roughly
20-strong, produced a brief specification document just
15 pages - outlining the type of installation that would meet
its requirements. Dr Major adds that the latter included the
need to work to a relatively tight budget of just 42m for all
the equipment and systems involved though not including
the building to house them a target which he says was
very nearly achieved. But expanding that document out
into a detailed plan and then turning that plan into a real

Qoros Geico Taikisha

installation required close cooperation with an appropriate

system supplier as indeed all aspects of the new plant have
done. In the event the company that Qoros turned to in
order to help define the painting systems that could meet its
demands was Italian-based Geico Taikisha.
Working in partnership
Daryush Arabnia, president of Geico Taikisha in China,
confirms that initial contact was made back in 2010, and
right from the start the relationship between the two was
very much, he says, that of a partnership. Their shared
objective: To create the most modern paintshop possible.
Interestingly Arabnia also says that as well as cooperating
with Qoros in the specification and design of the painting
process, Geico Taikisha also had some input into the design
of the vehicles themselves for instance to indicate where
holes could be located to ensure that pre-treatment and ED
fluids would drain away properly or where skids carrying the
vehicle bodies should be attached. Vehicle design was carried
out by Magna Steyr in Austria.
As it now stands the painting process itself begins with
the use of the Bonderite TecTalis cleaning and pre-treatment
process from Henkel. The two essential components of
the process are the use of a de-emulsifying surfactant
package for initial cleaning and then the application of
a zirconium oxide thin-film pre-treatment instead of
traditional phosphating. Claimed benefits include obviation
or significant reduction of nickel and nitrogen as well as
phosphate, and a reduction in the number of process steps
from seven to five.
Antonio Zaza, key account manager for the Qoros project,
explained the next stage in the painting process which, after
a conventional e-coating procedure, is the wet-on-wet B1:
B2 waterborne basecoat system from PPG, a major hallmark
of which is the complete obviation of any requirement for a
primer layer. We forced them to go in that direction, Zaza
says quite unambiguously. He adds, though, that as with
the pre-treatment the efficiencies that the process could
provide European levels of performance in terms of
VOCs and CO2 emissions were the key motivating factors.
The preference for waterborne as opposed to solvent-borne
painting processes, that has since become a major factor in
official Chinese thinking, was not at that time an influence.
Reducing cleaning
Geico Taikisha has also supplied several of its own
technologies. Zaza mentions, for instance, the J-Flex
conveyor system that is used in the pre-treatment area and
the limestone-based Dryspin technology for extracting
overspray paint from air extracted from the paintbooths
which as the name indicates is a water-free process. But
the paintbooths are also the application area for another
interesting technique that removes the need for the routine
cleaning of the gratings that form their floors.
Zaza explains that the conventional structure of a booth
involves the use of perforated gratings as a flooring material.
The perforations allow excess paint droplets to be drawn
through the gratings by the booths extraction system for

Special report

the separation and collection of the surplus paint. But the

gratings themselves are irrelevant to the painting process
and the perforations inevitably become clogged with waste
paint, so that they must be periodically removed for off-line
cleaning and replaced with fresh grating to allow production
to continue.
For the Qoros plant Geico Taikisha devised a system
which allows the gratings to slide sideways to a position
alongside the booths while robots get on with the job of
actually painting the car bodies. This technique was devised
specifically for Qoros and the Changshu plant was the first
ever application by Geico Taiksiha of this approach, though
it has subsequently been applied elsewhere.
Push & pull
Daryush Arabnia adds that the fact that Qoros was willing
to be the pioneer of the technique confirmed his perception
that automotive OEM customers can generally be divided
into two categories which he terms, respectively, technology
pushers and pullers. The former, he explains, are major
established companies which though always interested
in achieving maximum efficiencies usually want to do so
through the use of proven technologies. The latter are newer
outfits like Qoros that are prepared to be the first to
adopt innovative, unconventional approaches. They need to
prove themselves and they want to be the first, he states.
So how does all this come together at Changshu?

The limestone-based Dryspin technology for extracting overspray

paint from air extracted from the paintbooths, is a water-free
process

In terms of energy consumption very well it would

seem. Arabnia says that when Geico Taikisha and Qoros
signed the contract for the new facility the target was to
achieve a total energy consumption per vehicle for all
paint-related processes of 500kWh. But he now informally
estimates that the facility is actually achieving 450kWh per
vehicle. He also says that the formal commitment between
the two as far as CO2 emissions are concerned was to
achieve a target figure of 140kg per vehicle, but that again in
actual practice a lower figure is being attained though he is
not prepared to hazard an estimate. But right now, he says,
the Qoros plant in Changshu represents what Geico Taikisha
regards as the benchmark for current industry practice.

