In the summer of 2021, Aalberts Surface Technologies asked us whether it would be possible to integrate an AED coating system into an existing powder coating system. The situation arose when a customer of Aalberts asked them to coat their workpieces (medical devices) with a precisely defined system:
1. AED - RAL 7035
2. Powder Coating - RAL 7035
During the initial discussions, the following key points for realisation emerged:
1. Implementation of the AED coating system in a confined space
2. Pre-treatment is carried out in the existing system
3. Connection and expansion to the already existing Power and Free Conveyor Technology is carried out by its supplier
4. Definition of the interfaces between the manufacturers of the system and the conveyor technology
5. Short cycle times of 300 s
6. Faultless coating on geometrically difficult workpieces
These factors clearly spoke in favour of a robot-assisted coating system.
The basins are arranged in a circle around a central handling robot that moves the goods carriers through the individual zones. The robot then transfers the coated workpieces to the Power + Free system and into the dryer. This is followed by curing at 160 °C and further processing in the subsequent powder coating system.
The advantages of this system design:
1. Compact design, space requirement of only 200 m² for painting incl. dryer
2. Max. load 180 kg on the robot arm
3. All conceivable envelope curves during immersion and extraction can be displayed, which facilitates coating without air bubbles and without carry-over of residual liquids
4. Costs for the system are within the range of a machine investment
5. Despite its compact design, the system has all the features of a "large" electrocoating system
Start of construction in January 2023 - Test runs in October 2023
