Dürr Wins PACE Award

EcoPaintJet Pro is capable of painting vertical surfaces without masking or overspray. Photo Credit: Dürr

The EcoPaintJet Pro from Dürr Systems Inc. can paint complex car body surfaces without overspray and it can apply individual design elements without masking. These fully automatic and resource-saving features convinced an independent panel of judges to award Dürr the Automotive News PACE Award for its innovative overspray-free application technology solution.

The EcoPaintJet Pro’s process shows its strengths not only in terms of possible design diversity and lower production costs but in sustainability improvements for individual paint shops. The DXQ3D.onsite software provides support for those benefits. Through the software, an initial measurement detects and compensates for any inaccuracies in the conveyor system or the body shop. A second sensor mounted on the robot measures the deviation of the car body to be painted from the reference pattern. The robot controller adjusts the painting paths in real time. The speed and tilt angle of the applicator is controlled, so the paint is applied evenly. As a result, Dürr says there is no overspray or need for masking.

This process is said to save more than 1.5 million square meters of film and 2.2 million meters of masking tape in a standard production line that paints 110,000 car bodies per year. In addition, it helps with reducing manual labor.

It is said the new process also requires up to 30% less energy than the conventional method. These benefits are attracting a great deal of attention from car manufacturers, Dürr says. As a result, Dürr has already won its first order for the EcoPaintJet Pro from a major American OEM.

The 28^th Annual PACE Awards were presented by Automotive News. The competition was open to suppliers that contribute products, processes, materials or services directly to car or truck manufacturing.

“We are very excited that this technology has been recognized as a game-changing innovation, and we look forward to building on our successes in the application technology space with more cutting-edge solutions,” says Alex Weiten, vice president Application Technology at Dürr in North America. “The topic of sustainability has reached a tipping point in the automotive industry, and the EcoPaintJet Pro will enable our customers to meet their environmental goals today and for years to come.”