2014 | APS

29

OEM focus

Painting Jackals, Coyotes

and other big beasts
Mike Farish takes a
look at paint processes
employed by specialist
vehicle manufacturer
Supacat

role to play in ensuring that the

vehicles the company produces
can meet the exacting demands
which may be placed on them.

ne of the UKs most interesting specialist vehicle

manufacturers is to be found in a collection of
low-lying buildings at the edge of an old airfield
at Dunkeswell, Devon, in the rural South West of
the country. Supacat employs over 80 people at the site in the
production of a range of protected vehicles for both military
and civilian uses.
Its best-known products are probably two armoured
personnel carriers, the HMT 400 and 600, respectively a
4x4 patrol vehicle and a 6x6 logistical counterpart called
the Jackal and Coyote in British Army service. More than
500 of the vehicles are in use, the great bulk of them Jackals,
as a result of a now discontinued contract manufacturing
arrangement that Supacat had with much larger partner
Babcock. At its homebase, Supacat is more of a design,
development, prototyping and low volume manufacturing
operation with a maximum output of perhaps one vehicle a
week.
In this context, painting is an unsurprisingly low-tech
process compared with the type of installation that might
be found in a volume OEM plant. However, as support
operations manager Toby Cox explains, painting still has a

30

APS | 2014

Paint processes
Cox says that the company
operates two totally enclosed
painting booths in which either
whole vehicles or component
parts can be processed. Painting
is carried out by handheld
sprayguns, while the air inside the
booths is heated to the required
temperature of 65C by adjacent
oil-fired burners. While there may not be a robot in sight,
electrostatic charging of paint and work pieces is used to
ensure adhesion of paint to metal surfaces.
Supacat has followed the increasing trend in the automotive
industry towards the use of water-based paints. Cox explains
that the company made the decision four years ago to
use water-based materials wherever it could the only
exceptions being if a required performance specification was
otherwise impossible to achieve or if a customer requested
particular solvent-based materials. Cox says the move
was motivated by environmental considerations but was
welcomed by the staff who work in the paint booths, who
report that water-based materials are much easier to apply.
Although paint or other coatings cannot provide a
military vehicle with sufficient protection against an
explosion, there are certainly instances when they can still
prove an important, even potentially life-saving attribute.
One example is when the paint needs to have infrared
reflective properties to help to disguise the vehicle from
hostile surveillance that could lead to it being targeted for
attack.

Lifeboats & oil industry PTVs

More prosaically, another requirement is to provide
enhanced corrosion resistance, something which is of
obvious importance in a new and unusual vehicle developed
by the company very recently a Launch and Recovery
System (L&RS) for the RNLIs Shannon class lifeboats.
The system comprises a 19.2m long high-mobility tractor
and powered-carriage system to transport the 18 tonne
vessels across a beach to the water. The first of them is due
to enter service in January 2014 at Dungeness in Kent, with
10 other locations confirmed to follow so far. The vehicle
can be operated in water at depths of 2.4m and withstand
full submersion in water up to 9m deep in the event of
immobilisation. In this case, a key protective technique is
hot spray galvanising.
Paints also have a role to play in a prosaic-looking but in
fact very clever vehicle intended to cope with the challenges
of working in one of the most hostile environments
the Earth can provide for any sort of automobile. The
vehicle, seven of which have now gone into service, looks
disarmingly like a large camper-van, is the PTV (protected
transit van) developed by Supacat to act as a personnel
carrier to support oil and gas exploration in the North
Caspian Sea region. It comprises the chassis of a MercedesBenz Sprinter surmounted by an airtight compartment
capable of slight over-pressurisation compared with the
external atmosphere a necessary attribute when that
atmosphere contains high levels of the colourless, flammable
and extremely poisonous gas, hydrogen sulphide. External
temperatures in the projected operating environment also
vary between -36C and 42C.
Using aerosols to combat deadly gases
In this instance, a key capability was provided by a graphitebased coating applied by nothing more exotic than a
handheld aerosol can to the internal plastic surfaces of
the vehicle. As Cox explains, the GRAPHIT 33 from CRC
Industries inhibits the build-up of static electricity by
providing a conductive path to the main shell of the vehicle.
The point is to mitigate what could otherwise become a
source of sparking and protect against dangerous gases such
as methane and other hydrocarbons.
The exterior surfaces of the vehicle, Cox adds, are painted
with an industry standard two-pack set of heavy epoxy
materials, in this case the Rust-Oleum 9180 primer with
a topcoat of the Rust-O-Thane 9900 acrylic polyurethane
material.
Cox makes the point that, although the materials and
application techniques employed by Supacat may seem
routine, both are constrained by very precise sets of
customer demands. Such is the case with an HMT variant
called REDFIN used by the Australian Defence Force, the
prototype of which was delivered at6 the end of 2012. In
this case, Cox says the solvent-based paint has to be sourced
from Australia and applied according to a strict set of
instructions governing shot blasting, the resultant hardness
of the surfaces to be painted and the maximum permissible
timeframe between surface preparation and painting.

