OPERATING METHOD FOR AN ATOMISER AND A CORRESPONDING COATING APPARATUS

• US 20090220703A1
• Filed: 09/19/2007
• Published: 09/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Durr Systems Incorporated (Durr AG)
• Original Assignee: Durr Systems Incorporated (Durr AG)
• Inventors: Herre, Frank, Wöhr, Benjamin, Frey, Marcus, Fischer, Andreas, Marquardt, Peter, Nolte, Hans-Jürgen
• Granted Patent: US 8,097,293 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/475
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/08 responsive to condition of liquid or other fluent material to be discharged, of ambient medium or of target ; responsive to condition of spray devices or of supply means, e.g. pipes, pumps or their drive means
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/084 responsive to condition of liquid or other fluent material already sprayed on the target, e.g. coating thickness, weight or pattern
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/10 responsive to temperature or viscosity of liquid or other fluent material discharged
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 13/0405 with reciprocating or oscillating spray heads B05B13/0436, B05B13/0442, B05B13/0447, B05B13/0468 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 13/0426 with spray heads moved along a closed path B05B13/0421 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 13/0431 with spray heads moved by robots or articulated arms, e.g. for applying liquid or other fluent material to 3D-surfaces B05B13/0436, B05B13/0442, B05B13/0447, B05B13/0463 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 3/1014 with a spraying edge, e.g. like a cup or a bell
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 5/0403 characterised by the rotating member
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 5/0426 Means for supplying shaping gas

Abstract

The invention relates to an operating method for an atomiser (1) for the coating of structural components, particularly of vehicle body parts, with the following steps: Application of a spray jet of a coating agent through the atomiser (1); discharge of a first guide air flow (11) for the formation of a spray jet; determination of at least one application parameter (η, γ, T, BC/CC, Qvarnish, n, U,) which reproduces a property (η, γ, T, BC/CC) of the applied coating agent or an operating variable (Qvarnish, n, U) of the atomiser (1) as well as influencing of the first guide air flow (11) as a factor of the application parameter (η, γ, T, BC/CC, Qvarnish, n, U,). Within the framework of the invention, there is the alternative option that fluctuations of the application parameters and, based thereon, variations of the spray jet width are taken into account by means of an adaptation of the path spacing (d) between the adjacent coating agent paths for the purpose of keeping the path overlapping constant. Furthermore, the invention comprises a corresponding coating apparatus.

Claims

1-19. -19. (canceled)

20. An operating method for an atomiser for the coating of components comprising the following steps:

a) Presetting of a desired spray jet width;

b) Application of a spray jet of a coating agent through the atomiser, wherein the spray jet comprises an actual spray jet width;

c) Determination of at least one application parameter which reproduces a characteristic of the applied coating agent or an operating variable of the atomiser;

d) Discharge of a first guide air flow onto the spray jet for shaping the spray jet;

e) Control of the actual spray jet width to the preset and desired spray jet width by adjusting the first guide air flow depending on the determined application parameter.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising the following steps:

a) Discharge of an additional second guide air flow onto the spray jet for shaping the spray jet, and

b) Influencing also of the second guide air flow depending on the application parameter which has been determined for the control of the spray jet width.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the first guide air flow is discharged into another direction than the second guide air flow.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein

a) the first guide air flow superimposes with the second guide air flow to a resulting guide air stream,

b) the first guide air flow and the second guide air flow are influenced depending on the application parameter which has been determined in such a way that the direction of the resulting guide air stream changes.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein the first guide air flow and the second guide air flow are supplied with guide air from a common air supply.

25. The method according to claim 21, wherein the first guide air flow and the second guide air flow are each supplied from an own air supply in each case.

26. The method according to claim 20, wherein the application parameter is selected from a group consisting of:

a) Viscosity of the applied coating agent,

b) Surface tension of the applied coating agent,

c) Rotation speed of the atomiser,

d) Electric voltage of an electrostatic charging of the coating agent,

e) Temperature of the applied coating agent,

f) Ambient temperature,

g) Air humidity,

h) Coating agent flow,

i) Type of the applied coating agent.

27. The method according to claim 20, wherein the influencing of the first guide air flow automatically takes place depending on the application parameter, which has been determined.

