The
Dürr Group has had a direct representation in India since 1997, and Schenck
RoTec has since 1986. Dürr India, based in Chennai, offers painting,
application, final assembly and energy efficiency technology products as well
as exhaust-air purification systems. Since April 2015, Dürr India has also been
offering on-the-job as well as classroom training in paint and application
systems to customers at its new training centrer. Schenck RoTec India, in
Noida, is responsible for balancing technology as well as for testing and
filling technology.
EcoProFleet
combines tried-and-tested industrial components with innovative ideas, like a
new energy storage concept. This means that the AGV is ready for operation
around the clock – without breaks for charging at the power outlet.
Whether
it’s small cars or SUVs, with electric motors or combustion engines, the range
of vehicle models painted in a plant is ever-increasing. Manufacturers want to
be able to easily integrate new vehicle types into the production process. This
desire for flexibility and scalability is pushing linear production to its limits.
The
necessary migration to modular production is requiring manufacturers to rethink
production logistics. In rigid painting lines, the process time for all car
bodies depends on the model that requires the longest time in the individual
stations. This results in waiting times for other bodies, which can be avoided
with a modular process. Instead of transporting bodies using conveyor
technology laid rigidly in the ground, they are moved independently and in
parallel formation between work decks, like spot repair or polishing, and
intermediate storage.
EcoProFleet enables a modular painting process
in which different processing times for the car bodies no longer cause waiting
times. The resulting cost benefits are all the greater the more different and
individual the bodies are constructed and painted. Downtimes caused by sudden
malfunctions are also reduced to a minimum, since AGVs can be redirected to a
different workstation or a different painting booth. "Scalability and
flexibility are becoming increasingly important in paint shops. With
EcoProFleet we have designed the first AGV for paint shops and thus created an
important enabler for these requirements," says Jens Reiner, Director
R&D and Product Management at Dürr, describing the significance of the new
development.
Exact fulfillment of paint-specific requirements
EcoProFleet
is the first AGV that has been specifically optimized for the needs of paint
shops. Its paint- and solvent-resistant platform is just 225 mm high. This low
height means that the AGVs can go under all typical workstations and conveyor
systems in order to drive a car body into a workstation, hand over, or pick up
bodies, and thus work together perfectly at the interfaces. In order to
transport the heavy loads, the EcoProFleet AGV is designed with an unladen
weight of 850 kg in good proportion with the maximum load capacity of 1,000 kg.
The integrated technology with laser scanner and safety limit speed guarantees
a high level of safety.
Intelligent concept for energy supply and control
The
energy storage concept with supercap technology enables smart logistics
tailored precisely to the painting process. EcoProFleet uses supercapacitors as
energy stores, which charge within 1.5 minutes. The charging points are installed
strategically in the plant layout where the AGV would be stationary anyway for
passing off or picking up a body. This short time frame is enough to supply the
supercaps with more than enough energy for the next section.
Compared
with a battery-powered fleet, where a fixed number of transport systems always
have to be kept plugged into a power outlet for hours, the major benefit of
EcoProFleet’s energy concept is that all the AGVs are always on the move and
working. This is guaranteed by a sophisticated control system, which is
connected to DXQ control, the central production control technology from Dürr.
Dürr offers a consistent, intelligent control system across all levels for the
use of AGVs in paint shops: the device control for physical control of the
individual AGVs, the fleet control for route planning and the higher-level
order planning are transparently linked via interfaces. This allows AGVs to
fully exploit their potential as a flexible and efficient transport system.