Are you looking for a

coating solution for

automotive parts?

When it comes to the coating of surfaces, the

automated coating systems from Sprimag are the rst
choice. Whether for metal, plastic, rubber to metal
adhesives, or glass Sprimag offers the best solution
for the complete coating process. Sprimags expertise
in manufacturing coating machines, and the ability to
develop the appropriate application technology, are
unique in the market. In the eld of automotive coating,
Sprimag offers high-quality coating systems, and
energy and resource saving concepts as a standard. The
worlds major automotive manufacturers and suppliers
have trusted in the competence of Sprimag for almost
ninety years.

www.sprimag.com

Special report

Sealing software
Livingsolids discusses the development of software to allow accurate automated application of
sealant to body-in-white structures

he use of 3D computer modelling to create

reference design data that supports all
subsequent product development and
manufacturing operations has long been
established practice in the automotive industry.
Indeed so pervasive is the combination of 3D CAD
and product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions
that it might seem that there are now no longer
any aspects of the overall production process that
are not represented in a supporting digital world.
But closer analysis does reveal niches in which
software-based modelling and simulation have yet
to become a routine tool. Livingsolids is small but
innovative software company that is targeting those
niches.
Defining sealing seams
When a sufficient degree of maturity has been
achieved in the design of a new vehicle the sealing
concept of the body-in-white (BIW) needs to be finalised in
order to achieve water tightness and corrosion prevention. A
major task is to define both the type and routing of sealing
seams on the BIW. Accordingly corrosion prevention experts
analyse a digital representation of the BIW and define the
routing and type of sealing seams by drawing the route
onto screenshots from the CAD system with additional
annotation defining the properties of the sealing seams.
This information is then handed to a 3D CAD operator
who transfers the information from the screen shots into the
CAD system. Usually this task is carried out at one or other
of two levels of sophistication either the seals are modelled
with sufficient accuracy to resemble their final shape or
simple representative pipes are positioned along the sweep
curve of the seam. Whichever methodology is adopted the
information then becomes part of the definitive master
model though corrosion prevention experts must still check
the data and follow up the routing in case any changes to the
BIW or other issues require corresponding changes in the
sealing concept.
Varying complexity
But OEMs put different levels of effort into creating the
digital representation of sealing seams. Levels of complexity
can vary, however, the closer the representation resembles
the final properties of the sealing seam, the greater
the benefits. The advantages of a detailed and realistic
representation include:

32

APS | 2014

s%ARLYDEFINITION
of the amount of
sealing material
to be used on the
BIW, leading to
better estimation
of the final weight
of the car and
provision of better quality logistical information for the
paintshop.
s%NHANCEDABILITYTODETECTPOTENTIALINTERFERENCES
s)NTEGRATIONOF$MODELLINGDATAONTHESEAMSANDTHE
sheet metal to ensure that design changes to the BIW can
trigger corresponding changes to the sealing concept.
s0ROPERMODELLINGOFTHESHAPEANDROUTEOFTHESEAMSTO
support the selection of appropriate sealant application
technique.
s!CCURATEREPRESENTATIONOFTHESEALINGSEAMSTOHELP
prevent clashes between sealing seams and attaching parts.
Existing CAD methodologies are less than ideal for
achieving these objectives. This is because a sealing seam has
some quite distinct and complex characteristics compared
to the relatively straightforward geometry of sheet metal and
attaching parts:
s!SEAMFOLLOWSTHEEDGEOFTHEUPPERSHEETMETALPART
where one layer of material overlaps the other for the spot
welds.