28. An operating method for an atomiser for the coating of components comprising the following steps:

a) Presetting of a desired path overlapping between adjacent coating agent paths on the components;

b) Application of a spray jet of a coating agent through the atomiser;

c) Determination of at least one application parameter which reproduces a characteristic of the applied coating agent or an operating variable of the atomiser;

d) Depositing of parallel coating agent paths onto the components, wherein the adjacent coating agent paths have an actual path spacing between their central axes and an actual path overlapping;

e) Control of the actual path overlapping of the adjacent coating agent paths to the preset and desired path overlapping.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the actual path overlapping is controlled by adjusting the path spacing.

30. The method according to claim 28, wherein the actual path overlapping is controlled by adjusting the varnishing velocity.

31. The method according to claim 30, further comprising the following steps:

a) Depositing of the coating agent paths with a certain varnishing velocity, wherein the varnishing velocity reproduces the forward feed velocity of the atomiser in the path direction, and

b) Influencing of the varnishing velocity depending on the determined application parameter.

32. The method according to claim 31, further comprising the following steps:

a) Presetting a desired layer thickness for the coating agent paths, and

b) Control of the actual layer thickness to the preset and desired layer thickness by adjusting the varnishing velocity depending on the application parameter which has been determined.

33. A coating apparatus for the coating of components with a coating agent, comprising:

a) an atomiser for the application of a spray jet of the coating agent onto the component to be coated, wherein the spray jet comprises an actual spray jet width;

b) a control apparatus for controlling the atomiser;

c) determination means for determining of at least one application parameter which reproduces a characteristic of the applied coating agent or an operating variable of the atomiser;

d) a first guide air nozzle arrangement for the discharge of a first guide air flow onto the spray jet for shaping the spray jet;

wherein

e) the control apparatus controls the actual spray jet width to a preset spray jet width by adjusting the first guide air flow depending on the application parameter which has been determined by the determination means.

34. The coating apparatus according to claim 33, further comprising a second guide air nozzle arrangement for discharging a second guide air flow for shaping the spray jet, wherein the control apparatus also influences the second guide air flow depending on the application parameter in order to control the spray jet width.

35. The coating apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the first guide air nozzle arrangement, on the one hand, and the second guide air nozzle arrangement, on the other hand, discharge the guide air flows in different directions.

36. The coating apparatus according to claim 35, wherein

a) the first guide air flow superimposes with the second guide air flow to a resulting guide air stream, and

b) the control apparatus influences the first guide air flow and the second guided air flow depending on the application parameter in such a way that the direction of the resulting guide air stream changes according to the application parameter.

37. The coating apparatus according to claim 34, further comprising a common air supply for the supply of the two guide air flows.

38. The coating apparatus according to claim 34, further comprising in each case, own air supplies for supplying the two guide air flows.

39. The coating apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the first guide air nozzle arrangement and the second guide air nozzle arrangement each have several concentrically arranged nozzle openings.

40. The coating apparatus according to claim 39, wherein the two guide air nozzle arrangements have different diameters.

41. The coating apparatus according to claim 39, wherein the two guide air nozzle arrangements have essentially the same diameter.

42. The coating apparatus according to claim 39, wherein alternating nozzle openings of the first guide air nozzle arrangement and the second guide air nozzle arrangement are in a distributed arrangement over the periphery.

43. The coating apparatus according to claim 39, wherein

a) the nozzle openings of the first guide air nozzle arrangement have a twist in the peripheral direction, while

b) the nozzle openings of the second guide air nozzle arrangement have no twist in the peripheral direction.

44. The coating apparatus according to claim 43, wherein the nozzle openings with a twist in the peripheral direction have a twist angle of between 30°

and 75°

.

45. A coating apparatus for the coating of components with a coating agent, comprising:

a) an atomiser for the application of a spray jet of the coating agent onto the component to be coated;

b) a control apparatus for controlling the atomiser,

c) determination means for determining of at least one application parameter which reproduces a characteristic of the applied coating agent or an operating variable of the atomiser;

d) a varnishing robot for a mobile guiding of the atomiser, so that the atomiser deposits parallel coating agent paths onto the components, wherein the adjacent coating agent paths have an actual path spacing and an actual path overlapping;

wherein

e) the control apparatus controls the actual path overlapping to a preset path overlapping.

46. The coating apparatus according to claim 45, wherein the control apparatus controls the actual path overlapping by adjusting the path spacing depending on the application parameter.