Special report

s5SUALLYFROMACORROSIONPREVENTIONASPECTTHEREISA

minimum width to both sides from the edge to ensure
proper sealing.
s!SEAMMAYHAVETOFOLLOWTHEEDGEOFSEVERALSHEETMETAL
parts, one after another, which can be problematical for
effective automation of seam modelling.
s4HELOWERPARTOFASEAMHASTOADAPTTOTHESHAPEOFTHE
mating surface of the sheet metal.
s4HEUPPERPARTOFASEAMUSUALLYTAKESASHAPEWHICHIS
defined by the application technology.
s)NSOMESECTIONSMANUALREWORKOFTHESEAMSMAYBE
required.
s!SEAMMAYHAVETOFOLLOWCURVEDEDGESWITHSMALLRADII
which can be difficult to represent in a conventional CAD
system.
s4HESEAMSMAYINTERSECT
s3OMEAREASALONGTHEPATHHAVETOBEKEPTFREEFROMSEALING
material.
Taking into account these characteristics as well as the
diversity of geometrical situations in the BIW, modelling
the seams in a 3D CAD system can be a very challenging,
time-consuming. But given the industry-wide imperative
for compression of the overall design process the time
needed for modelling the seams must also be minimised.
Therefore work should only commence when the bodyin-white has reached a sufficient degree of maturity and
should also aim to provide the information about the
sealing concept as early as possible to support subsequent
engineering of attaching parts. As such it is clear that the
current methodology involving initial concept definition by
corrosion experts and subsequent 3D CAD modelling by
design engineers is inefficient.
Seam sealant solution
A better process would involve a tool which allowed the
corrosion prevention experts to define their sealing
concepts directly in 3D by a simple approach to 3D
modelling, while still maintaining the provision of
sufficiently detailed data to subsequent processes e.g.
digital mock-up, robot programming, and process
documentation for the paintshop. After being approached
by a major European automotive OEM, livingsolids has
developed a solution in the form of a software system
CALLEDLIVINGSOLIDS3EAL
This new product was developed by focusing on the
process taking place in the paintshop, the actual
application of the sealing seams, rather than the design
process. It is therefore based on an abstract and simplified
mathematical model of the real application process for the
seams. This model makes it possible to implement surface
analysis algorithms along a path defined by simple picks
on the surface of the sheet metal to calculate the underside
of a sealing seam. For a given application technology this
enables definition of the required shape of the seam with
an underside matching the mating surface of the BIW and a
cross-section that accurately reflects its final manufactured
appearance.

Using the software the modelling process involves just four

steps:
s#REATIONOFACONTAINERELEMENTTOCOLLECTSEAMSBELONGING
together.
s#REATIONOFASEAMASANOBJECTWITHANAMEANDOTHER
properties (e.g. product manufacturing information and
other metadata).
s#HOICEOFTHECROSS SECTIONFROMAPREDEFINEDSELECTIONOR
free definition of the cross-section
s#REATIONOFPICKPOINTSALONGTHEROUTETHESEAMSHOULD
run.
If necessary both routing and cross-section can be
changed at any point in time and the resulting seam data
exported to a CAD file. In consequence the definition of
a sealing seam is a simple matter requiring after the initial
choice of the sealing type no more than a series of button
clicks on the sheet metal surface along the route the seam
should run. This means it is now possible for the corrosion
protection experts themselves to create the required 3D
representation of the sealing seams.
But simplification of the modelling task itself still left
another challenge to be tackled integration into the whole
engineering process. Creating the 3D representation of the
sealing seams is only possible based on the 3D data of the
BIW. Therefore native interfaces to the most commonly used
3D CAD packages have been implemented in Livingsolids
3EALINORDERTOALLOWTHESEAMLESSLOADINGOF$DATAON
the BIW. In addition an export function has been created
to transfer the sealing seam geometry to the corresponding
CAD formats to allow for the use of the data during
subsequent processes. The solution also allows the addition
of product manufacturing information and other relevant
metadata. Moreover not only is the final shape of the sealing
seams passed to the CAD system, so is the history tree of
its creation. Therefore an existing seam can be modified,
copied and mirrored using the CAD file.
Modelling time reduction
The benefits of this solution are already evident. Four OEMs
with a need to create accurate 3D models of sealing seams
HAVESOFARCHOSENTOUSE,IVINGSOLIDS3EAL%VENTHOUGH
different CAD and PLM systems are involved the resulting
process improvements are in each instance very significant.
According to case studies carried out by OEMs themselves
the time required for the 3D modelling of the seams has,
for instance, been reduced by 83% compared to modelling
INA$#!$SYSTEM3EAMLESSINTEGRATIONWITHTHE#!$
environment also allows for efficient data handling, while
accurate data concerning length and volume of the sealing
SEAMSAREAVAILABLEEARLYINTHEDESIGNPROCESS3OALTHOUGH
it is a niche application, this new development does provide
a real pay-off. Not only does it generate savings through
immediate process improvement, it can also obviate the
danger of late identification of a conflict between a sealing
seam and a part attached to the body-in-white that could
impair an otherwise smooth ramp-up of the production of a
new vehicle.

2014 | APS

33

Special report

Smart solution
the ability to circulate the material back from the gun. The
Streamloop capability adjusts the flow rate to put the right
dose in the right place to ensure top quality, reports Frederic
Charnoz, key account manager for Kremlin Rexson.
The installation was thoroughly tested out beforehand.
The robotic trajectories were programmed off-line and
used for real conditions validation trials, reports Chemouny.
Furthermore a strong partnership with the material
manufacturer allowed us to surpass Renaults expectations
about cycle time, finishing quality and material savings. As far
as the painting process is concerned the large product portfolio
at Revoz involves plenty of colours in fact up to 19 with a
specific adaptation dedicated to Smart cars as in that instance
doors may have a different colour than bodies. The solution
involves the use of a skid that may carry only doors to enable
them to be painted separately from body.

Reducing VOCs

Kremlin Rexson and Sames Technologies,

combined their know-how and experience
to propose a global solution for painting
Renaults third generation Twingo

he new Twingo will be produced at the Revoz factory

in Slovenia. One of the major challenges with this
project involved modifications to painting and
underbody protection processes. So Kremlin Rexson and
Sames Technologies, sister companies in the Exel Industries
Group, combined their know-how and experience to
propose a global solution.
Increasing quality & productivity
The target for underbody protection and sealing process was
to increase productivity and quality. For this process Renault
decided to copy the robotic solution utilising our proven Entry
system that we had already provided in their paintshops in
Brazil, Romania and Russia explains Dov Chemouny, key
account manager for Sames.
The installation at Revoz involves six robots equipped
with spray guns to apply sealant and rocker panel protection
under the car bodies. The correct application pressure and the
circulation of material are delivered through the use of Kremlin
Rexson Quatro 40C750 pumps. Kremlin Rexon claims that
the Quattro pumps provide the most balanced flow rate and

34

APS | 2014

Another major constraint was to reduce VOC emissions by

switching from solvent based paint to waterborne technology,
requiring the two companies to specify an appropriate painting
process. One particular feature of the process is that the mono
component layer is coloured with a special red clearcoat for
high-finish effect. Frederic Charnoz details the paint supply
system: 25 electric pumps for paint and four pneumatic
pumps for solvent have been installed in the kitchen room.
Then, the material circulates through 8.4km of hoses to eight
manual and three robotic paint stations. For interior cut-ins,
the manual stations each comprise 19 M22 HPA guns, which
were selected on the grounds of efficiency and enhanced
operator. Meanwhile all exterior surfaces are painted by robots
equipped with electrostatic bell atomizers.
Dov Chemouny says that there was some very specific
thinking behind the decision to propose to Renault use of
the Accubell 709 Evo sprayer. With the paint canister inside
the sprayer, the Accubell solution is the latest internal charge
technology able to reduce waterborne paint consumption.
Chemouny adds that the Accubell system combines three
functions: atomizing, colour changing and dosing. For those
two last functions, he states, the Accubell system has better
performances than a conventional process arm composed of a
colour change block and a gearpump. For the Revoz plant, as
plastic doors and steel car bodies are painted on the same line,
the new filling station helps to reduce colour change to only
twelve seconds with just 12cc of paint lost, he states.
Renault already uses Accubell technology. Chemouny
confirms that 16 Accubell 608s are still painting Scnic interior
cut-ins in Douai, France. But Revoz is also the location for the
use of a new range of bellcups. These new EX80 80cm magnetic
bellcups have a wider shape to improve atomization. A key
feature is a new air shroud designed to increase the pattern
width up to 500mm, which improves the spraying efficiency.
A higher spraying efficiency value means fewer robots are
required within the cycle time.

We create chemistry
that makes smooth surfaces
love rough climates.

Modern paint systems provide long-lasting protection for cars, buildings and wind turbines from corrosion, UV radiation and weathering
impacts. In this way, they improve performance and longevity which
in turn contributes to sustainability. When coatings provide protection and, at the same time, conserve resources and are easy on the
environment, its because at BASF, we create chemistry.
www.basf-coatings.com

Passion
is our
starting
point

We have a goal, a dream and a belief.

The goal is to satisfy our customers, always and at any time.
The dream is to produce coating plants with zero environmental impact by 2020.
The belief is that the only way to do good business is by building a relationship
based on trust, respect and transparency.

Turnkey original coating plants for the vehicle industry

www.geicotaikisha.com